The 2025 rookie quarterback class is in the books. Eight quarterbacks got meaningful snaps. One sat behind Sam Darnold and watched his team make the NFC Championship Game. And the lesson that emerges from this chaotic season is the same one we’ve been screaming for years: rushing rookie quarterbacks rarely works.
Tyler Shough won more games than any other starting rookie. Jaxson Dart rewrote the record books but couldn’t get above .500. Cam Ward survived a brutal start and finished strong. But the smartest organization might be Seattle, who let their third-round pick develop without destroying him.
Jaxson Dart Put Up Numbers We’ve Never Seen Before
The Giants benched Russell Wilson after three games and handed the offense to their first-round pick. That gamble paid off in ways nobody expected.
Dart finished with 2,272 passing yards and 15 touchdowns through the air. Nothing historic there. But add in 487 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns? That’s unprecedented. Dart became the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to finish a season with 2,000 passing yards, 15 passing touchdowns, and nine rushing touchdowns. Only Cam Newton (14 in 2011) and Billy Kilmer (10 in 1961) have ever rushed for more touchdowns as rookie quarterbacks.
He saved his best for last. In the Week 18 finale against Dallas, Dart posted a career-high 110.2 passer rating with 230 yards and two touchdowns. A 29-yard shovel pass to Daniel Bellinger became an instant highlight. The Giants won back-to-back games to close the season.
New York hired John Harbaugh as head coach. That tells you everything about what they think of Dart’s future. His 4-8 record as a starter doesn’t reflect what this kid showed on the field. Check where Dart already ranks among all-time Giants quarterbacks after just one season.
Cam Ward Finally Looked Like the #1 Pick
Something clicked for Ward after the bye. The first 10 games were rough. Really rough. Ward ranked bottom-three in the NFL in completion percentage, passer rating, and yards per attempt through mid-November. The Titans fired Brian Callahan. The franchise looked like it had botched another quarterback selection.
Then Ward went off. In his final eight games, he accounted for 12 touchdowns against just three turnovers. His completion rate jumped to 62.4%. He became the first rookie in Titans franchise history to throw for 3,000 yards. Five straight games with multiple touchdown passes at one point. Only Dan Marino and Russell Wilson have done that as rookies since the merger.
Ward finished with 3,169 yards, 15 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He also added 159 rushing yards and two scores on the ground. The season ended with a shoulder injury in Week 18, but tests revealed an AC joint sprain that won’t require surgery.
The Titans went 3-14. Ward took more sacks than any quarterback in football. But the arrow is pointing up. Way up. Tennessee’s quarterback history is filled with guys who never figured it out. Ward might be different.
2025 Rookie QB Final Stats
| QB | Team (Pick) | Yards / TD / INT | Team Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cam Ward | TEN (#1) | 3,169 / 15 / 7 | 3-14 |
| Tyler Shough | NO (#40) | 2,384 / 10 / 6 | 6-11 |
| Jaxson Dart | NYG (#25) | 2,272 / 15 / 5 | 4-8 |
| Shedeur Sanders | CLE (#144) | 1,400 / 7 / 10 | 5-12 |
| Dillon Gabriel | CLE (#94) | 937 / 7 / 2 | 5-12 |
| Brady Cook | NYJ (UDFA) | 739 / 2 / 7 | 3-14 |
| Quinn Ewers | MIA (#231) | 622 / 3 / 3 | 7-10 |
| Jalen Milroe | SEA (#92) | 0 / 0 / 0 | 14-3 |
Tyler Shough Won More Than Anyone Else
Nobody’s talking about this, but they should be. Tyler Shough, the 40th overall pick, went 5-4 as a starter and posted the highest completion percentage among all rookie quarterbacks at 67.6%. That’s the best record of any starting rookie quarterback in this class.
The Saints were a mess. Derek Carr retired. Kellen Moore took over as head coach mid-chaos. Shough got thrown into a situation with a skeleton crew of receivers. And he responded with 2,384 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, and back-to-back 300-yard games to close the season.
At 26, Shough is the oldest rookie in this class by a mile. Seven years of college football. That experience showed. He processed NFL defenses faster than his younger counterparts. He avoided the catastrophic mistakes that plagued guys like Sanders and Cook.
Moore already confirmed Shough is the starter heading into 2026. The Saints found something. Run through the Saints quarterback rankings and you’ll see how rare it is for New Orleans to land a franchise guy outside the first round.
