NFL Legend Michael Irvin sees hints of Patrick Mahomes in College QB not named Shedeur Sanders

With the 2024 college football season in the books, NFL legend Michael Irvin has started to speculate about the 2025 NFL draft. On Tuesday, he appeared on "The Heard with Colin Cowherd" and spoke about how he thinks a college quarterback not named Shedeur Sanders has shown hints of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Irvin believes that Miami quarterback Cam Ward is the best quarterback in the 2025 draft class and said:

"He has the ability to do anything you need him to do in any situation. Big arm, big player, poised, you see some Patrick Mahomes stuff in him too. Nobody ever says that. I see it in him also and now all this stuff is starting to come out." (1:00-1:23)

"This dude's a great due, a great leader." (1:46-1:48)

Do NFL teams agree with Irvin, and where will Ward be drafted?

Irvin has made his opinion clear by comparing Ward to Mahomes. He believes that Ward is the best quarterback in the 2025 NFL draft class and should be taken over any other options, including Sanders. However, it is unclear whether NFL teams share that opinion.

Both ESPN and Sports Illustrated conducted recent mock drafts, which project that Shedeur Sanders will be the first quarterback to be taken off the board at the 2025 NFL draft.

However, which player gets drafted first could come down to the draft order. Miami insider Nevin Shapiro spoke on Tuesday about which teams could draft each quarterback. He said:

"I'm being told through reliable sources, Cam Ward is going to the New York Giants, guaranteed and the University of Miami's offensive coordinator is going with him, Shannon Dawson. I'm gonna tell you from what's been shared with me. Deion won't let his kid go to the Giants, so right away whether Shedeur is the better quarterback or not, that's not for me to decide."

So, who gets drafted first could come down to which team has the higher pick between the Giants and Raiders. If the Giants have the higher pick, Irvin will likely be proven right, and Ward will be the first QB draft.