Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward are widely viewed as the two best quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft, but is there a chance only one of them will be taken in the first round? At least one analyst is not ruling it out.
Dane Brugler of The Athletic included a major surprise in his latest mock draft, which was published on Tuesday. The writer predicted that the New York Giants will trade up to No. 1 and take Cam Ward, which would not be all that shocking. If that scenario played out, either the Cleveland Browns or Tennessee Titans (who would have swapped with the Giants at No. 3) would likely draft Sanders, right?
Not according to this mock draft. Brugler has Sanders going 21st overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The basis of the prediction is that there are reportedly some teams that view Sanders as more of a Day 2 prospect.
“Sanders is going to be a wild card in this draft. He could go in the top six or fall out of the first round entirely — and neither outcome would be a shock,” Brugler wrote. “He is not a first-round quarterback for a lot of NFL teams, which isn’t a major surprise (and matches my evaluation). But all it takes is one front office to roll the dice on his skill set.”
While that type of tumble down the draft board would not be unprecedented, it seems highly unlikely.
This 2025 quarterback class is not nearly as deep as last year’s, when five QBs were taken in the top 10 and six total in the first round. Still, quarterback-needy teams have historically been more likely to reach at the position than show patience with it.
There have been plenty of questions about how teams view both Sanders and Ward. Of course, it is possible some of that unflattering information was leaked by teams that are high on one or both of the two quarterbacks and want to scare rivals away.
For what it’s worth, one report this week claimed another QB prospect could go a lot higher in the draft than expected. With the draft still nearly two months away, the rumors are just getting started.
