Welcome back for our second edition of the 2025 Rookie Prospect Faceoff, where we’ll compare quarterbacks Cameron Ward and Shedeur Sanders head-to-head for Dynasty purposes and potentially two guys who could be sleepers in Daily Fantasy NFL in 2025. If you missed the first article where I debated Luther Burden vs. Emeka Egbuka, you can check that out here. Ward and Sanders are generally considered the Top 2 QBs in this draft class and a tier of their own. (With Jalen Milroe declaring for the NFL Draft, one could make an argument he belongs in this tier as well, given his rushing upside.) There’s no denying this 2025 quarterback class appears to be much weaker than the 2024 class, but in Superflex formats, these two signal-callers should still be early-to-mid first-round picks in our rookie drafts, as they are both projected to be Top 10 picks in the NFL Draft. Which quarterback has better odds of becoming a difference-maker on our Dynasty rosters? Let’s find out.
Cam Ward
The fifth-year senior out of Miami had himself quite an illustrious final season, finishing fourth overall in the Heisman race behind Travis Hunter, Ashton Jeanty, and Dillon Gabriel. He posted over 4,300 passing yards and 39 passing touchdowns for the Hurricanes in 2024, adding 204 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. According to PFF, Ward finished second in the FBS in pass yards, first in pass TDs, and second in PFF pass grade (min. 100 dropbacks). This level of production through the air in the Power 4 makes Ward a lock to go Round 1 in the NFL Draft, and the NFL Mock Draft Database has him ranked as the third overall prospect (behind Travis Hunter and, you guessed it, Shedeur Sanders).
Ward has an unusual college career, playing his first two seasons at FCS program Incarnate Word. After posting some impressive numbers for the Cardinals, Ward transferred to Washington State, where he played his third and fourth seasons. Ward was initially going to declare for the 2024 Draft but ultimately felt his chances of success were better if he stayed in college one more season, transferring to Miami. By all accounts, Ward made the right decision here.
Regarding career production, Ward closed out his college career with some absurd totals. Through five seasons, Cam finished with over 18,000 pass yards and 178 touchdowns (158 pass, 20 rush). For the quarterback position, staying five years is not really seen as a red flag. If anything, the experience gives NFL teams confidence the prospect will hit the ground running, as we saw with Bo Nix and now Michael Penix Jr.
Ward’s 2024 film left me feeling fairly good about his chances of success as an NFL starter, though there were some areas of slight concern. Ward is an improviser and a playmaker at his core, really excelling when the play breaks down and he’s forced to go off-script. He won’t be averaging 5+ fantasy points on the ground next season, but he has the mobility and awareness to extend plays and make things happen through the air, similar to Patrick Mahomes. There were times when I felt Ward made poor decisions trying to force the ball into small windows where something simpler was available, and I could see Cam being a bit error-prone in Year 1. Overall, Ward isn’t going to have a Top 3 overall ceiling due to his limited rushing upside, but he could turn into a Round 1 startup pick in Superflex if he hits.
Shedeur Sanders
Shedeur Sanders has been one of the more polarizing fantasy prospects for quite some time now. It seems most people either feel this guy is a future Hall-of-Famer or destined to be the next NFL bust. Like Ward, Sanders began his career in the FCS, playing for his dad at Jackson State. He found tons of success for the Tigers, earning SWAC Freshman of the Year honors in Year 1 and SWAC Player of the Year honors in Year 2. Over his two seasons for Jackson State, Shedeur threw for over 7,00 yards and 70 TDs.
Fast forward to 2023, and Shedeur and coach Deon had moved on to Colorado in hopes of turning their football program around. The team struggled as a whole in 2023, but Sheduer was one of the few bright spots, throwing for 27 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He continued to build off that success in 2024, adding another 37 pass TDs and four rush TDs to his career totals, finishing eighth overall in the Heisman voting. According to PFF, Sanders finished third in the FBS in completion percentage, fourth in pass yards, second in passing touchdowns, and third in PFF pass grade (min. 100 dropbacks). Sanders and Ward were seemingly back-to-back in every passing statistic for this season. Hate on Shedeur all you want, but this kid produced at a high level year in and year out and helped to put Colorado football on the map.
From a film perspective, Sanders’ elite arm talent immediately stands out. He’s extremely accurate and can throw with velocity, especially on those intermediate and deep routes. Just in terms of raw arm talent, nobody in this class compares with Shedeur. He has similar mobility and athleticism to Cam Ward, where he can use his legs to elude pressure and create, but won’t be racking up rushing yards for your Dynasty teams. The biggest red flag from Sanders’ tape is his pocket presence. He tends to take far too many sacks in the pocket simply because he doesn’t sense the pressure around him. I believe he’s improved in this department since 2023, but it’s still a big concern of mine.
And the Winner is…
Both of these prospects have some excellent attributes from a real-life and fantasy perspective, but I’m taking Ward over Sanders. While I consider both to be decent processors, I trust Ward more in this department, and his rushing upside is slightly better. I do expect both to be Day 1 starters in the NFL and ultimately Top 5 picks in our Superflex rookie drafts. I believe Ward may be someone we are seriously considering as the 1.01 in our rookie drafts. (The top-end talent is not shaping up to be in the same ballpark as the 2024 class; there are likely four 2024 QBs I’d take over Ward in a Dynasty startup.) I feel Ward has a safer floor and has better odds of settling in right away.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article, and I hope you got some valuable information you can use for your fantasy team! If you’d like additional insight into Dynasty Football news and analysis, please follow me on Twitter at @jim_DFF. Until next time, keep grinding out there, DFF family! #DFFArmy #AlwaysBeBuilding
