The 3 Quarterbacks Who Could Get Drafted Before Shedeur Sanders: Report

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Owen Crisafulli | Last updated Mar 1, 2025 6:34 PM ET

In the early buildup to the 2025 NFL draft, Cam Ward of the Miami Hurricanes and Shedeur Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes have been viewed as the top two quarterbacks in this class. However, a recent report indicates that Sanders may not end up being one of the first two quarterbacks selected in this draft.

Ahead of the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, Ward had emerged as the slight frontrunner to get selected as the first quarterback over Sanders. And based on the chatter taking place at the combine, many folks around the league believe more than before that Ward will get selected before Sanders.

"It does seem, based on the conversations I've had with general managers, top evaluators, that it is Cam Ward right now and everyone else," Ian Rapoport said on NFL Network's "The Insiders." "I'm not saying he's going to go number one, but it does seem as it stands now that if a quarterback goes number one, it is likely him.

The suggestion that Ward could be the first quarterback selected, or even the first overall pick in the draft, isn't overly surprising. What is surprising, though, is that Rapoport would go on to say that Jaxson Dart of the Ole Miss Rebels or Quinn Ewers of the Texas Longhorns could end up getting picked before Sanders.

"Jaxson Dart impressed teams as well, threw really nicely. Quinn Ewers, wasn't asked to do a ton in college, I know teams were sort of wondering why. You can see the way he threw out there today, he's got the arm talent. He's also got the confidence, maybe a little more of a quiet guy. It seems to me to be more up in the air as far as who is QB2, who is QB3," Rapoport said.

From our Combine coverage: Taking a look at the landscape of the QB prospects, with Cam Ward emerging as the likely QB1. But behind him, there is unknown. pic.twitter.com/WzhT7Cn0Wy
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 1, 2025