Ranking Top 5 Sleeper Teams Most Likely to Target a Quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft

We're less than a month out from the 2025 NFL draft, and there's no shortage of uncertainty surrounding the early rounds. What we can be assured of, though, is that quarterbacks will be drafted on the first two days, possibly several of them.

When it comes to QBs, the NFL has a supply-and-demand problem. That's why signal-callers headline the pre-draft process, are often overdrafted and often get overpaid in free agency.

We saw six quarterbacks drafted in the first round last year, and while this year's class isn't considered nearly as deep at the position, we probably won't see a repeat of the 2022 draft, where only four quarterbacks were taken before Day 3.

The candidates for top prospects Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders are fairly obvious. Whether another QB prospect goes on opening night and which teams could make a surprise selection—there is almost always a stunner—are more of a mystery.

Here, we'll examine five sleeper teams that could be in play for a quarterback on Days 1 and 2, dive into their current situations and rank the likelihood that each will flip the switch on a quarterback pick in 2025.

The Obvious Connections

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Colorado QB prospect Shedeur Sanders

Ward is the top-ranked quarterback on the Bleacher Report Scouting Department's big board and is widely expected to go to the Tennessee Titans at No. 1 overall.

Tennessee appears ready to turn the page on the Will Levis experiment, and the only notable addition it made to the QB room this offseason has been career backup Brandon Allen.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Titans will still consider trade offers but have become impressed with Ward.

Sanders is ranked nine spots lower than the Miami product on the B/R draft board but could easily be a top-three draft pick.

The Cleveland Browns finally appear willing to move on from the Deshaun Watson disaster, and he's coming off of a pair of Achilles tears anyway. The Browns own the No. 2 pick and currently have recent trade acquisition Kenny Pickett as their projected Week 1 starter.

The New York Giants could also be in play for Sanders at No. 3, even though they added Jameis Winston on Friday and Russell Wilson on Tuesday. The former signed a backup-level two-year, $8 million deal, while the latter inked a one-year, $10.5 million contract.

Neither Winston nor Wilson appears to be a long-term answer in New York, so quarterbacks will garner early consideration.

The New York Jets and New Orleans Saints also loom as teams that could make a play for a quarterback in the top 10 or make a deal with Tennessee to move up to No. 1.

The Jets signed Justin Fields to a two-year, $40 million contract, but the 2021 first-round pick has yet to solidify himself as an above-average NFL starter. The Saints got a chance to audition young quarterbacks Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler last season, and both largely disappointed.

New Orleans employs Derek Carr as its starter, but he could be a 2026 cut candidate barring a wildly successful season. Releasing the 33-year-old with a post-June 1 designation next offseason would save $50 million in cap space.

These are the five teams most likely to make an aggressive play for Ward or Sanders, but sleeper teams could enter the mix or make a move for the draft's QB3 later on Day 1 or on Day 2.

Ohio State's Will Howard, Mississippi's Jaxson Dart and Alabama's Jalen Milroe are the next three QBs on the B/R board. While none of them carry a first-round grade, it only takes one team to pull off a surprise.

And draft surprises are common when it comes to signal-callers. The Baltimore Ravens traded back into Round 1 to take Lamar Jackson in 2018 despite having a Super Bowl-winning quarterback in Joe Flacco. The Atlanta Falcons used the eighth overall pick on Michael Penix Jr. last year despite adding Kirk Cousins earlier in the offseason.

One of the following teams could look to make a similar move in next month's draft.

5. Miami Dolphins

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Dolphins GM Chris Grier

Barring a massive turn of events, the Miami Dolphins won't be using the 13th overall pick on a quarterback—should Ward or Sanders somehow fall to that spot, it could be a different story.

The Dolphins gave starter Tua Tagovailoa a four-year, $212.4 million extension last offseason, and they just added 2021 first-round pick Zach Wilson to be his backup.

However, taking a quarterback on Day 2 might not be out of the question. Wilson only signed a one-year deal, and Tagovailoa has an extensive injury history.

