Poll: Sanders tops ‘muddy’ race for first QB drafted

Pete Thamel, ESPNOct 5, 2024, 11:05 AM ET

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College Football Elder Author for ESPN. Expert for College Gameday.BERKELEY, Calif.– Nearly halfway through the college football season, there’s still a remarkable race amongst the sport’s top quarterbacks to see who’ll be first one taken in the NFL draft this spring.Heading into Week 6, there’s still 5 quarterbacks who might claim the leading spot, making this a particularly”muddy “year as one veteran scout called it. Part of that absence of conviction originates from the caliber of the quarterback crop, as it’s thought about a clearly lower-quality quarterback class than the record class of six quarterbacks drafted in the Leading 12 choices last year.ESPN polled 20 NFL scouts and executives who assess college players to see where they stood right now on the top quarterback

for the 2025 NFL Draft. The variation of responses showed telling, as Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders got 9 votes, Georgia’s Carson Beck got five and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe got 4. Both Miami’s Webcam Ward and Texas’Quinn Ewers got one vote, with Ward rising in the NFL and Ewers’standing likely harmed after missing the last two weeks with an injury.Editor’s Picks 2 Related The survey must be regraded as more of a bellwether for the unpredictability in the class and potential volatility in between now and the draft more than

any kind of

definitive predictor.Executives agreed it’s rare to have this numerous quarterbacks in the conversation and this much unpredictability around the quarterback position. There’s been unanimous sensation in scouting circles that there’s a substantial action back in top quarterback talent from in 2015’s historic haul, which isn’t a surprise. “Definitely an unusual year,”observed one veteran executive.”Undoubtedly require to see more.” Both Ward and Milroe can be considered the risers in recent weeks, as two scouted noted that they had Ward second on their current lists. Joked one veteran scout: “I’m not ready to state Cam Ward, however I wish to say Web cam Ward.”Milroe played one of his best games as a college football player versus Georgia, and there’s real momentum for him as he shows more anticipation and polish as a passer. Ward showed off his late-game magic by orchestrating a fourth-quarter comeback versus Virginia Tech on Friday night, that included a few Houdini escapes, an improbable chest pass and a fourth-down conclusion to a player on the ground.A couple of scouts selected Beck through gritted teeth, not wanting his flatline very first half against Alabama to taint him as an overall prospect.For the second-straight year, Ewers delivered a definitive road win in a renowned location versus a Top 10 group, slicing apart Michigan for three goals and 246 lawns on 24-for-36 passing. He’s expected to return next week against Oklahoma, and continue his trajectory.Typically by now, there’s some aspect of clarity in the quarterback hierarchy. In 2015, for example, Caleb Williams had actually been the presumptive No. 1 overall pick for 2 full seasons. Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud both were predicted high heading into the 2022 season.One scout invoked the 2022 draft, which didn’t see a quarterback selected till Kenny Pickett at No. 20, when referencing the muddled nature of this year’s crop. While the overall talent of this quarterback crop jobs higher than 2022, particularly offered the need at that position amid a total weak draft, it will be interesting to see when a quarterback goes off the board.A few extra scouts decreased to answer, insisting it was too early to phone. That’s also useful to the scouting process, where area scouts are studying players in their areas and nationwide scouts haven’t done all the cross examining they need to completely study all the players. General managers and higher-up executives don’t fully buy the hunting process until much later

in the year.Sanders has been productive this year and revealed an affinity for the remarkable, as he led an incredible resurgence at Baylor and has tossed 14 touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s No. 6 nationally in passing backyards with 1,630. He’s playing under longtime NFL offending coach Pat Shurmur, which has consisted of more of an advancement to an NFL-style offense.