Heading into the NFL offseason, there was a belief that the 2025 NFL Draft class was short of top quarterback talent. Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders were, and still are, widely considered the top two prospects at the position.
But after a bumper year in 2024, both Ward and Sanders were considered lesser prospects than all six of last year’s first-round quarterbacks.
That’s not the opinion of former NFL quarterback Kurt Benkert, though, who has claimed that one 2025 quarterback prospect is better than all but one of 2024’s class.
Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders Follow Historic 2024 Quarterback Class
The 2024 NFL Draft saw six quarterbacks selected in the first round, tying the record set in 1983. While it’s uncertain if the 2024 class will produce three Hall of Famers like the 1983 class did (Jim Kelly, John Elway, and Dan Marino), all six players enter 2025 as their team’s starting quarterbacks.
Jayden Daniels led an incredible turnaround for the Washington Commanders, who went from a 4-13 season in 2023 to the 2024 NFC Championship Game. Bo Nix also led the Denver Broncos to the playoffs, while Caleb Williams and Drake Maye, despite struggling behind poor offensive lines, showed flashes of potential.
J.J. McCarthy was expected to start for the Minnesota Vikings, but his season ended before it began due to a preseason meniscus tear. Meanwhile, Michael Penix began the season as a backup to Kirk Cousins, but he took over late in the year and is expected to keep the starting job moving forward.
However, the high hopes and expectations surrounding the 2024 quarterback class stand in stark contrast to those for the 2025 group.
Both Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders are widely expected to be drafted within the top three picks of the 2025 NFL Draft due to positional need, but many believe there are better options available and that both players could be considered a reach if selected that early.
Kurt Benkert Ranks Ward and Sanders Against the 2024 Quarterback Class
That wouldn’t be the opinion of Benkert, though, who has ranked one quarterback in the 2025 class ahead of almost all of the 2024 rookies. Responding to a post that questioned where Ward and Sanders would have ranked in 2024, the former NFL quarterback gave a surprising answer.
According to Benkert, Ward would have ranked as the second-best quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft behind only Daniels. In a social media post, Benkert wrote, “Jayden, Cam, Caleb, Nix and Penix (interchangeable), Maye, Shedeur, McCarthy in that order.”
The post received mixed reactions online, with some praising his take, while others were shocked to see the likes of Maye and McCarthy so far down the list. Ward has seemed to separate himself from Sanders recently as the No. 1 quarterback in the 2025 class, and Benkert appears to see a significant gap between the two prospects.
In another recent post, Benkert labelled Sanders “a dime a dozen,” suggesting that the player’s Colorado teammate, Travis Hunter, should be taken ahead of him in the draft. It seems increasingly likely that Sanders’s future will remain a mystery until his name is called. Ward, however, looks increasingly likely to walk the stage first in Green Bay.