“I Don’t Think Any QB in This Draft Is Worth Trading Up For”: Chase Daniel Urges NFL Teams Not to Reach for Shedeur Sanders & Co.

These 2024 NFL playoffs have proven just how few reliable and elite QBs there are in the NFL. There has never been more of a premium on this position than right now. Unfortunately for the few QB-needy teams picking at the top of the 2025 NFL Draft, the crop of passers coming out of college this year is decidedly weak. For most, trading up for a QB should be off the table.

One of those questioning the quality of the class is former backup NFL QB Chase Daniel. He is not only warning teams about trading up for one of these young signal callers but also pushing for teams to maybe wait until Day 2 to select their franchise QB. However, Daniel does concede that if a team must trade up, it should be for Cam Ward—not Shedeur Sanders.

“I don’t think any quarterback in this draft is worth trading up toward. If there were a quarterback you’d trade up for, it’d be Cam Ward… There’s going to be some of those guys, those middle level guys, where you don’t have to reach for it. And if you get a guy in the 4th round like a Dak Prescott, I’m not saying there is anything like him out there, but like a Jaxson Dart to me is really interesting, a Riley Leonard is really interesting,” Daniel said on the latest episode of Scoop City.

Daniel’s argument is that, since there isn’t a sure thing at the top of the draft, teams might as well take the best player available and wait until the middle rounds to try and find a hidden gem like Dak Prescott or Brock Purdy. Daniels believes there are several QBs in that vein. Some of the ones he mentioned include Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard, Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart, and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe. He also pointed out that not every rookie QB has to start “right away.”

“These guys don’t have to play right away, they can sit, but you can probably see that upper level talent show up every once in a while. That’s where I would feel comfortable, or like a Quinn Ewers, you know what I mean… Even like a Jalen Milroe, I know he’s up and down throwing the ball, but if you draft him in the 4th round-5th round, he’s a freakish athlete. Something like that would be interesting to me.”

The media is certainly down on this QB class, but what do the decision-makers in the front offices of the teams at the top of the draft really think? Well, some might make you believe they’re pretty pumped about the class. Kinda.

Browns GM disagrees with assessment of this NFL draft class

The Cleveland Browns finished tied for the worst record in the league at 3-14, but they will get the No. 2 overall pick by virtue of losing a strength of schedule tiebreaker to the Tennessee Titans, who have No. 1. They obviously need a quarterback, so the fact that this is a weak class is a stroke of bad luck.

The Deshaun Watson saga is unlikely to be revisited, Jameis Winston can only be fun for a few weeks before the turnovers do your head in, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson has thrown one TD versus 10 INTs in his 15 games as a pro. With that kind of QB room, it’s no wonder Browns general manager Andrew Berry is trying to throw cold water on the idea that this is a weak class.

Berry pointed out that many of the QBs playing on Divisional weekend during these NFL playoffs were not top draft picks. Patrick Mahomes was selected 10th overall, Josh Allen No. 7, Lamar Jackson near the end of the 1st round, and Jalen Hurts in the 2nd.

“I think sometimes that narrative gets a bit overblown. It’s not like everyone that plays quarterback went No. 1 or No. 2. I think it’s more about, ‘Hey, does this individual have a skill set that you can build a high-level offense around? And are you committed organizationally to put the pieces, coaching players, support structure to do that?’”

Berry was attempting to build up this class. But he was kind of proving everyone’s point: that there are no elite QBs at the top of the draft. Berry is talking about finding a diamond in the rough later on in the draft. That would imply this class isn’t all that great after all, and that the Browns might go best-player-available until as late as Day 3.

The comparisons with Jackson and Hurts weren’t exactly apt, either. Sure, those guys slid and were drafted pretty late with respect to how good they’ve been in the NFL. However, there were four QBs selected ahead of Jackson in 2018, and the same goes for Hurts in 2020. They only slid because they were part of such strong classes. That doesn’t apply here.

Nonetheless, Berry is confident that he will be able to find his guy at some point during this draft. We just don’t know if it will be on Day 1, Day 2, or Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft festivities in Green Bay.