In all, 13 quarterbacks were selected at the 2025 NFL Draft. While all eyes are specifically fixated on some of the more notable signal callers from this year's class, like first-rounders Cameron Ward and Jaxson Dart, along with former Colorado star Shedeur Sanders, the preseason allows us to see a bunch of them in action. Over the first weekend of exhibitions, 11 rookies suited up for their respective teams. 

Of course, similar to their path through the NFL Draft, the missions each of these quarterbacks are embarking on this summer vary. For someone like Ward, the No. 1 overall pick out of Miami, he's ramping up to start Week 1 for the Tennessee Titans. Meanwhile, Dart, despite being the only other first-round quarterback taken, is using the preseason as a developmental period as he's set to sit behind veteran Russell Wilson, which is a situation more familiar to the rest of the class. 

For those set to work in a backup role once the regular season kicks off, the preseason is a small window to flash their talents on the field, upping the stakes within games that hardly have stakes at all. 

Below, we're going to highlight all of the 11 rookie quarterbacks who played this week and rank their performances. For an added bit of spice, we're going to include Minnesota Vikings signal-caller J.J. McCarthy in this group, given he's a quasi-rookie after the 2024 first-rounder was sidelined all of last year due to injury.  

• Draft status: Round 6 (No. 197 overall)
• Stats: 7 of 14 passing for 27 yards and three interceptions; 9 yards rushing on one attempt

It was a nightmarish debut for the sixth-round product out of Florida. On top of completing just half of his pass attempts after coming in midway through the third quarter against Minnesota, he tossed three interceptions on three consecutive drives to end the day offensively for Houston. Sheesh. While one of his turnovers was due to the ball being batted at the line of scrimmage, Mertz's third interception was the most egregious. The sixth-rounder sailed a pass well over his intended receiver deep down the middle of the field, which allowed Vikings corner Kahlef Hailassie to make the easy interception. 

• Draft status: Round 6 (No. 181 overall)
• Stats: 1 of 5 passing for 8 yards and one interception

McCord just didn't look comfortable when he came in for Philadelphia during the fourth quarter of its exhibition with the Cincinnati Bengals. He held the ball too long at times, which allowed pressure and forced him to dance in the pocket. His lone completion was a quick, high percentage throw at the sticks. Overall, he didn't display much touch with any other attempts, and it looked like the game was moving a bit too fast for him. 

• Draft status: Round 7 (No. 231 overall)
• Stats: 5 of 18 passing for 91 yards, four sacks taken and two fumbles lost

Ball protection was a massive issue for Ewers in his preseason debut. The Dolphins quarterback came in midway through the third quarter after Zach Wilson relieved Tua Tagovailoa, who played just the opening drive. Ewers' first drive was a Dolphins three-and-out, and his second featured a brutal strip-sack fumble inside the Miami 5-yard line. That gave Chicago the football on the doorstep of the end zone. 

With an opportunity to set up a game-winning field goal, Ewers was again pressured and sacked, which resulted in him coughing up the football with less than 30 seconds to play in regulation. 

Most of Ewers' completions came while Miami was in the hurry-up offense before the second fumble. On the day, he connected on just five of his 18 pass attempts. 

• Draft status: Round 6 (No. 189 overall)
• Stats: 12 of 24 passing for 92 yards and one interception; 34 yards rushing on four attempts

All of Indianapolis is looking a bit further up on the Colts quarterback depth chart as Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones duke it out for the Week 1 job. That said, Leonard put together an adequate performance in his debut. He played the entire second half and was able to lead Indy on a touchdown drive on his second possession of the preseason. It was during that drive that he showed his rushing ability, scrambling for a 21-yard gain to get the Colts to the Baltimore 5-yard line. Before that, he also sparked the drive with a 24-yard gain through the air on a completion to wideout Laquon Treadwell. 

His lone interception came with just over 7:30 left to play in regulation. The pocket quickly collapsed around him, and instead of dumping it down to his running back, who was leaking out on the right side of the field, he tried pushing the ball deep. He was hit when he threw, and the ball came up short and fell into the arms of a Ravens defender. 

• Draft status: Round 2 (40th overall)
• Stats: 15 of 22 passing for 165 yards, two sacks taken, one touchdown and one interception (pick-six); 3 yards rushing on one attempt

It was a hot-and-cold performance from Shough, who is still battling with Spencer Rattler for the starting job. The second-round rookie was the second quarterback up in the preseason opener against the Chargers after Rattler got the start. Shough came in and was able to lead New Orleans on its first scoring drive of the day, marching 52 yards on 10 plays to set up a 31-yard field goal. However, Shough and the offense went three-and-out on the next possession, and then the rookie threw a pick-six where corner Eric Rogers jumped the route on a throw intended for Dante Pettis. 

Shough did rally on the ensuing possession after the pick, uncorking a 54-yard touchdown pass to Mason Tipton, who broke free deep down the left side of the field. 

Again, there were highs and lows from Shough, but he was efficient overall, completing 15 of his 22 passes.

