2025 NFL Draft: Best Early Landing Spots for Top Quarterbacks
Situation matters more than ever for this group of passers.
Quarterback success is as much about fit as it is about talent. Every year, talented quarterbacks go to disastrous situations and fail. At the same time, we’ve seen plenty of less naturally talented quarterbacks go to ideal situations and succeed.
That common scouting rule will matter even more for the 2025 quarterback class than normal. This isn’t a great group of passers, and they all need somewhere between major and considerable developments before they should be relied on as franchise saviors.
Thankfully, I’m here to ensure all of those quarterbacks land in the right spot and maximize their careers. To be clear, I’m not advocating that these teams should target these quarterbacks (although some definitely should); instead, I am saying it would be in the quarterback’s best interest to land in this spot.
That said, I will try to keep this somewhat realistic. If a team’s quarterback plan is already set, I’ll rule that team out. Still, I’ll have to take a few liberties to do what's best for the player.
Best Early Landing Spots for 2025 QBs
Cam Ward: Carolina Panthers
Saying a quarterback should hope to land with the Carolina Panthers doesn’t quite feel right, but hear me out on this one. The main selling point is Ward working with Panthers head coach Dave Canales.
Canales has built his career around fixing quarterbacks. He helped turn Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield from afterthoughts into solid NFL starters leading playoff-caliber teams.
Specifically, Canales helped Mayfield and Smith become better pocket managers — an incredibly difficult trait to improve on at the pro level. Heck, Bryce Young even looks better in this area after getting benched earlier this season.
One of my biggest concerns with Cam Ward is how he manages the pocket. He’s far too willing to bail on open concepts and try to create out of structure. This leads to some impressive playmaking, but it’s also where most of his worst reps and turnovers come from.
Ward needs to learn how to step up into the pocket and slide around to buy himself a few extra seconds to find backside routes or just not take a drive-killing sack.
Baker and Geno had the same problem early in their careers, and Canales helped coach those habits out of them, so if anyone can recalibrate Ward’s process from the pocket, it’s him.
Additionally, the Panthers have some pieces to build around at the skill positions. Chuba Hubbard is having a career season and just got a contract extension. Xavier Legette looks like a viable pass catcher, and Ja’Tavion Sanders is starting to make plays at tight end.
The Panthers also have plenty of capital to continue building around Ward. They have 11 picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, ranking fourth in Tankathon’s Draft Power Index.
Shedeur Sanders: Cleveland Browns
I’m not convinced the Browns will consider taking a quarterback unless they have the first or second pick, but Shedeur Sanders is an excellent fit for Kevin Stefanski's offense.
Sanders is tracking toward becoming my QB1 this year for a few reasons, but the top one is how well and quickly he reads out NFL concepts. Sanders is one of the few quarterbacks in the class who gets to backside looks consistently and is forced to operate in the middle of the field.
By the eye test, Sanders is also the most accurate quarterback in the class on deep to intermediate routes. Stefanski wants to hit deep digs and crossers off of play action, and Sanders fits perfectly into that mold.
The Browns have constructed competent offenses out of much worse quarterbacks in the Stefanski era. Although I like Sanders, his tools are pretty average. Sending him to a team with an inexperienced play-caller and poor offensive weapons seems like a mistake.
Cleveland has a solid, young group of pass catchers, including Jerry Jeudy, Elijah Moore, and Cedric Tillman. Plus, tight end David Njoku is a YAC monster, and the running game has been productive despite injuries to star Nick Chubb.
Cleveland’s offensive line is a little worrisome, but some of its poor play is on the heels of bad pocket management. That’s still an area where Sanders needs to improve, but I’d wager he’s better than the guy Cleveland had back there for most of this season.
Jalen Milroe: New York Giants
I was already of the opinion that Jalen Milroe should go back to school, but this exercise has further radicalized me in that direction. Milroe can still change my mind, but could use another year of seasoning.
If he comes out this year, the New York Giants are the only answer as to his best fit. Of the fits on this list, it’s still my least favorite.
The positives are simple. Brian Daboll has a reputation for getting the most out of athletic quarterbacks. He helped develop Josh Allen into a star and got one good season out of Daniel Jones, largely thanks to the use of the quarterback run game.
Milroe might be the fastest quarterback I’ve ever scouted, so putting him somewhere willing to use his legs often feels like a priority.
The Giants also have a few weapons for Milroe to work with. Malik Nabers is a stud on the outside, and Tyrone Tracy is off to a good start in the backfield. Andrew Thomas is a franchise left tackle, and smaller pieces like Wan’Dale Robinson and Theo Johnson are capable players.
