Caleb Harris
Six quarterbacks selected with the first 12 picks in 2024 NFL Draftbut not all teams in need of a quarterback were able to select one.
And while right now the 2025 draft quarterback class doesn’t look as loaded as this year’s group, you can bet there will be plenty of franchises that will try to address the most vital position on the field through the draft. It happens every year.
Let’s identify these teams now.
I have no idea what will happen to the Steelers at quarterback and what this perpetually stable franchise plans to do at the position long-term. Russell Wilson’s elementary stats weren’t brutal in 2023 – 26 touchdowns to just eight interceptions – but his average of 6.9 yards per attempt was clearly the lowest of his career, as was his average depth of target of 7.9. 8 yards. The talkative Wilson just didn’t work in Denver with Sean Payton last season.
Then there’s a very similar style and backstory — at least in recent seasons — with Justin Fields on Pittsburgh’s roster.
Given the sturdiness of the Steelers’ defense, there is absolutely a world in which Wilson’s freer style can be accentuated — especially thanks to Spider-Man George Pickens — and Pittsburgh wins more football games than it loses and makes the playoffs.
But it doesn’t seem likely that Wilson will play effectively enough to earn a multi-year extension at age 36. Is it completely out of the question? This is why the Steelers only get honorable mention on this list. And heck, if Wilson struggles, Fields would take over the starting role, and it’s not unreasonable to imagine him playing a dual-threat game manager role that he can leverage for more job security in 2025 and beyond.
Wilson and/or Fields emerging as the steady force propelling the Steelers back into legitimate AFC contention seems unlikely, and both are residing in Pittsburgh now on one-year contracts, which is why I felt compelled to include them here .
Are the Cowboys really going to let Dak Prescott’s contract expire and let him walk away? I don’t believe this is a strategy this front office would implement.
While I never believe Prescott has established himself as an elite quarterback, he has led the NFL with 410 completions with a career-high 69.5% completion rate with a league-high 36 touchdowns in 2023.
And he’s not old! He is entering his age-31 season. Derek Carr is 33 years old. Geno Smith turns 34 in October. Matthew Stafford is 36 years old. Kirk Cousins will turn 36 in August. Wilson will turn 36 in November. Aaron Rodgers turns 41 in December.
All of this leads me to believe the Cowboys will get a new deal done – perhaps a “short” two- or three-year extension with Prescott before the end of the season, especially if the veteran quarterback continues to play a high caliber of football, throwing for CeeDee Lamb , Brandin Cooks and other new tertiary targets. While I’m relatively confident in Prescott’s ability to play consistently, if he approaches his 2023 levels behind what is a completely revamped offensive line, the former fourth-round pick will have a significant advantage in earning that new deal.
But with their starter in the final year of his contract, in his 30s, on a team that, despite the front office repeatedly delivering an “all in” message, has made many changes on the offensive side of the ball, the Cowboys deserve to be on this list as a franchise potentially in the quarterback market in the 2025 draft.
No quarterback in the 2024 draft for the Saints, and they enter the season with Derek Carr fresh off one of his typical seasons. The statistics check out. Not the film. He completed 68.4% of his throws and had 25 touchdowns to eight interceptions.
Still, he may have been the most timid and ultra-conservative pitcher in football. Carr finished with 12 touchdowns to one interception down the stretch, but it stinks like 13-of-18 for 110 yards against the Vikings, 13-of-18 for 108 attempts in the loss to the Packers and an incomprehensible 23-of-37 for 127 yards output against the Buccaneers. hidden in everyone’s mind.
Now he has six 300+ yard games in 2023, so there is a ray of light at the end of the tunnel. In addition to his immensely up-and-down play and long stretches turning into Captain Checkdown, Carr’s future finances put the Saints on this list.
His 2025 salary jumps to $30 million and he will represent a cap hit of $51 million. Of course, if he’s cut before June 1, his cap hit will be $50 million, but if Carr doesn’t show clear signs of improvement and the Saints play more competitively in a watered-down NFC South, New Orleans would have reason to cutting the cable on the Carr experiment two years later.
The Raiders completely went through the entire 2024 draft quarterback class, though we can’t entirely blame them for doing so in the first round after they witnessed history directly in front of them with six passers going in the first 12 selections for the first time. in league history.
That means the first full year of the Antonio Pierce era begins with… Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell as the two vie for the opening gig in Sin City. Now, I’ll give this to O’Connell — for a fourth-round rookie, he’s held his own in 2023, throwing 12 touchdowns to just seven interceptions. But his average yards per attempt was a minuscule 6.5 yards, and he completed just 62.1% of his throws, a pretty low figure for a passer known for his quick release and poor accuracy.
Minshew solidified his status as a capable bridge quarterback last season with the Colts, as he led them to the doorstep of the playoffs without a star-studded group of receivers.
But yeah, you don’t have to be a hardcore football analyst to understand that the Raiders are essentially guaranteed to be in the quarterback sweepstakes in the 2025 draft.
Jordan Travis was drafted to be Aaron Rodgers’ backup and, in theory, a bridge-type starter in the post-Rodgers era. But GM Joe Douglas is smart. There’s a good chance he realizes that the chances of Travis transitioning seamlessly into the starting role after Rodgers opts out are highly unlikely. Tyrod Taylor is also there and will be 35 in August.
Rodgers could continue to play in 2025, but he will enter his age-42 season at that time, and his cap hit will be $51 million that year, with a dead cap hit of $49 million if he is released before the 1st of June.
This one is clear as day. The Jets are lined up to be very interested in the 2025 quarterback class in the draft. The only reason they aren’t in first place is Rodgers’ talent – that could lead to a lot of wins in 2024 and thus increase the likelihood of him returning for another season with Gang Green.
This couldn’t be more obvious, because the Giants already flirted with quarterbacks in the draft just a few weeks ago. While we will likely never know exactly which 2024 passer they targeted or which offer they sent to the Cardinals at No. 4 or the Patriots at No. 3, we do know that they actively passed on JJ McCarthy and Bo Nix, who were picked at No. 11 and No. 12 overall. , respectively.
Daniel Jones should feel fortunate to still have the Giants as his starter after a disastrous two-touchdown, six-interception 2023 season that ended prematurely due to a torn knee ligament.
There is a relatively clean exit from Jones’ deal for the Giants after this season. It represents a $41 million cap hit in 2025, with $22 million in dead cap if released before June 1. Outside of Jones, miraculously playing very differently and more effectively than ever before in NFLThe Giants will be the most “in” in the 2025 draft quarterback class.