Cleveland Remains Cleveland
The Browns drafted two quarterbacks. Dillon Gabriel went in the third round. Shedeur Sanders went in the fifth. Both started games. Neither answered the question of who should be the guy.
Gabriel showed the most efficiency before a Week 11 concussion ended his run. In six starts, he threw for 937 yards with seven touchdowns and just two interceptions. Then he got hurt. Then he suffered a shoulder injury in December. The Cleveland fans booed him when he entered for a single play in Week 13.
Sanders flashed brilliance. His Week 14 performance against the Titans was historic: 364 yards, three passing touchdowns, one rushing score. He joined Joe Burrow as the only rookies ever to produce those numbers in a single game. But 10 interceptions in seven starts tells a different story. The turnovers were a problem all season.
The Browns finished 5-12. They still have Deshaun Watson on the books. Check out how Sanders and Gabriel stack up against the 60 years of Browns quarterback futility.
Quinn Ewers Benched a $212 Million Quarterback
A seventh-round pick making Tua Tagovailoa expendable wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card.
Ewers sat inactive for 13 weeks. Emergency third quarterback. Then Miami’s offense collapsed so badly that Mike McDaniel pulled Tagovailoa and handed the job to the 22-year-old from Texas. Ewers started three games and threw for 622 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions.
He beat the Buccaneers in Week 17 with a 63-yard touchdown bomb to Theo Wease. Miami’s longest offensive play of the season came from a seventh-rounder. The knee injury in Week 18 wasn’t serious, and Ewers has earned a shot to compete for the starting job in 2026.
The Dolphins finished 7-10. They owe Tagovailoa $54 million guaranteed next season. The Dolphins quarterback rankings tell you everything about how this franchise handles the position. This is going to get messy.
Brady Cook Survived New York
The Jets signed Brady Cook as an undrafted free agent. Then Tyrod Taylor got hurt. Then Justin Fields went on IR. Cook became the last man standing.
It didn’t go well. The Missouri product threw for 739 yards with two touchdowns and seven interceptions across five appearances. A 10.0 QBR. He looked overmatched at the NFL level, which is exactly what you’d expect from an undrafted rookie thrown into a 3-14 dumpster fire.
Cook gets credit for one thing: he kept showing up. The Jets need a quarterback badly, and the second overall pick in the 2026 draft should provide one. But Cook at least got NFL reps that most undrafted players never see.
The Smartest Rookie Never Threw a Pass
Jalen Milroe ran three offensive plays all season. Three. One carry for one yard against the 49ers in Week 1. A botched pitch that became a fumble against Tampa Bay in Week 5. That’s it.
And you know what? That might be the best thing that happened to any rookie quarterback in 2025.
The Seahawks went 14-3. Sam Darnold is playing in the NFC Championship Game. Milroe spent the entire season learning behind a quarterback who figured it out after seven years of failure. He watched film. He practiced. He developed without getting his teeth kicked in behind a suspect offensive line or in front of a fanbase demanding immediate results.
Seattle understood what most organizations refuse to accept: some quarterbacks need time. Milroe is still only 22. He has Drew Lock’s experience and Darnold’s success to learn from. When his time comes, he’ll be ready. The Seahawks quarterback history shows what patience can produce.
The Final Rankings
- Tyler Shough – Best record (5-4), highest completion rate, more passing yards than Dart, confirmed starter for 2026
- Jaxson Dart – Historic rushing numbers, 24 total touchdowns, but 4-8 record matters
- Cam Ward – Brutal start, dominant finish, first Titans rookie with 3,000 yards
- Quinn Ewers – Seventh-round pick who benched a $212M quarterback, earned a roster spot
- Dillon Gabriel – Most efficient before injury, but concussion derailed his season
- Shedeur Sanders – Flashed brilliance against the Titans, but 10 interceptions in 7 starts
- Brady Cook – Undrafted, overmatched, but at least he survived
- Jalen Milroe – Hasn’t played, which makes him the smartest rookie of all
Stats are nice. Wins are better. Shough won more games than any other starting rookie quarterback and did it with a skeleton crew in New Orleans. Dart’s numbers will get him on highlight reels. Shough’s record will get him a starting job for years.
Run any scenario through the Super Bowl Simulator and tell me how many of these rebuilding teams come out on top. The answer isn’t surprising. Dart, Ward, and Shough all showed promise. But only Milroe’s team is still playing. Check the HeyTC Daily QB Rankings to see where these rookies stand heading into the offseason.
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