So, what’s the problem?
Milroe needs more development as a passer before he can be trusted in a starting role. He’s taken strides this season, but he still doesn’t see the field well enough and is slow to progress through progressions.
His pocket management has improved in 2024, but it’s still not to the point where I think putting him behind the Giants’ line will yield promising results.
All of those things are manageable for a coaching staff and front office with some room to fail, but the Giants don’t have that. The team owner had to come out and say he’s not firing Daboll or GM Joe Schoen.
Having to say that out loud likely means they're on a short leash. Milroe likely won’t look good in Year 1, especially if he’s the starter right away, and the Giants’ brain trust needs to win some games immediately.
Drew Allar: Pittsburgh Steelers
Allar is another quarterback who should return to school next season, but for the sake of this exercise, let’s assume he enters the draft. If you asked someone to build the prototype quarterback prospect, they’d look something like Drew Allar.
Allar’s size and arm talent are clearly NFL caliber. He’s capable of hitting all levels of the field without much restriction (other than his accuracy). He’s done a great job managing pressure throughout his career and hasn’t turned the ball over much.
So why is Pittsburgh an excellent landing spot? If Allar comes out this season, he needs to go somewhere where the current brain trust has enough job security to let him sit for a season and then deal with the bumps once he gets on the field.
Pittsburgh will probably try to keep Russell Wilson this offseason, meaning Allar won’t be rushed onto the field in Year 1. Assuming Arthur Smith sticks around, a heavy play-action, under-center offense would be a good enough fit for Allar’s skills.
Historically, Smith has wanted his passers to target the middle of the field, and Allar has seen some success in that area at Penn State.
The Steelers’ skill positions need some work, but George Pickens is a No. 1 caliber target if his quarterback is willing to throw the ball up to him. Tight end Pat Freiermuth is a fellow Nittany Lion and a reliable enough target.
They’ve also made some considerable investments into the offense line, although some are working out better than others. Zach Fraizer and Troy Fautanu look promising, even if Broderick Jones doesn’t.
It’s not a perfect fit, but Mike Tomlin has the job security to weather the storm of Allar’s development and get the most out of him, which is good enough for me.
Garrett Nussmeier: Miami Dolphins
I’m breaking my “If a team’s quarterback plan is already set, I’ll rule that team out” rule because I think Miami will stick with Tua Tagovailoa long-term, barring a disastrous end of the season.
I’m breaking the rule because Garrett Nussmeier just screams Mike McDaniel quarterback on tape. The draft community seems split on Nussmeier. Most major analysts have him as a fringe first-rounder, while Draft BlueSky (Twitter?) has him closer to Day 3.
I haven’t done a full evaluation of Nussmeier yet, but he’s another player I would advise to return to school for another year of starting experience. That said, Nussmeier has several traits that would be best served playing for the Dolphins.
Nussmeier’s best throws are middle-of-the-field anticipation throws into tight windows, something McDaniel and Tagovailoa have lived on for the past three seasons. Also, Nussmeier is responsible for directing motion at the line and adjusting protections.
McDaniel asks Tua to do much more before the snap than people think (no team motions more than Miami since McDaniel took over), and Nussmeier has at least some experience there.
Again, I think Nussmeier should go back to LSU for another season to improve his decision-making and accuracy in the deep part of the field. Still, if he were to come out — and fall out of the early rounds — Miami would make a ton of sense.
Carson Beck: Los Angeles Rams
Beck came into the season as my top-rated quarterback, but he has regressed in almost every way this year. His decision-making has gotten much worse, and his sub-par traits have sometimes become debilitating.
That said, Beck has the tools to be an NFL quarterback — probably just not one who will save a franchise. If the Rams stick with Matthew Stafford for the 2025 season, Beck makes a lot of sense.
Working with Sean McVay is an obvious plus for Beck, as McVay has consistently proven he can get the most out of limited passers. Before the season, Jared Goff was a popular pro comparison for Beck, and McVay basically saved Goff’s career in LA.
The Rams’ heavy run game and play-action tendencies fit what Beck did at Georgia, especially when looking back to his 2023 tape. Plus, he’d be working with an offense sporting weapons like Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, and Kyren Williams.
Los Angeles and McVay would have to return to the Goff offense (less pistol looks and less trust to stand in vs. the blitz), but Beck has enough accuracy, mental processing, and arm talent to bridge the Rams into a higher upside option down the road.
For Beck, it’s hard to think of a better place for him to leverage his average tools into a starting role with any long-term potential.