Tagovailoa's four documented concussions serve as the biggest concern, but he's missed time with other injuries as well. He was limited to 11 games in 2024, and Miami's vaunted offense crashed during his absence.

While Tagovailoa is a Pro Bowl-caliber signal-caller when healthy and at his best, Miami, perhaps more than any other NFL team, must invest in its backup spot. If Wilson isn't to be the team's long-term backup, searching for one in the draft would be logical.

According to C. Isaiah Smalls II of the Miami Herald, the Dolphins spoke with Milroe and Oregon's Dillon Gabriel about the team's backup job at the Senior Bowl.

Milroe, in particular, is a prospect teams such as the Browns and Giants might hope to land on Day 2 if they target another position in the top 10. But there's a chance they could have competition from Miami.

4. Indianapolis Colts

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Colts head coach Shane Steichen

Just two offseasons ago, the Indianapolis Colts used the fourth overall pick on quarterback Anthony Richardson. Unfortunately, his future with the team already appears uncertain.

Injuries and poor play have led to the Florida product appearing in only 15 games over two seasons. He's gone 8-7 as a starter but holds a passer rating of just 67.8. The elite athletic upside that made him such an intriguing prospect remains, but the Colts are ready to see results from behind center.

General manager Chris Ballard made it clear entering the offseason that Richardson would face a quarterback competition this offseason.

"It'll be open," he said in February. "And of course, it's got to be somebody that can really challenge from a production standpoint."

For that competition, Indianapolis added former Giants starter Daniel Jones, signing him to a one-year, $14 million deal.

The Colts don't appear likely to draft a quarterback early because that would essentially mean giving up on Richardson after only two seasons. Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen likely hope Jones will push Richardson during the offseason and only start if absolutely necessary.

However, if the Colts are truly serious about finding their long-term answer at the position, adding a rookie to the competition could be an option that is on the table.

Let's not forget Steichen was the Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator when Jalen Hurts emerged as their starter in 2021 and was with the franchise when it traded Carson Wentz to the Colts.

Hurts was drafted just four years after Philly used the second overall pick on Wentz. The coach will know the importance of continuing the search for a franchise quarterback if you don't believe you already have one.

Another factor to consider is that if Richardson busts out in Indianapolis, Ballard and Steichen could both be in serious danger of losing their jobs—that is, if they don't stumble into a new starter the way the San Francisco 49ers did with Brock Purdy.

According to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, the Colts already have a top-30 visit set with Texas QB prospect Quinn Ewers. If that's a smokescreen appointment, it's an odd one.

They probably won't target a quarterback at 14th overall, but they could take one earlier than most expect.

3. Las Vegas Raiders

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Raiders head coach Pete Carroll

There are a few reasons to believe the Las Vegas Raiders won't seriously consider a quarterback at No. 6 overall. The first is that they traded for Geno Smith just before the start of free agency.

Smith is now reunited with new Raiders head coach Pete Carroll, who will turn 74 in September and presumably wants to win sooner rather than later. That's precisely why targeting a veteran made sense.

And, unlike some other teams on this list, the Raiders have a dependable young backup in their quarterback room. Aidan O'Connell hasn't played well enough in his two seasons to solidify himself as a long-term answer, but he hasn't been a total disappointment, either.

O'Connell, who has a 7-10 record as a starter, can win a game or two if needed. He also has two years remaining on his rookie contract, making him a cheap backup option.

While the Raiders have yet to extend Smith, who is entering the final year of his contract, an eventual agreement still appears to be in the works.

"I don't think there's a holdup. It's more of just negotiation," Breer recently wrote. "I also don't think the Las Vegas Raiders move to land Smith without a strong feeling they could find common ground on an extension."

Smith will turn 35 in October, though, and there's no guarantee Las Vegas views him as more than a two- or three-year option.

According to The Athletic's Tashan Reed, the Raiders haven't ruled out drafting a quarterback in April. That could mean drafting a QB on Day 2 or trading back into Round 1 to secure the fifth-year option.

