With the 2025 NFL Draft on the horizon, there are a number of quarterbacks that have already established themselves as names to know. Drew Allar, J.J. McCarthy and Quinn Ewers, all sons of the transfer portal, are out there lighting it up this season. Their unusual skill sets and spectacular performances are turning heads. Each one has different strengths and weaknesses that will shape the way they ascend or descend their draft stock.
Drew Allar, the emerging superstar quarterback from Penn State, has been lauded and vilified. Standing tall with a prototypical size and a cast type arm, he’s a general physical presence on the field. His accuracy has dropped this season. In fact, he’s only managed to complete more than 60% of his passes in one game in 2025. This lack of a singularity makes scouts and analysts nervous across the board.
Drew Allar’s Performance Analysis
On a good day, Allar can be a player who throws for 400+ yards on you. In 2024, he threw for a whopping 4,052 yards and 29 TDs, demonstrating that he has the ability to be a difference-maker. Yet for all of these achievements, he fails at accuracy too. His percentage of off-target throws is 13%, improving him to 98th in the FBS. This one statistic shows a seriously disturbing trend. This led to Allar often making throws too high or too low for his targets.
In crucial moments, Allar has demonstrated resilience. He’s completed 54.3% of third-down attempts this year—the best percentage in the FBS. But challenges remain. When under actual pressure, he’s been sacked six times and only thrown a 38.2% completion percentage. For example, these figures indicate that while Allar can thrive when he has a clean pocket, he will struggle when under duress from a rush.
“The biggest issue is that he looks good against the low- and middle-tier teams, but he just hasn’t had that signature performance any time that he plays against the elite ones,” – AFC assistant general manager.
J.J. McCarthy’s Development
Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy is another one that’s flying up boards among NFL scouts. He’s played terrific growth this season, especially when facing pressure. When not under duress and planted, McCarthy gives you a 75.7% completion percentage, meaning he can make the right reads and cut it loose when necessary. When he needs to move beyond his starting launch point, his performance drops off a dramatic cliff. That’s why his adjusted completion percentage drops to 57.1%. This discrepancy under pressure begs the question of his overall flexibility in changing and fast-paced game environments.
Support from a strong receiving corps has played no small part in McCarthy’s success this year. Smith has benefited from a drastically improved offensive environment, allowing him to breakout and develop a new confidence in his skills. For various reasons, analysts view enormous potential in McCarthy. At the same time, they recognize that he needs to develop enough resilience to withstand tougher coverages.
“He’s grown on me a lot over these past few weeks,” – AFC area scout.
Quinn Ewers and Other Contenders
Quinn Ewers (Texas) has turned into a big-time prospect himself after transferring in from Boise St. Ewers quickly established himself as the Razorbacks’ starter after transferring to Fayetteville in 2023. Unfortunately, recent performances have exposed some red flags that may torpedo his draft prospects. One of the major knocks against him has been his penchant to hold the ball too long. This hesitation in processing can be fatal, particularly when playing against some of the great defenses that prey on such misplays.
In the meantime, quarterbacks like Arch Manning are building their resumes for 2025, when they’ll be eligible to enter the NFL draft. Manning’s playmaking ability, the ability to produce an average of 11.2 air yards per passing attempt, is fourth-best in the FBS this season. His unique telegraphed mechanics combined with a side-arm motion result in a higher 17.9% off-target percentage. That’s one of the highest strikeout rates we’ve seen among MLB draft prospects this year.
“I like his skill set, but that offense just isn’t helping him grow right now,” – NFC director of scouting.
Moreover, talents such as Brock Hoover must work to overcome their deficiencies prior to turning pro. Hoover’s overconfidence in his arm has been the cause of unnecessary turnovers on the pursuit of high-risk tosses through traffic.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s the first play of the game or a deciding play in overtime, his heartbeat remains the same,” – AFC scouting director.
Leave a Reply