Jalen Milroe, Drew Allar among rising QBs already generating NFL Draft buzz

The 2024 NFL Draft featured a record six quarterbacks among the first 12 picks, yet the never-ending search for talent at the position remains. 

Entering this year’s college football season, several signal-callers — like Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, Texas’ Quinn Ewers and Georgia’s Carson Beck — had already gained significant traction with NFL scouts. Through the first month of the season, they remain among the top prospects at the position.

But if recent NFL draft history has proven anything, it is that we should expect there to be a few quarterbacks to seemingly come out of nowhere to join the preseason favorites as legitimate early round candidates.

With the season just beginning, here are some rising draft-eligible quarterbacks (listed alphabetically) already generating buzz among NFL scouts. 

Boasting an ideal blend of size, arm strength and an aversion to interceptions — he began his career by setting an NCAA record with zero picks among his first 311 passes — Allar is an easy choice to begin this list. He enters Week 3 with a sterling 34/3 touchdown to interception ratio over the first 25 games of his career. He has also greatly improved his completion rate in 2024, sitting at 64.9% despite the depth of his passes jumping to a career-high 11.4 yards per attempt.

There is no denying that Allar’s production is influenced by Penn State’s scheme, but Allar’s traits are undeniable. A year ago, some thought I was crazy for suggesting that Michigan’s JJ McCarthy might be the first Wolverines’ quarterback to be drafted in the first round since his then-head coach Jim Harbaugh (Chicago Bears, 1987). Penn State hasn’t produced a first round signal-caller since Kerry Collins (Carolina Panthers, 1995), but the prototypically-built Allar flashes that kind of upside.

Given that he currently leads the FBS in both passing yards (795) and passer efficiency rating (247.37), any list of rising quarterback prospects must include Dart, who began his college career at USC prior to leading the Rebels to their first 11-win season in school history. The appropriately named quarterback is an ideal fit in Lane Kiffin’s up-tempo offense, slicing up opponents with accurate passes to all levels of the field and showing vision and athleticism on the move, as well. The level of competition is certainly going to jump in the coming weeks, with Dart thus far exploiting the likes of Furman and Middle Tennessee, but the accuracy and agility he’s putting on tape translate, regardless of the opponent.

Speaking of jumping up in the level of competition, Green is making a colossal leap from Boise State in the Mountain West to the mighty SEC, but he hasn’t appeared fazed by the transition yet, completing a career-high 61.8% of his passes and generating five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) in two games for the Razorbacks. A lanky, loose athlete with impressive speed and a cannon for an arm, Green has a unique combination of traits that any coach would love to develop. Don’t be surprised if Green starts generating some Anthony Richardson comparisons in the coming months.

Currently tied for the national lead with eight touchdown passes through just two games, McCord’s switch from Ohio State scarlet and grey to Syracuse Orange has proven a masterstroke, thus far. He is completing passes at an outstanding 69.6% clip and doing it without the exceptional receiver talent that some used to explain away his 24/6 touchdown/interception ratio last year, his first season as the Buckeyes’ starter. McCord may not be as athletic as some of the other quarterbacks on this list, but he’s shown outstanding anticipation and accuracy downfield so far this season, routinely throwing his receivers open. Sure, it’s early, but no list of rising quarterback prospects is complete if McCord isn’t included.

Traits personified, Milroe may boast the highest upside of any quarterback potentially available in the 2025 NFL draft, which is precisely why he made my far-too-soon first round mock. The elusiveness, acceleration and compact frame have already earned comparisons to former No. 1 overall selection Michael Vick. I see some notable differences from Vick, with Milroe remaining very much a work in progress as a deep ball passer (one of Vick’s many strengths). Too often, Milroe simply launches the ball, hoping Alabama’s talented wideouts can run under them. However, as he matures as a quarterback, Milroe is already developing a greater awareness of the impact that his legs have on the defense, luring opponents near only to rifle the ball past them to waiting receivers. And make no mistake, Milroe can make every NFL throw. If he develops as a pocket passer under new head coach Kalen DeBoer like I think he will, the sky is the limit.

With all due respect to the barrage of state rivalry games out West this weekend, easily my favorite game of Week 3 is the showdown in Madison between the aforementioned Milroe and the Crimson Tide against Van Dyke and an underrated bunch of Badgers. From a pure athleticism perspective, Van Dyke couldn’t be much different from Milroe. When healthy, however, the former Miami standout has also shown next-level accuracy, including when he is on the move. The fact that he has thrown just one touchdown pass over Wisconsin’s first two games (Milroe has five) may lessen Van Dyke’s profile, but not the amount of attention he receives from NFL scouts. 

Van Dyke enters the contest with 34 games of experience and a 63.5% completion rate along with 55 career touchdown passes. I like his grit and accuracy when forced to reset his feet. After struggling with durability and consistency, Van Dyke needs to perform well against the Crimson Tide and, frankly, the entire 2024 season, but he’s higher on NFL boards than you might think.

Last, but certainly not least on this list is Ward, who has arguably enjoyed the flashiest start to the 2024 season of any quarterback in the country, Even in this bizarre era of the transfer portal, Ward is notably well-traveled, coming to Miami after productive stops at both Washington State and Incarnate Word, where he showcased the same brand of elusiveness, vision and accuracy that has helped Miami climb to No. 10 in the current AP rankings. He is completing passes at a ridiculous 75.4% clip, with six touchdown passes (and another as a runner) against just one interception over the first two games of the season, wowing with his creativity and touch. He’s got a snappy release that generates plenty of zip on the ball, despite his average size. And unlike many of the others on this list, Ward’s success has come against quality competition, including a stellar showing in The Swamp to knock off state rival Florida in Week 1.

Rob Rang is an NFL Draft analyst for FOX Sports. He has been covering the NFL Draft for more than 20 years, with work at FOX, Sports Illustrated, CBSSports.com, USA Today, Yahoo, NFL.com and NFLDraftScout.com, among others. He also works as a scout with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League. Follow him on Twitter @RobRang.

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