NFL Draft
3/4/25
6 min read
2025 NFL Draft: Jalen Milroe, Jaxson Dart, or Tyler Shough — Who Should Be QB3?
The 2025 NFL Draft race for QB3 has been one of the most heavily debated topics of this draft season.
This is my case for and against Jalen Milroe, Jaxson Dart, and Tyler Shough being the third quarterback off the board. In the eyes of the NFL, I actually think Shedeur Sanders is closer to this group than he is to Cam Ward, but I’ll assume he’s QB2 for this exercise.
My personal QB rankings:
1. Cam Ward (Early 2)
2. Shedeur Sanders (Mid 2)
3. Jalen Milroe (Early 3)
4. Tyler Shough (Early 4)
5. Jaxson Dart (Mid 4)
6. Kyle McCord (Late 4)
7. Dillon Gabriel (Early 5)
8. Will Howard (Late 5)
9. Max Brosmer (Mid 6)
10. Quinn Ewers (Mid 6)
Jalen Milroe
The Case For Jalen Milroe
Jalen Milroe is arguably the best rushing quarterback prospect of all time. He has blazing speed, immediate acceleration, and a compact build to power through arm tackles.
He didn’t run the 40-yard dash but likely would have run in the high 4.3s. Milroe also has a rocket arm and, by all accounts, has A+ character and leadership qualities. That’s a great starting point for a developmental quarterback who can sit for a year or two and refine the other aspects of his game.
Milroe has a crisp, lightning-quick release, easily generating velocity to drive the ball to the perimeter from the opposite hash. The ball explodes off of his hand and teleports from Point A to Point B.
He improved significantly in several critical areas from 2023 to 2024. He was much better at reading coverages and working through his progressions this year and went from “completely incapable” to “a work in progress” when it comes to targeting the middle of the field. He showed the ability to sync his feet with his eyes, efficiently cycle through reads, and get to his checkdown quickly to maximize YAC.
Milroe also had much better poise and confidence when climbing the pocket with his eyes downfield. He had the sudden burst to dodge pressure and escape the pocket instantly, cutting his pressure-to-sack rate from 31.9 percent to 18.5 percent in 2024.
The Case Against Jalen Milroe
Milroe had a rollercoaster season in 2024. His tape was extremely erratic, and he looked like a completely different player week to week. In Weeks 3-6 (Wisconsin/Georgia/Vanderbilt), he looked like QB1 and a future Pro Bowler.
In Weeks 7-8 (Tennessee/South Carolina), he looked undraftable, recording four interceptions, five sacks, and one fumble. He stabilized in Weeks 9-11 (Missouri/LSU), as Alabama leaned heavily on his rushing ability, and he looked like a developmental dual-threat quarterback who could go late first round.
In Weeks 13-14 (Oklahoma/Auburn), he showed a bit of everything, recording three rushing touchdowns, three fumbles, two pick-sixes, and five big-time throws. He finished the year with an awful performance vs. Michigan in the bowl game.
Despite his arm strength and velocity, he’s mostly a one-speed, one-level passer. He struggles to layer the ball with touch and doesn’t have a flexible/loose release to make throws from a variety of arm slots. His ball placement is spotty across the board, particularly on short and intermediate throws to the sideline. Deep ball accuracy was his biggest strength in 2023, but it regressed in 2024.
He also still has plenty of room to improve his coverage processing and become more consistent when progressing to his second and third reads on time.
He has a tendency to ignore hook defenders widening to the flat, allowing them to undercut hitch routes (Oklahoma Pick-6/Michigan interception). He also has had 24 fumbles in the last two years, and, depending on who is measuring, his hands are very small.
Jaxson Dart
The Case For Jaxson Dart
Jaxson Dart has the most consistent ball placement in this class. He’s a sharpshooter with pinpoint accuracy at every level of the field.
He can also make difficult throws from unbalanced platforms and irregular arm angles. He’s a natural thrower with a smooth release who layers throws masterfully over the middle of the field to attack trailing linebackers. He also throws hole shots with optimal placement and trajectory.
Dart has some juice as a scrambler or designed runner, recording 1,915 rushing yards since transferring to Ole Miss. His arm is pro-caliber, and his size is adequate, especially compared to other top quarterbacks in this class.
The Case Against Jaxson Dart
There’s very little on Dart’s tape that translates to the NFL. He’s primarily throwing to wide open space or deep 1-on-1 matchups, and he was rarely asked to challenge tight windows or account for multiple defenders at once.
Even though most of the answers are schemed up for him, he’s still late to identify where to go with the ball. Dart’s ability to process and make anticipatory throws within a pro-style scheme is a complete unknown, and he’ll likely require at least one redshirt year to develop that skill set.
His inability to navigate pressure is also very concerning. When he feels pressure, he immediately drops his eyes, abandons his downfield reads, and either scrambles or takes a sack. While he’s flashed the ability to dodge pass rushers and bolt away from traffic, he’ll need to learn how to climb the pocket with his eyes up.
Tyler Shough
The Case For Tyler Shough
Tyler Shough’s reel of deep passes from 2024 is as impressive as any quarterback's in this class. He has a massive arm and can push the ball 55-60 yards downfield with precision.
When his footwork is clean, he throws an accurate and catchable deep ball. Shough has prototypical size and height but isn’t a complete statue. In 2024, he had the lowest pressure-to-sack rate in the Power-4 (8.9 percent) and has the arm elasticity to get the ball to his checkdown on command.
The Case Against Tyler Shough
Shough’s tape is essentially a collection of 20-ish impressive throws and mediocre down-to-down quarterback play. He lacks precision as an intermediate passer and frequently forces his target to break stride on slants and quick in-breakers.
He struggles to control ball placement within five yards, often sailing checkdowns and screens over his target’s head. He also has a terrible habit of drifting or fading away on deep passes, even when he has plenty of room to step into the throw.
Shough is uncomfortable working through progressions and sometimes lingers on his first read for the entire dropback. Many times, he stares at his first read until the pass rush closes in and then hits his checkdown at the last second.
He lacks the rhythm, timing, and command of the field to throw with anticipation, and his receivers are often waiting for the ball at a complete standstill when he should be targeting them right out of their break.
His overall lack of polish as a pocket passer is concerning, given his age and extensive injury history.
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