It could also mean taking Sanders should he fall to No. 6 overall. The Raiders have more pressing needs after adding Smith, but so did the Falcons when they took Penix last year.

Other prospects make more sense at No. 6—the B/R Scouting Department paired the Raiders with LSU lineman Will Campbell in its latest mock draft—and they don't need to take a quarterback at all.

The Raiders could still be one of the biggest wild cards when it comes to this year's quarterback class.

2. Los Angeles Rams

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Rams GM Les Snead

The Los Angeles Rams won the Super Bowl in 2021, and due to some savvy drafting, it would appear their championship window is again open. They were the only team to even come close to hanging with the Eagles during the 2024 postseason.

Arguably the biggest piece to the puzzle is quarterback Matthew Stafford, and the Rams worked to keep him in the fold this offseason. After originally giving the quarterback permission to speak with other teams about a possible trade, L.A. agreed to a restructured contract instead.

"It's fun to be a little bit of a part of their team now," Stafford said, per Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times. "Just happy to be able to do those kinds of things, and it's fun to be around a bunch of young guys that love playing the game and love playing together."

With Stafford happy and under contract, there's no chance the Rams will select another quarterback early next month, right? Not so fast.

On one hand, using their early selections—including the 26th overall pick—to address more pressing needs would improve L.A.'s chances of making a 2025 run. But head coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead can't ignore the fact that Stafford is 37 and is still only signed through 2026.

Stafford and the Rams appear to have a year-to-year agreement that could end as soon as next offseason. The franchise's current succession plan leaves plenty to be desired.

Jimmy Garoppolo is a spot starter at best, and Stetson Bennett has yet to appear in a regular-season game.

If the Rams are confident Stafford will play through his current deal, they may opt for a late-round prospect like Gabriel or Syracuse's Kyle McCord rather than targeting a prospect like Dart or Howard early.

Of course, it's fair to wonder just how confident the Rams can be about this not being Stafford's final season in L.A.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers

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Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin

The Pittsburgh Steelers were the only team to use a first-round pick on a quarterback in the 2022 draft. They landed on Pickett but jettisoned him after two seasons.

It became clear that he wasn't in a stage of his development to take the Steelers deep into the postseason. That became a problem because, while Pittsburgh hasn't experienced a losing season under Mike Tomlin, it hasn't won a playoff game since the 2016 season, either.

The Steelers went the veteran route last season, but the tandem of Wilson and Fields wasn't good enough to earn that elusive playoff victory.

"We've had enough of this," franchise owner and team president Art Rooney II said in January, per ESPN's Brooke Pryor. "It's time to get some wins."

It appears Pittsburgh will go with a veteran again in 2025, with the hopes that it will finally make an extended postseason run. While the Steelers and Aaron Rodgers haven't put pen to paper yet, a source told ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio that it's a "safe bet" a deal will eventually get done.

If Rodgers is cemented as the starter before the draft—with Mason Rudolph as his understudy—the Steelers could easily look to use their first few selections to target players who can help now. The franchise's patience is clearly running thin, and the 41-year-old would almost certainly like to end his career on a high note.

None of that, however, may prevent Pittsburgh from using a high pick—possibly even the 21st overall selection—on a quarterback if the right one is available.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported on SportsCenter (h/t Bleacher Report's Doric Sam) that the Steelers are likely to draft a quarterback "high" in 2025 or 2026, even if they land Rodgers.

Could that mean using a first-round pick on a signal-caller this year? If the Steelers love a prospect like Howard or Dart, perhaps.

Their offseason moves to this point—trading for DK Metcalf, signing Darius Slay, pursuing Rodgers—suggest they're looking to go all-in on the 2025 season. Of course, common sense suggests Rodgers isn't a long-term answer at the game's most important position.

If there's a sleeper team that might pull off an aggressive move for a quarterback early in the draft, it's Pittsburgh. And if the Steelers ultimately whiff on Rodgers, they won't be sleepers at all.