Cam Ward looks set to be the first name called in the NFL Draft is what is considered a poor quarterback class.
The first five passers taken in 2024 — Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Michael Penix Jr., J.J. McCarthy and Bo Nix — would have been in contention for the No.1 pick this year.
Shedeur Sanders and Jaxson Dart have both been touted as first-round options in the 2025 edition — beyond that, the picture gets murky.
All the signal-callers behind them have obvious red flags but every so often a bargain emerges from the later picks with Tom Brady, Brock Purdy and Russell Wilson proving to be diamonds in the rough.
This year’s dark horse could be Louisville QB Tyler Shough.
He used all seven years of eligibility — increased due to the coronavirus pandemic — and will turn 26 during his rookie season.
Shough’s age will put a look of teams off — it is unusual for older prospects to make it in the NFL.
But his arm talent cannot be denied and the passer enjoyed his best season after transferring to the Cardinals from Texas Tech in 2024, throwing for over 3,000 yards and 23 touchdowns to just six picks.
The Athletic’s Dianna Russini told the Scoop City podcast that a current NFL head coach called Shough ‘better than Ward’ and the Class of 25’s best passer.
As well as his arm, the Louisville star had a good pressure-to-sack ratio in 2024 (9.3 percent) — the ability to avoid sacks is a trait that often leads to success at the next level.
Often coming off the board in the third round in mocks, a team may decide to take a chance on Shough, especially after Penix — another older prospect — performed well after taking over from Kirk Cousins with the Atlanta Falcons.
ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. had him going to the New York Giants with the 34th selection in a recent mock — a potential match made in heaven with the opportunity to learn behind Wilson and Jameis Winston.
Instagram / @jordanshoughShough proposed to Jordan Wormdahl in an NIL partnership[/caption]
GettyWard is expected to join the Tennessee Titans[/caption]
The NIL era is dramatically changing college sports and the NFL hopeful took advantage of the changes to help him propose to his long-term girlfriend.
In an unprecedented move, Shough partnered with a Texas company, Thacker Jewelry, to plan the moment he popped the question to Jordan Wormdahl in 2022.
He reportedly told the former Oregon soccer star that they were doing an NIL photoshoot in Cabo and then proposed using a ring that Thacker helped him design.
Per Boardroom, the styling and photography for the shoot was also done via NIL deals.
It proved to be a success as Shough and Wormdahl celebrated their one-year anniversary weeks before the draft.
“I knew I wanted to propose to her soon,” he told Boardroom.
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“I knew there were some local jewelers around, so I just wanted to talk to them to see if there was any interest.
“They were very skeptical at first because they’d never done it before, either.
“But I was like, ‘Hey, would you guys be interested in working together? I can post it throughout the whole process, give the pictures a tag, shout you out.’
“The whole process was very nerve-racking for me. I was probably more nervous than I was playing football just because I was trying to make sure everything went smoothly.”
Shough has already signed the most important long-term deal of his life, now it’s time for a rookie contract.
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