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2025 NFL Combine

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Daniel Jeremiah sees 'some separation' between top QBs; other takeaways from draft call

DANIEL-JEREMIAH-MOODYS

The 2025 NFL Draft kicks off in just over two months.

NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah held his annual pre-combine conference call this week, where he answered questions from reporters from all across the country.

Jeremiah covered a wide variety of topics, including, of course, the top quarterbacks in this year's draft class.

Miami's Cam Ward and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders are widely considered to be the top two signal-callers in the draft. In his original ranking of this year's top 50 draft prospects, Jeremiah had Ward at No. 10 and Sanders right behind him at No. 11. However, in the next edition of his prospect rankings, set to be released next week, the draft analyst said he will have some separation between the two.

"When I first watched the quarterbacks, I stacked them right next to each other, and they're totally different in terms of their strengths and weaknesses," Jeremiah said on the call when asked about how the two quarterbacks fit in with the Giants and Jets. "The more that I've done, the more I've kind of created some separation, and that will be reflected when the top 50 comes out next week, the updated top 50.

"I like Shedeur. I think Shedeur is -- when you look at the things he does really well, the accuracy, anticipation, toughness, he just keeps getting up after taking a beating, but some of the other things that Cam has, he doesn't have, which is just a little bit more twitch in his body. He has a more live arm. I think he's more equipped to play in that division, in that stadium, in that environment that you're going to get with weather. I think Shedeur makes more sense just as relying a little bit more as a touch thrower than a power thrower."

The 2024 NFL Draft saw six quarterbacks get selected within the first 12 picks, which tied the 1983 record for most QBs taken in the first round.

Of course, Jeremiah was asked where Ward and Sanders would rank among last year's first-round quarterbacks.

"I always tend to be a little bit more let's chase the up side a little bit when we're up there," Jeremiah said about the teams selecting at the top of the first round. "That's the direction I would go. When you look at this group compared to last year, I'll just pull up my list from last year, I had him -- I had Cam Ward with the same grade as Bo Nix, so that would put him behind the top four for me, so he would be in the fifth range.

"Michael Penix I had just slightly ahead of Shedeur, so Shedeur would be behind those guys, behind Caleb, Drake, Jayden, McCarthy, Nix, Penix. Then I would have Shedeur right behind that group."

NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah released his initial ranking of the top 50 prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft.

In his first mock draft, Jeremiah has the Titans selecting Ward first overall and then the Giants passing on Sanders at No. 3 for his teammate at Colorado - cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter. In this situation, Jeremiah believes the Giants will address the quarterback position by adding a veteran before the draft, and then supporting that experienced quarterback with the talented two-way player.

Speaking of Hunter, Jeremiah gave the Heisman Trophy winner glowing praise during the conference call.

"Travis Hunter is like someone took -- someone went to the Philadelphia Eagles and took Devonta Smith and Darius Slay and spun him around in a circle and they came out as the same human being. He's unique," Jeremiah stated.

Hunter is Jeremiah's No. 2 prospect in his initial top 50 ranking, behind only Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter, although the two appear to be rather close.

"I have a very similar grade on Abdul Carter and Travis Hunter," Jeremiah said. "I have Abdul Carter a little higher than him, and it's such a premiere position."

With Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty landing at No. 3 in Jeremiah's ranking, the next defensive prospect is Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham at No. 4.

Graham was named Unanimous All-American this past season, one year after being selected as second-team All-American and the Rose Bowl Defensive MVP. The talented defensive tackle played a crucial role in Michigan's run to the College Football Playoff National Championship that season, so it should come as no surprise that Jeremiah is rather high on the young tackle.

"Mason Graham, gosh, he's so fun," Jeremiah said. "I watched him on tape and I fell in love with him, and then I got a chance to go to their game against Oregon. A bunch of personnel guys and GMs down on the field. We're walking down there, and I see Mason Graham walk by. Of course, he is next to Kenneth Grant, his teammate, who it looks like he's a cartoon character. He's an Adonis how big he is. I'm looking at Mason Graham and body type, and I'm, like, gosh, maybe I need to adjust my grade. Maybe I'm just too high on this guy.

"Then I proceeded to watch the game, and I was, like, nope, nope, he's just really, really good. So I hope people don't overthink it with him as we get to the spring and kind of the further we get away from football, but he's got crazy, elite leverage, balance, and instincts. You can see there's a wrestling background there. He's just never on the ground. He gets underneath guys. I just wrote down when I was looking at my notes, I had "block destruction" written down so many different times. He's just a real aggressive player who has got instincts and can dominate the game against the run, and I think has more to offer as a pass rusher."

View photos of the Giants participating at the NFL Combine.

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