Quinn Ewers, Kyle McCord, Dillon Gabriel Top Landing Spots After 2025 NFL Draft Day 1

Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart and Shedeur Sanders stood out among the quarterbacks heading into the 2025 NFL draft, but there was still a secondary group that figured to be available after Thursday's first round.

Some of the names in that group are surely familiar to college football fans.

Texas' Quinn Ewers, Syracuse's Kyle McCord and Oregon's Dillon Gabriel are all options who could be available even after Friday's second and third rounds. They might not be expected to step into the starting lineup right away as rookies like Ward may be, but they can still be long-term projects who can learn behind veterans and eventually take over the offense.

B/R's NFL Scouting Department did not include any of the three signal-callers in its three-round mock draft, further suggesting they could be late-round options for teams that need depth under center.

Here is a look at some of those potential landing spots for Ewers, McCord and Gabriel.

Quinn Ewers

AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter

Ewers is no stranger to the spotlight as the No. 1 overall player in the recruiting class of 2021, per 247Sports' composite rankings, and the starting quarterback at Texas the last three seasons, but he will likely be a backup at the start of his NFL career.

But there are far worse situations for a rookie prospect to step into than learning behind established veterans who may be on the closing stretches of their own careers.

With that in mind, one team with an older starter stands out as a possible landing spot, as does another in dire need of quarterback stability:

• Los Angeles Rams
• New Orleans Saints

Matthew Stafford is the obvious starter for the Rams, but there was at least some speculation this offseason the veteran could retire sooner rather than later.

Enter Ewers, who can learn behind Stafford in the immediate future all while not threatening to take over the starting job early in his career. Perhaps that would make the veteran even more willing to teach the Texas product as a rookie, which could set him up for plenty of success down the line.

And that is all a team can realistically ask for from a mid- to late-round quarterback selection.

As for the Saints, there are plenty of injury concerns with Derek Carr at this point of the offseason. That is also nothing new after he played just 10 games last season.

If Carr did play in 2025, he could teach Ewers much like Stafford could in Los Angeles. If he isn't, the Saints would get some much-needed quarterback depth as they head into the upcoming season.

Kyle McCord

AP Photo/Rick Scuteri

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com suggested McCord can be a "backup quarterback with modest upside," which is a description that is surely intriguing to teams with realistic playoff expectations in 2025 that would need the offense to remain afloat in case of an injury to the starter.

Given that as the backdrop, look for the following teams to potentially target McCord in the later rounds of the draft:

• Minnesota Vikings
• Cincinnati Bengals

McCord didn't live up to expectations at Ohio State, especially given the talent around him, but he was more productive during his one season with the Orange after transferring to Syracuse. He threw for 4,779 yards, 34 touchdowns and 12 interceptions and led the ACC program to an impressive 10-3 record.

He has a strong enough arm to fit throws through tight windows or beat defenders over the top, which will be necessary to find success at the NFL level.

A backup who has the upside to keep a talented offense moving can sometimes be the difference between a playoff team and a disappointing one if the starter is sidelined for a handful of games. The Vikings and Bengals are both loaded with talent on the offensive side of the ball and could still theoretically thrive even if J.J. McCarthy or Joe Burrow were temporarily sidelined.

McCord is talented enough to play the role of distributing point guard if he was surrounded by the likes of Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson and Aaron Jones in Minnesota or Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Mike Gesicki in Cincinnati.

That type of injury insurance on a depth chart alone would make him worthwhile of being a mid-round pick in this year's draft.

Dillon Gabriel

AP Photo/Amanda Loman

From an upside perspective, Gabriel leaves plenty to be desired as an NFL draft prospect.

He is 24 years old, undersized at 5'11" and may not have the arm strength necessary to consistently make plays on deep balls against NFL defenses. However, he brings experience, poise and leadership to the table as someone who led Oregon to a Big Ten title and the No. 1 overall seed in the College Football Playoff.

Gabriel would be an ideal addition to a team that needs stability and a steady presence inside the quarterback room, which means multiple AFC North clubs might fit the bill as landing spots:

• Pittsburgh Steelers
• Cleveland Browns

The Browns' quarterback room has been anything but steady in recent years with Deshaun Watson's poor play and inability to remain healthy. While Joe Flacco figures to steady things to a degree in 2025, he is also 40 years old and might not play beyond the upcoming season.

Gabriel could be a welcome, veteran-like presence in the locker room for years to come even after Flacco retires. And he is also capable of keeping the offense moving on the field if necessary with his ability to spread the ball around and take advantage of openings underneath.

As for the Steelers, they have been anything but consistent under center in recent years while cycling through Wilson, Justin Fields, Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph and Mitchell Trubisky. Even if they do add Aaron Rodgers this offseason, he is not a long-term answer at this point of his career.

Gabriel is someone who could be a steadying presence in the quarterback room for years in Pittsburgh even if he isn't asked to start.