The drafts have been nothing short of wild this year. The Packers broke their tradition after 23 years and went for a WR in the first round. Browns doubled down with 2 QBs, and 2 additions each to offense and defense. Titans chose the best QB available and loaded up on some major weapons for him as well. Raiders doubled down on QBs, too. This year was supposed to be a bad one for the QBs. Despite that, 14 QBs got picked to join the ranks of NFL pros. Starting with Titans’ Cam Ward and going all the way to Dolphins’ Quinn Ewers.
And the Steelers finally have answers to their QB problems. Everybody thought Steelers HC Mike Tomlin would go for a QB in the first round, but boy were they all wrong! He kept us at the edge of our seats, adding more strength to the roster in every round until finally they picked a QB in the 6th round, Will Howard. As for the 49ers, they had 11 picks in the 2025 NFL Drafts, and in the 7th round, they took a chance on Kurtis Rourke, adding a 4th QB to their roster. And since we’re talking about quarterbacks, 8 teams, together with Mike Tomlin and 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan, have totally flipped the script on draft averages from the last 10 years.
According to NFL Analyst Fran Duffy, the QB draft average in the last decade was very different from what we saw this year. Teams went out of their way to add more depth to defense and offense instead of going all in with the QBs in the first round. The first round only saw 2 QBs getting picked, Cam Ward and Jaxson Dart. Day 2 saw three picks. And the remaining rounds on Day 3 saw a massive nine QBs signing. In the past decade, the first day average was 3.5, the second day average was 2.0, and the last day’s average was 5.7. But this year, eight teams chose nine QBs in the later rounds. Talk about breaking traditions.
Quarterback
Total Drafted = 13
10-year Avg = 11.2
5-year Avg = 11.4
Day 1 Drafted = 2 ( 3.5 avg last 10 years)
Day 2 Drafted = 3 (2.0 avg last 10 years)
Day 3 Drafted 8 (5.7 avg last 10 years)
— Fran Duffy (@FDuffyNFL) April 27, 2025
There were a lot of teams that needed new QBs. Some for long-term solutions (Giants), some to add depth to their QB roster (Raiders), and some to get a chance to win the Super Bowl this year (Titans). Despite all this, with the exception of Titans, everyone waited till the later rounds to go for the quarterbacks. Maybe this signals a changing trend in the NFL drafts? Or maybe it simply means the teams chose to address their bigger needs first before fishing for QBs.
With the draft finally behind us, we can now look towards the teams, and they will work with their new members. The San Francisco 49ers, and the Pittsburgh Steelers for instance, have a lot of work laid out ahead of them.
Will the 49ers and Steelers’ QB decisions spin their Super Bowl tales?
Let’s talk about the Steelers. Mike Tomlin finally has a new QB. Phew! Right? Their QB room already has Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson. With Will Howard joining the fray, that still leaves room for one more, as per the Steelers’ ‘4-QB plan’. The Steelers “may get word soon” on the whole Rodgers deal, so maybe they are still holding out for him. In the meantime, they have a new talented quarterback in Howard. Mike Tomlin himself likes how Howard helped the Buckeyes face challenges last season, “It’s really what NFL football is about. There’s going to be some adversity – How you respond to it defines you and your football team, particularly from the quarterback position.” How he polishes and preps him for the big leagues will remain to be seen as we go on.
And what about the 49ers then? With Kurtis Rourke, his torn ACL surgery from January is a cause for concern. But the 49ers don’t seem too bothered by that. HC Kyle Shanahan only has high praise for Rourke. “I loved his size, love how he throws, loved how he plays the position, especially watching him this year – I don’t think it was a coincidence how good of a year they had with the type of quarterback they had. And to know he did it the whole year with a—he had a broken finger, a torn ACL, and still, was really, really impressive.” They’re giving him the chance to prove himself on the gridiron once he recovers. Brock Purdy, Mac Jones, and Tanner Mordecai (potentially) can hold the fort and teach Rourke the ropes. And he’s eager to get back on the field for sure.
Both the Steelers and the 49ers will be going all-in to develop their new QBs. Their guaranteed talent explains their selection, of course. But how they shape up in their new teams is what remains to be seen now. Exciting times are ahead as we look forward to a brand new season loaded with unmatched talent hungry to prove their worth.
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