Steelers Now
Former NFL scout Jim Nagy doesn’t believe the 2025 NFL Draft class has the same quarterback talent as previous years.
MOBILE, Ala. — There are several teams around the league that are hoping to find their next franchise quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft. Reese’s Senior Bowl executive director and former NFL scout Jim Nagy warns those teams this year may not be the year for that, however.
It would be difficult for any draft to follow up one like the 2024 NFL Draft, during which six quarterbacks were selected in the first round. But Nagy thinks this year’s top quarterbacks — Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders — don’t even come close to the level of those a year ago.
“I think there’s good depth to the class. I think there’s some good guys. I think there’s some guys that the league is still trying to figure out,” Nagy said. “It’s certainly not last year. I don’t know if anyone in this class would be in the top six of the guys last year. I don’t know if any of these guys are Bo Nix or (Michael) Penix or J.J. McCarthy. That was a unique class.”
That spells bad news for a quarterback-needy team like the Pittsburgh Steelers. The only quarterback the Steelers have signed for the 2025 season is Skylar Thompson.
Pittsburgh would also like to bring back quarterback Russell Wilson or Justin Fields, but neither have yet to show they can be the team’s long-term option.
That’s why it seems likely that the Steelers will take a shot on a rookie quarterback during Day 2 or 3 of the draft. A couple of names to watch that could continue to rise up draft boards are Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart.
“Jalen Milroe and Jaxson Dart are two guys that the league is really excited to see here,” Nagy said. “I think with Jaxson Dart, my phone probably pinged more when we announced him than any other quarterback, just because I think guys want to see him in a pro-style offense and throwing into tighter windows.”
There is still plenty of time between now and the end of April for Milroe and Dart to put themselves out of reach of the Steelers. But if not, it’s not difficult to imagine one of them ending up in Pittsburgh.
Head coach Mike Tomlin already said he doesn’t think it will take a losing season for the Steelers to land their next franchise quarterback.
“Lamar (Jackson) wasn’t taken at the top of the draft,” he said. “(Jalen) Hurts wasn’t taken in the first round.”
Just don’t be surprised if neither turn out to be the Steelers long-term option as they continue to try and find their way out of quarterback purgatory.
Alan Saunders provided reporting from Mobile.
