Chase Daniel names No. 1 pick for NFL Draft: “A franchise quarterback”

Monday marks one month to go until the 2025 NFL Draft, a key staging post as teams look to build out their rosters for the upcoming season.

This time around there is no stand-out option for front offices looking to upgrade their options at quarterback, sparking real debate about who will be the first to go. Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders have been tipped as the top QBs of their class but there is no consensus about which will go first.

However long-time NFL quarterback Chase Daniel gives Cam Ward the edge, naming the one thing that he can do in a way that he’s “never seen before.”

“He’s got the qualities to be a franchise quarterback,” Daniel said of Ward. “I don’t think we have seen Cam Ward’s ceiling, and I do think that he can get a lot better.”

“I like what he can do, not only creating in the pocket and getting out of the pocket on the run, but when I do see him create, it’s not to run. He keeps his eyes down the field better than really anyone in this draft. I love that. You have to be able to move. But he can also do it in the pocket. He can go 1-2-3 [with progressive passes], throw a seam ball over a linebacker’s head and in front of a safety like I’ve never seen before."

But despite being high on Ward’s talent and his future in the NFL, Daniel was at pains to point out that this is not a vintage crop of QBs. In recent years the hype surrounding Bryce Young and Caleb Williams exceeded the expectations for both Ward and Sanders.

Daniel, who was a part of the New Orleans Saints team that won Super Bowl XLIV, does not expect either to have a transformative impact in 2025 but believes that they could develop into effective NFL players with the right team around them.

He explained: “This is really with any quarterback: You got to put good pieces around him. I really don’t see any of these quarterbacks elevating a franchise to a playoff level in the first year. That’s just not realistic. And I think the microscope is on these two because these two have sort of separated themselves.”

The 2025 NFL Draft will take place at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin across April 24-26. The first pick, as it stands, belongs to the Tennessee Titans who ended the 2024 season with the worst record of any NFL team. The Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers have the most picks, with 11 selections lined up for this year’s draft.

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