For most leagues, fantasy football season ended a little over a month ago.
For some, the fun is largely just beginning. “Dynasty” or “keeper” fantasy football leagues are becoming more popular as NFL fans shift to a year-long, macro outlook of the league by retaining their favorites stars and players every year.
The most important aspect of these leagues is the yearly rookie draft. You’ll cut a few underperformers from the roster to make room for incoming rookies as the potential stars of tomorrow. Just last season, teams could have gone from the bottom of the league to the top with selections of Jayden Daniels, Bucky Irving, or Ladd McConkey.
Because most of these leagues are “superflex” or two-quarterback formats, some managers desperately need to add a quality signal-caller to the roster. Before the NFL combine, who should we expect to prioritize in a rookie draft this summer?
Dynasty 2025 Rookie Quarterback Rankings
Also make sure to check out Jim Sannes’ full statistical analysis of quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft.
1. Cam Ward, Miami (FL)
Though his true ceiling might be unknown, Cam Ward is easily the most “sure” thing in this year’s draft.
In addition to running more of a pro style offense with the Miami (FL) Hurricanes, Ward posted three consecutive FBS seasons with at least 475 attempts and 3,200 passing yards. As a Heisman finalist in 2024, he finally made it to pro scouts’ radars with an 88.7 QBR (second in FBS).
Ward’s 6’2″ frame is the best among potential first-rounders, and he had 204 yards and 4 touchdowns on the ground this year to show some movement ability beyond his creative playmaking behind the line of scrimmage.
Though his touch isn’t elite, he’s in the 96th percentile of Jim’s model for a reason. It helps that he appears destined to go to one of three franchises with an offensive coach and decent weapons. The New York Giants, with Malik Nabers as a top-shelf playmaker down the field already, would probably be the best spot for his fantasy value.
2. Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss
As a surprise to likely many, Jaxson Dart turned in Jim’s highest model rating of any quarterback this year. I placed him seventh overall in my latest 2025 NFL Mock Draft. Are we forcing a hot take?
Absolutely not. The proof is squarely in the pudding. At 21 years old, Dart was fourth in QBR (86.3) and posted 11.5 adjusted yards per attempt (YPA). He was outstanding in an upset of a Georgia Bulldogs defense littered with NFL talent.
Dart was also one of the biggest winners at the Senior Bowl in Mobile two weekends ago. He scored a touchdown with his legs, which — combined with 11 rushing TDs in his two seasons for the Mississippi Rebels — arguably makes him the best rushing threat of the top-three prospects for fantasy football purposes.
If he indeed is the QB3 off the board (or later), Dart is also probably heading to the best team of a first-round quarterback. Don’t be afraid to pluck him off the board if Ward is gone.
3. Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
As a Colorado Buffaloes alum who owes Shedeur Sanders for the only decent football from my alma mater since graduating, it’s still more than fair to put him here.
Sanders’ athleticism might be underrated as Deion’s son, but he still hasn’t shown the tendency — or possesses the frame — to be a running QB in the NFL. He’s a pocket passer, which hurts his upside in fantasy football.
However, he’s a darn good one. Shedeur’s 71.4% completion rate is the highest in FBS history. His QBR and ranking in Jim’s model slips due to sack concerns. They were his fault a decent chunk of the time, but context is still pretty key when you consider his team was a 1-11 program before he transferred to CU. The NFL pedigree doesn’t hurt, either.
The Las Vegas Raiders are a popular mock draft spot for him. A quarterback-needy dynasty team could do a lot worse than an entrenched starter throwing Brock Bowers‘ way in the back half of Round 1.
4. Will Howard, Ohio State
Coming off a national title, Will Howard is trying to throw his hat in the mix as a top quarterback selected in May.
Howard’s four-game tour through some of FBS’ toughest defenses resulted in a 75.2% completion rate and 287.5 yards, 2.0 touchdowns, and 0.5 interceptions per game. He was outstanding, but he’ll — justifiably — get dinged for being entirely surrounded by first-round talent at almost every position with the Ohio State Buckeyes.
He’s also almost 24 years old, and his completion rate was 11.8 percentage points higher this year than any other season.
Still, I could see a desperate team giving Howard the keys as a Day 2 pick. He’s also got the ability to run, per 576 rushing yards and 16 rushing scores in his last two seasons. If the top-three guys are gone, Howard is the next-best option when balancing short-term opportunity and long-term upside.
5. Jalen Milroe, Alabama
Where would what we know about Anthony Richardson now — with a weaker arm — go in this year’s rookie draft?
That’s why it’s hard to get crazy excited about Jalen Milroe, a guy with arguably the best fantasy upside of any signal-caller so far. Milroe’s 726 rushing yards and 20 rushing scores last year show he’s ready to ace the “rushing” part of a dual-threat QB in the NFL right now.
The problem is the passing part. Milroe threw 11 picks and finished his career completing fewer than 50.0% of his passes in two of his last three games. His hand size came in suboptimal, and The Ringer’s Todd McShay believes he lacks natural accuracy.
