2025 NFL Draft Rookie Fantasy Fallout: Quarterbacks
Each year, a new crop of college football players fulfills their lifelong dreams of getting drafted into the NFL. Some will find perfect situations that will help their careers flourish, while others may end up in situations that will squash their development.
In this edition of our 2025 NFL Draft Rookie Fantasy Fallout, we will analyze the Quarterbacks who will try to make their mark in the NFL and, ultimately, in our fantasy lineups.
Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans:
Leaving the University of Miami, Ward had an all-time great season. Cam Ward’s accolades included being a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, winning the Davey O’Brien Award (the Nation’s Top Quarterback), being a consensus 1st Team All-American, 2024 ACC Player of the Year, 2024 Offensive Player of the Year, and 1st Team ACC. In 2024, Ward recorded 4,313 passing yards, with 39 touchdown passes and only seven interceptions. Although not known as a runner, Ward also accumulated 204 yards rushing with four touchdowns. In short, it is obvious why Cam Ward was the 1st-overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The Titans will need time to develop as an offense. With Calvin Ridley and Tyler Lockett as receivers and Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears as running backs, the Titans’ offense has potential. The offensive line can be above average, with Skoronski, Latham, and Zeitler as the foundation of the unit.
For these reasons, fantasy managers should temper their expectations for the upcoming season but remain hopeful for future seasons as Ward and the Titans’ offense continue to develop.
Rookie Draft Expectation Rating: HIGH Expectations, Picks 2-5 (Superflex), Picks 8-12 (1-QB)
Jaxson Dart, New York Giants
The surprise 2nd pick in the NFL draft, the Giants moved back into the first round to select Dart. The draft capital shows the Giants see Dart as a long-term solution to their quarterback woes.
In his senior season, Dart totaled over 4,200 yards passing and 29 touchdowns. One characteristic many miss about Dart is his running ability. Dart had 1,500 yards rushing with 12 touchdowns in his three years at Ole Miss. Dart doesn’t necessarily default to running the ball when under pressure, but he has that ability when he needs it. I have seen comparisons to Dart and Brock Purdy. The more I watch his tape, the more I see it.
The Giants made a clear decision to select Dart over other options. The Giants will give Dart all the time he needs to develop under Russell Wilson and give him every chance to succeed him.
Rookie Draft Priority Rating: MID Priority, Picks 10-16 (Superflex), Picks 12-18 (1 QB)
Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints
The biggest drama during the NFL draft surrounded Shadeur Sanders’s fate. Once the Saints drafted Tyler Shough out of Louisville, it quickly became apparent that the league valued traits over college production.
Tyler Shough is 6’5″ and 219 pounds and has demonstrated he can make “all the NFL throws.” Shough is an older prospect, as he will turn 26 before the start of the 2025 season. However, the Saints have done little to fortify the position, with the currently injured Derek Carr at risk of missing time. At this juncture, Shough is in line to start for the Saints, and for fantasy managers looking for immediate impact at the quarterback position, Shough provides that opportunity. He may be a limited producer in fantasy due to an offense needing an identity.
I am not an NFL scout, but I certainly have my doubts about Shough’s viability as an NFL starter. In many ways, I see a backup player with limited starting potential (like Gardner Minshew).
Rookie Draft Priority Rating: LOW to MID Priority, Picks 18-28 (Superflex), Picks 24+ (1-QB)
Jalen Milroe, Seattle Seahawks
Milroe is one of the more polarizing draft picks in 2025. His ability to run with the ball is elite. However, his decision-making ability and arm talent are the traits that make scouts pause about his future in the NFL. His situation currently has him as Sam Darnold’s apprentice with some TD upside as a runner.
Milroe’s 2024 season at Alabama perfectly exemplifies his polarizing abilities. Milroe was second in the FBS for quarterbacks with 20 rushing touchdowns. However, he only threw 16 touchdowns while also throwing 11 interceptions. There is definitely a place in the NFL for Milroe. He may be a “Taysom Hill-type” player, but with time and development, he could be more. Milroe is a natural leader and has elite intelligence (winner of the 2024 William V. Campbell Award—Academic Heisman).
As a taxi squad player with time to develop, Milroe is one of my favorite rookie stashes for 2025.
Rookie Draft Priority Rating: LOW to MID Priority, Picks 18-28 (Superflex), Picks 24+ (1-QB)
Dillon Gabriel, Cleveland Browns
In one of the biggest surprises in the draft, the Browns selected Dillon Gabriel over Shadeur Sanders (later to be rectified) in the third round of the NFL draft. Gabriel is 5’11” and 205 pounds, which places him on the smaller side of NFL quarterbacks. What Gabriel lacks in size, he makes up for in production. Gabriel was named 3rd-Team All-American and Big-Ten Offensive Player of the Year after completing 72.9% of his passes for 3,857 yards and 30 touchdowns. Gabriel is leaving the college football ranks as the all-time total touchdown leader with 188 and tied Case Keenum’s 155 career passing touchdowns record.
As productive as Gabriel was in college, his NFL future is less impressive.
Here are a few questions to ponder about Dillon Gabriel during your Rookie Drafts:
Can Gabriel overcome his physical limitations (like Drew Brees) and be a consistent starter in the NFL and, ultimately, your fantasy football teams?
Can Gabriel’s size limit him as he struggles to look over the shoulders of offensive linemen a foot taller?
Can I draft a player now that I do not believe has a realistic shot at playing this season and even next year?
Do other players offer more upside as a flyer later in Rookie Drafts?
Rookie Draft Priority Rating: LOW Priority, Picks 48+ (Superflex), Picks 60+ (1-QB)
Shadeur Sanders, Cleveland Browns
Shadeur Sanders’s fall will be widely scrutinized when he eventually develops into a starting-caliber quarterback, as he was the most watched development during this year’s NFL draft.
The draft drama, which enthralled us all as we wondered at what point in the draft a team would finally concede that his talent far outmatched his baggage, will be discussed for years in football circles.
On the field, Sanders was one of the most prolific passers in FBS last year.
In 2024, Sanders was a 2nd-team All-American and the Big-12 Offensive Player of the Year. He led the FBS by completing 74% of his passes while throwing 37 touchdowns and broke the Colorado record by throwing for 64 passing touchdowns in his career.Â
So why the fall in the draft? Many believe his father and college coach, Deion Sanders, has much to do with teams not being interested in dealing with a player who resembles a reality show more than a football player. Others see on tape a player who doesn’t utilize his legs enough and completed passes in college that will not be completions in the NFL.
Dropping in the draft may have been the best thing that could have happened to Shadeur Sanders. He is now humbled and, if he didn’t already, has a chip on his shoulder the size of a Boulder (see what I did there?) to prove he is an elite quarterback in the NFL.
Rookie Draft Priority Rating: MID Priority, Picks 14-24 (Superflex), Picks 32+ (1-QB)
If you are a fantasy manager in dire need of a quarterback for the 2025 season, I regret to inform you that this is not the draft to acquire that player. Currently, Cam Ward is the only player with the talent and situation that can impact fantasy rosters.
For teams with DEEP taxi squads, I recommend the following players who might be able to contribute to your fantasy teams beyond 2025: Will Howard, Kyle McCord, Quinn Ewers, and Kurtis Rourke.
Instead, look toward 2026 to resupply your quarterback positions, as Arch Manning, Kade Clubnik, Drew Allar, LaNorris Sellers, and Garrett Nussmeier appear to be prime targets in next year’s drafts.