6. J.J. McCarthy (Minnesota Vikings)*

• Draft status: Round 1 in 2024 (No. 10 overall)*
• Stats: 4 of 7 passing for 30 yards; 8 yards rushing on one attempt

McCarthy wasn't bad by any stretch, but his 2025 preseason debut was largely unremarkable given how short a time we saw him. He started and played just a single series before calling it a day. The Michigan product led the Vikings on a 13-play scoring drive that concluded with a 48-yard field goal. McCarthy's longest throw of the day came on an 18-yard completion to Jordan Addison. It wasn't the best ball as it was a little out in front of Addison (who had to make a diving reception), but McCarthy did show nice poise on the throw with a defender in his kitchen. 

Overall, it was a solid first showing from McCarthy since coming off his season-ending knee injury in 2024, albeit a brief one. 

5. Cameron Ward (Tennessee Titans)

• Draft status: Round 1 (No. 1 overall)
• Stats: 5 of 8 passing for 67 yards 

Similar to McCarthy, we didn't see all too much of the No. 1 overall pick in his preseason debut. Of course, given that Ward and McCarthy are both earmarked to start Week 1, it makes sense they were given shorter leashes in a game where the final result meant next to nothing. 

With that said, Ward did seem to settle in after an opening three-and-out. During his second and final series of the night, he orchestrated an 11-play, 65-yard touchdown drive where his budding chemistry with top wideout Calvin Ridley flashed. The two connected on all three of their passes for 50 yards on the scoring drive. 

However, it wasn't perfect for the former Miami quarterback, as he threw a near-interception to corner Josh Hayes, who simply couldn't make the catch for the turnover. Still, in general, Ward seems quite comfortable. 

• Draft status: Round 3 (No. 92 overall)
• Stats: 6 of 10 passing for 61 yards; 38 yards rushing on three attempts

If you didn't watch Milroe at Alabama, his mobility is probably what stood out to you most in his Seahawks debut. After taking over to begin the second half, he took off on his first pass attempt after his initial reads were covered and picked up 11 yards on the ground. He also had a dazzling 27-yard run deep in his own area. 

However, it's Milroe's arm that will make or break his NFL career. Most of his pass attempts on the night were modest, high-percentage throws. That said, he did have a really impressive throw to fellow rookie Ricky White III, where he threaded the needle over the middle of the field. 

He's still extremely raw as a passer, but it's throws like the one above that give him a sky-high ceiling, especially if he starts to hit them with regularity. 

• Draft status: Round 6 (No. 215 overall)
• Stats: 6 of 7 passing for 76 yards and a touchdown; 4 yards rushing on one attempt

Before we get into Miller's performance, let's emphasize that we're highlighting how each of these quarterbacks performed simply when they were on the field this weekend. Of course, some signal-callers will have easier sledding than others, particularly if they took the field late in preseason contests where they were playing against reserves rather than playing earlier and against defenders higher up on the depth chart. 

With those caveats out there, it's hard not to like what we saw from Miller when he got under center with just under 10 minutes to play in regulation for the Raiders. He completed all but one of his seven pass attempts, and the North Dakota State product helped shake his wide receiver loose with a pump fake en route to a 41-yard touchdown throw. 

Miller also put the Raiders in position to win their preseason exhibition, leading the offense on a five-play, 31-yard drive with less than 25 seconds to play in regulation. He got Las Vegas to the Seattle 37-yard line to set up a possible 55-yard game-winning field goal, but the attempt was blocked. Still, it was quite an effort from the sixth-round rookie. 

• Draft status: Round 5 (No. 144 overall)
• Stats: 14 of 23 passing for 138 yards and two touchdowns; 19 yards rushing on four attempts

With Joe Flacco resting, along with Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel sidelined with hamstring injuries, Sanders made the most of his opportunity. The Colorado quarterback got the start for the Browns in their preseason opener and played essentially three quarters, heading to the bench after leading a touchdown drive with just under four minutes to play in the third. In that time, he certainly played well enough to warrant possibly moving up the depth chart, completing 14 of his 23 pass attempts for 138 yards and two touchdowns. 

Sanders showed a strong ability rolling out to both his left and right throughout the evening, including during his first touchdown throw of the game. He rolled out left, got his feet set and delivered a dime to Kaden Davis for the score, threading the ball between multiple defenders. 

Arguably his most impressive throw came on a 30-yard completion to Luke Floriea. Sanders rolled out right and delivered an in-stride pass to Floriea despite having a defender in his face. It was also a great one-handed effort by Floriea. 

It wasn't perfect for Sanders, however, as he came out a little sluggish for the second half and nearly threw an interception in the second quarter on a pass into a high amount of traffic. But even with that, it was the type of showing that should only endear him to the coaching staff going forward through the preseason.  

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Cody Benjamin

• Draft status: Round 1 (No. 25 overall)
• Stats: 12 of 19 passing for 154 yards and a touchdown; 24 yards rushing on three attempts

Dart had the most impressive outing of any rookie quarterback in my mind because he was going up against some of the Buffalo starters and performed well in that settling. The Ole Miss product came in after Russell Wilson got the start and played the opening drive. In all, Dart was in the driver's seat for three scoring drives on his four first-half possessions. Dart looked comfortable in the pocket, made tight window throws, and when the pressure started to get home, he showed off his mobility with 24 yards on the ground. 

His best play of the day was by far his 28-yard touchdown pass to Lil'Jordan Humphrey. On top of hitting his receiver in stride, Dart completed the pass despite a defender crashing towards him and taking a hit. 

After seeing Dart's debut, it's hard not to be excited if you're a New York Giants fan.