2025 Fantasy Football QB Rookie Rankings: Pre-NFL Draft Top 10 Rookie Quarterbacks

February 20, 2025

Top 10 QBs in RotoBaller's NFL draft rookie rankings for 2025. Draft these rookie QBs in fantasy football drafts: Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, Jaxson Dart, and more.

It's time to get excited. The NFL Combine is just weeks away; the NFL Draft will be here before we know it. Even rookie fantasy drafts have been slowly popping up all over the place. If you have a draft coming up or you're looking for some additional information about a player your favorite team is said to have an interest in, then you have come to the right place.

Here, we are talking about the top 10 quarterback prospects for fantasy football. Plenty can still change with the Combine, Pro Days, and even after a player is selected. Unlike last year, this class may not have an immediate impact. Most prospects at the position this season should be considered developmental prospects.

So temper those fantasy expectations and check out my top 10 quarterbacks for the 2025 NFL Draft.

NFL Rookie Rankings for Fantasy Football (Pre-Draft)

Rookie rankings are from before the NFL Scouting Combine and before the NFL Draft

Pre-Draft Top 10 Fantasy QB Picks

10. Riley Leonard, QB, Notre Dame

Riley Leonard is one of the toughest competitors in the draft. A few days after his Irish team lost the National Championship, he was down at the Senior Bowl at less than 100%, dropping dimes to Isaac TeSlaa. If I shovel the snow in my driveway, I take the next three days off.

Leonard is easy to root for and is younger than some of the other prospects ranked higher than him on this list, but his 6.6 AY/A (adjusted yards per attempt) against top 50 defenses does not instill much confidence. 

Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard finds WR Jaden Greathouse on the slot fade touchdown. Leonard finally let it loose against the Buckeyes in the second half. Nice throw. pic.twitter.com/CzJhVW17ch

— Ryan Roberts (@RiseNDraft) February 14, 2025

Leonard's journey has been inspirational. He went to Duke and helped rebuild a program. He transferred to Notre Dame and played in the National Championship. He made it to the NFL. That's where the journey should end for fantasy managers. He's a great player with a better story, but he is not fantasy-viable.

9. Kyle McCord, QB, Syracuse

Kyle McCord has some admirable traits. For one, he is a quality pocket passer who throws with a good sense of timing and accuracy. In today's fantasy football landscape, that's like being an accountant. Not that there is anything wrong with that. It's safe, but it's not sexy. It also leaves very little room for fantasy production.

Syracuse QB Kyle McCord couldn’t have placed this football any better pic.twitter.com/xroGVURHkS

— Ryan Roberts (@RiseNDraft) February 14, 2025

Compared to many of the quarterbacks on this list, McCord is a below-average athlete. While he can make every throw, his ceiling is tapped out, as he offers no rushing upside.

8. Tyler Shough, QB, Texas Tech

Tyler Shough feels like the quarterback we are all utterly wrong about or the quarterback who will find himself playing in the Canadian Football League 18 months from now.

Shough threw for 7,820 yards in seven collegiate seasons, completing 63% of his passes and finishing with 59 touchdowns and 23 interceptions in 42 contests. You don't finish seven years of college without either becoming a doctor or learning something about the game, and at the Senior Bowl, Shough put together some impressive practices.

#Louisville QB Tyler Shough might be the most interesting non-1st round QB prospect in this class.

Will be a 26-yr old rookie, but he has a pro skill-set. Prototypical size (6045v, 225v), passing twitch and drive velocity. Late on this read, but that's a 30-yard frozen rope. pic.twitter.com/YmqEvJZCdx

— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) December 19, 2024

For fantasy, I would avoid drafting Shough. I would consider adding him after the draft and to the Taxi Squad if your league allows you to do so.

7. Dillon Gabriel, QB, Oregon

Daniel Jeremiah compared Dillion Gabriel to Kellen Moore. Accurate, tough, and experienced are all great traits that the two share. They also share some not-so-great traits, such as being undersized and possessing average arm talent. I will add that he did have some solid days in Mobile, Alabama, at the Senior Bowl that likely helped his draft stock.

Age isn't what it once was, but Gabriel is an older project, as he will turn 25 before his rookie season concludes.

Dillon Gabriel finds Elijah Arroyo for the two-pointer!

📺: @SeniorBowl on NFL Network
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/vvkinjNy4f

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) February 1, 2025

6. Will Howard, QB, Ohio State

Will Howard has the prototypical size you look for in a quarterback prospect. He has an arm that allows him to sling it around the field with velocity, and he has proven that he can step up when called upon in the brightest of lights.

Howard could be a serviceable quarterback in the NFL. Right now, he is giving off game manager-type vibes. That's not necessarily bad; it's great for his future team but not so much for fantasy managers.

Too often, on film, he goes for that first read, which frequently leads to questionable throws and turnovers. Most of those turnovers came when Howard was throwing off that back foot, which was a growing tendency of his.

Will Howard #Buckeyes #NFLDraft

Slides left and delivers a pinpoint toss of 26 from the release while moving left. pic.twitter.com/QmU9OSQ3H7

— Matt Waldman (@MattWaldman) February 14, 2025

Howard is older than C.J. Stroud and looks a lot like Joe Flacco before he became elite.

5. Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas

Quinn Ewers is probably the last quarterback fantasy managers can feel comfortable selecting in their upcoming drafts, but he is a developmental prospect. The previously mentioned signal callers, while talented, don't have a whole lot of upside.

Ewers was one of the most anticipated college recruits in recent memory after being branded with that five-star recruit tag coming out of college. We've seen the talent, we've seen his live arm, and we have seen him step up in big-time games like the one against Alabama, where he threw for 349 yards in a Longhorns victory.

I don't know if Ewers is Kevin Kolb or Baker Mayfield; he really could go either way as a prospect. One minute, you are excited about the possibilities, and the next, you're trying to figure out what you just saw out there. Talent is there, but consistency is not so much. Whoever works with Ewers will need to have a David Canales-type effect on his playing career to get the most out of him.

4. Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama

Ask most scouts around the league, and Jalen Milroe is going to win " Most Polarizing Quarterback Prospect." On one hand, he has all the physical traits needed to be an elite fantasy producer. On the other hand, so too does Anthony Richardson. Richardson is one of the more popular player comparisons when talking about Milroe's NFL prospects.

Like Richardson, Milroe can make plays with his legs. Since the start of the 2023 season, Milroe has run for 1,257 yards on 329 attempts. More impressive than the rushing yardage has been the 32 rushing scores over that time. That is only seven fewer rushing touchdowns than touchdown passes Milroe has thrown. 

If you look at their final seasons, you can see why the comparisons exist. In his final season at Florida, Richardson completed 53.8% of his passes, throwing for 2,549 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Richardson also scored nine rushing touchdowns, churning out 654 yards on the ground. In 2024, Milroe threw for yards and 16 touchdowns while completing 64.3% of his throws. Meanwhile, he added 726 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground.

A few Jalen Milroe deep balls #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/POT4C86AoD

— Matt Holder (@MHolder95) January 17, 2025

Milroe has a big arm and isn't afraid to use it. He also makes things happen with his legs. Much like Richardson, the question for Milroe will be how he can find success in the intermediate areas.

3. Jaxson Dart, QB, Mississippi

It's not much of a stretch to consider Jaxon Dart this draft class's version of Bo Nix. Both quarterbacks did some things to put themselves in the first-round conversation, and both had some questions about how they would perform at the NFL level. Nix answered those questions. Dart, the jury is still out.

One nuance I’ve seen from Jaxson Dart on tape this yr (and here to Jack Bech) is recognition of defenders with their back turned to the ball (typically man cvg). He’s become extremely comfortable placing throws like this, putting his target in great shape to make play on ball. pic.twitter.com/8c2RpzejTI

— Todd McShay (@McShay13) February 1, 2025

Some scouts believe that Dart has all the traits to be the top quarterback in this class when we look back on it in five years. Then again, the draft is not known to have the healthiest fantasy appeal, considering how the 2024 draft spoiled fantasy enthusiasts.

Dart's analytics have proven to be better than the top consensus options at the position. Dart's 11.9 aDot, 10.7 yards per attempt, and 7.1% in big-time throw rate are all more impressive than those of Shedeur Sanders and Cam War. He also accomplished those metrics with just 2.77 seconds per attempt, less time than the other two.

While Dart doesn't possess a cannon for an arm, he makes up for it with excellent ball placement. Dart improved his completion rate in each of his four seasons at Ole Miss. In his senior season, Dart completed 69.3% of his passes for 4,279 yards and 29 touchdowns. He also produced 12 rushing touchdowns and 1,498 rushing yards over his final three collegiate seasons.

2. Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado

Let's give credit where credit is due. When you flip the film on and dig into Shedeur Sanders's tape, the first thing you notice is how accurately he delivers the ball. Sanders's sense of timing and rhythm puts him ahead of any other quarterback prospect in this year's draft.

Starting to really dig into Shedeur Sanders film & I’ve been more impressed than I thought.

Timing, accuracy & rhythm really stand out from one of the few pure drop back passers in college. pic.twitter.com/l9qqVc36xK

— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) February 14, 2025

In his two seasons at Colorado, Sanders completed 71.8% of his passes, including 74% of those passes last season when he threw for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns. That 71.8% is the highest career completion rate in college football history among quarterbacks with 875 passing attempts. Put Sanders in the right system where he can get himself into a rhythm and watch him pick apart opposing defenses from the pocket.

1. Cam Ward, QB, Miami

If you are looking for college production, look no further than the all-time Division I leader in passing touchdowns (158). From Incarnate Word to Washington State to Miami, Ward has completed 1,515 passes for over 18,000 yards. 

With that kind of college production and experience on his resume, Ward has developed the mental traits to be a starting quarterback in the NFL, along with the physical tools that everyone talks about.

Ward is a playmaker, especially when afforded time—anything over three seconds, and he will defenses pay. When afforded three or more seconds to throw, Ward completed the second-most big-time throw last season and his passing grade ranked seventh.

Typical Cam Wardpic.twitter.com/mkCef6VLj3

— AngeloFF (@angelo_fantasy) December 28, 2024

Expect his offensive coordinator to move the pocket to create more time for Ward. This will open things up and allow Ward to anticipate those deeper throws down the field, where his anticipation and arm talent led to 1,148 deep yards a season ago, the fifth-most.

Just Missing: Kurtis Rourke, Seth Henigan, Max Brosmer, Brady Cook

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