Ahead of the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine that wrapped up on Sunday, reporters routinely named Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders as the top quarterbacks of their draft class.
NFL personnel left Indianapolis with a clear favorite regarding their power rankings for the to-be rookie signal-callers.
On Sunday afternoon, NFL insider Connor Hughes of SNY shared that he learned after speaking with “scouts, general managers, executives, head coaches, assistant coaches and agents” at the combine that none of them views “Sanders as a better quarterback prospect than Ward.”
Numerous others echoed Hughes’ take on Monday. Zac Jackson of The Athletic wrote that it’s now thought Ward is the only “top-tier quarterback in this class” and that “there seems to be clear separation at this stage between Ward and” Sanders. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated added that “it seems pretty clear to me that Ward is the top quarterback in the draft class” and that “it’s Ward and then everyone else.”
The Tennessee Titans (pick No. 1), Cleveland Browns (No. 2) and New York Giants (No. 3) hold the top three choices of the draft, and each of those clubs needs a long-term answer at quarterback. With that said, mock drafts have linked the Titans with Penn State pass-rusher Abdul Carter and Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter. Some think the Titans could trade the first pick to a quarterback-needy team such as the Browns or Giants, but Breer mentioned on Monday morning that “Tennessee is not quite ready yet to really consider a trade.”
Meanwhile, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer said on Sunday that the Browns “are leaning towards either Ward or Sanders at No. 2 because they need a quarterback of the future.” Kiper and Browns reporter Tony Grossi
of ESPN Cleveland/The Land on Demand are among those who expect Cleveland will target Ward if he’s on the board at pick No. 2.
In the middle of February, NFL Media draft analyst Eric Edholm suggested that Sanders could slide all the way to the Pittsburgh Steelers at pick No. 21 on the opening night of the player-selection process. If nothing else, Sanders’ draft stock seems to be lower on the first Monday of March than it’s been since the start of winter.
“With Ward,” Breer explained, “teams can see the potential for something spectacular. They may have to squint hard, get through a lot of tape and use their imagination a bit, but the talent is in a place where, with NFL-level development, he could make jumps like the one he made going from Washington State to Miami, in raising his stock from being a probable Day 3 pick to contending to be the first pick.”
As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Ward as the betting favorite at -200 odds to be the first pick of this year’s draft. DraftKings had Sanders fourth among the betting favorites at +1200 odds.
