By: John Toth · 7mo
Photo: Yahoo Sports
The 2024 college football season is right around the corner, so you know what that means? The 2025 NFL draft is coming soon, as well. Draft Nation is here to guide you through the prospects and how they can help NFL teams.
Here is a three pack of quarterbacks who are looking to get selected in the 2025 NFL draft.
Ewers has the arm strength to make all passes in any situation, anywhere on the field. He possesses NFL accuracy on all three levels of the playing field and the mobility to get outside the pocket and throw on the run. He always has his eyes set down the field even while he is on the move, locating open receivers. He does a good job of anticipating the receivers out of their breaks and can make throws before the receivers are even looking. He has a knack for changing the speed of his throws when needed, and, as all accurate passers do, leads his receivers well.
He does have a bad habit of holding the football loosely when he is outside the pocket, making him fumble prone. And at the pro level, he will need to be faster going through his reads and also has a habit of second guessing himself, which leads to sacks and unnecessary pressures. His throwing mechanics need some work as he throws from a sidearm angle at times when it is not necessary. His footwork, too, can be an issue, as he tends to throw off his backfoot, which also leads to accuracy issues. When dropping back, Ewers needs to have a better command for when to step up in the pocket instead of rolling out unnecessarily.
Quinn Ewers has the ability to be a top 10 pick in this year’s draft class. He will be on a short list to be the first quarterback selected.
What is obvious from film study is how live Ward’s arm is when he wants it to be. He has above average arm strength while possessing enough touch and accuracy to make impressive throws. When he needs to, he can speed up his throws to fit into extremely tight windows, and generally can place the ball where it needs to be for his receiver to have a chance to get it.
Ward is fearless in the pocket and is more than willing to stand in and absorb a hit when necessary. But he can also create outside of the pocket as well. While not necessarily a rushing QB, Ward is athletic enough to be a threat in the run game and can extend plays by getting outside the pocket and keeping his eyes downfield.
Ward thrives in the red zone and during his 2022 season, he had a 19-0 TD to INT ratio, and has already started 4-0 in that department this season.
Where Ward needs to improve is how he deals with pressure. While Ward rarely panics and rarely scrambles out of clean pockets, his fearlessness can work to his disadvantage, often leading to him taking way too many hits and sacks. Not only did Ward take an astounding 46 sacks last season (2nd in FBS), but his passing stats also suffered as well. In 213 drop-backs where he faced pressure, Ward had an abysmal 4.1 yards per attempt and a 43.7% completion percentage per PFF.
Ward switches back and forth between overly targeting the deep areas of the field, where he struggled immensely in 2022, to passing up deep shots to force checkdowns. Ward is great at moving through his progressions, so it is odd to see him make these mistakes. One potential reason for a lot of these issues may be his inconsistent footwork. He wastes movement in his drops and loves to hitch and hop around the pocket at times. This makes him late on his reads, thus missing open targets on occasion.
Fourth-round pick
Kyle McCord has an NFL arm and can make all the throws NFL scouts want to see. He puts a nice arc on his deep ball when needed and has a quick release. His accuracy on short and medium passes are on point and he goes through his progressions well, using his eyes and feet to keep safeties on their heels. He checks the NFL boxes with size and arm strength, though he could stand to add some weight to his 6’3” frame. He calls out pre snap blitzes and coverages and calls audibles capably when needed.
Kyle McCord is not a fluid athlete however and has trouble outside the pocket. He struggles throwing on the run and his accuracy takes a nosedive when he is forced to. He has a tendency to hold the ball longer than should and will take unnecessary sacks and hits. He does not put any added pressure on defenses with his legs and will have to play in a pocket style offense. He needs to show more to the NFL scouts and coming back to school for another year will considerably help his NFL Draft stock.
Sixth-round pick
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