Howard is the unofficial starting point of where you could get absolutely nothing out of a QB pick, and those concerns are worse here. I’d be hard-pressed to pull the trigger on Milroe before Round 3 — but there’s no denying the potential reward if he improves as a passer.
6. Dillon Gabriel, Oregon
There’s one potential destination that would bump Dillon Gabriel to my No. 4 quarterback.
To me, Gabriel’s NFL doppelgänger is Tua Tagovailoa as a slightly smaller, less athletic version. A lot of the strengths are the same; he’s a quick processor of the field with awesome footwork. Senior Bowl velocity measurements were — if not false — pretty encouraging about his arm strength.
We’ll see if the Miami Dolphins are on board. Tagovailoa’s injury history seems ripe for Miami to take a swing at a high-upside backup quarterback, and Gabriel’s physical limitations aside, his 86.4 QBR and 9.7 adjusted passing YPA last season were really solid.
A similar type of offense that’s masked Tua or Brock Purdy‘s physical limitations would be ideal, but the 24-year-old has done his part in the early pre-draft process.
7. Quinn Ewers, Texas
Before the season, Quinn Ewers was floated as a potential first-round pick. An injury-plauged 2024 didn’t help him maintain that.
Ewers started just 10 games in a regular season where the Texas Longhorns towered over most of their competition. However, a look at this completion rates against the very best, NFL-talent-rich defenses he faced this year shows the true story. He didn’t crack 60.0% in either matchup with Georgia, and he was at 59.0% against Ohio State.
His strip sack against the Buckeyes says a lot about him as a prospect. He just doesn’t have a good feel for the pocket, surrendering multiple sacks (and 15 total) in every game from the SEC Championship onward. With minimal mobility, that’s a non-starter for me despite arm talent that’s better than quite a few of these guys in front of him.
However, that arm talent could result in a Day 2 selection from a team that sees the glass half-full rather than half-empty. That path to starting is more realistic than anyone behind him on the list, but I’m avoiding the prospect when possible.
8. Kyle McCord, Syracuse
I find Kyle McCord‘s perceived rise fascinating. He was just so different at Ohio State than he was with a Syracuse Orange offense littered with NFL talent.
In 2023 with OSU, not much was asked of him. He exceeded 30 attempts just three times, which led to improved efficiency: 9.1 YPA and an 83.7 QBR. That still led to Ryan Day bringing in Howard to start over the senior, which is why he transferred.
McCord’s 78.6 QBR and 8.1 YPA with Syracuse were lower, but it was leading a pass-heavy offense where he led FBS in passing yards (4,779). I actually saw this campaign as significantly more impressive.
From a fantasy perspective, he’ll have an uphill battle to start right away, and -65 rushing yards each of the last two seasons shows he’s not really a threat with his legs. I think we’ve reached the portion of the dynasty rookie draft where these guys will all go undrafted.
9. Riley Leonard, Notre Dame
FantasyPros’ Derek Brown had a comparison for Riley Leonard that was hysterical. It was as if Josh Allen had Blake Bortles‘ arm and Daniel Jones‘ decision-making ability.
Impact moments from all three in the NFL does lead to an intriguing case for the 22-year-old, and there are intangibles that NFL teams dream about that comes with a selection of Leonard.
However, you can’t ignore how much the Notre Dame Fighting Irish hid Leonard after a two-interception game that led to a loss against the Northern Illinois Huskies. For the entire season, Leonard’s 7.3 adjusted YPA were not ideal, but he added 906 yards and 17 touchdowns with his legs.
Jim’s model plucked out Dak Prescott a similar prospect by age and college stats, and like Leonard, Dak was in a run-first offense for Dan Mullen with the Mississippi State Bulldogs and proved to have the intangibles and arm talent to do more.
Leonard isn’t overly relevant in this space yet, but if my NFL team needed a backup quarterback, I’d be fine with him over Ewers or McCord.
10. Brady Cook, Missouri
We’re sort of off the relevant board, but if there’s one guy I don’t think is getting a fair shake in Jim’s model, it’s Brady Cook of the Missouri Tigers.
The model looks at 2024 stats, and Cook’s were somewhat ugly. He averaged just 8.3 yards per attempt, but it was due to an early-season ankle issue that just never got better. Without the ability to extend plays, Cook’s YPA dropped from 9.0 in 2023 to 8.3 in 2024.
He showed that to be correct in December’s bowl game, posting an 86.6 QBR and 9.0 YPA after some time to heal against a solid Iowa Hawkeyes defense.
As a fantasy prospect with an opportunity, Cook’s 319 rushing yards and 8 scores two years ago are also extremely appealing.
At 23, Cook is on the older side, but he was brilliant two years ago before a down year. I’d much rather take a chance on his modest production in the SEC this year than other older guys from weaker conferences like Tyler Shough or Kurtis Rourke. I wonder if an NFL team will do the same.
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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.