Omar Navarro

Welcome to Part 2 of our 2025 draft preview series, which will be a position-by-position look at key prospects and where the Chargers roster stands ahead of the NFL Draft. This series will include a look at which prospects could be options for the Chargers later this month.

We chatted with ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid to break down the quarterbacks in this draft class. Reid can be found on X/Twitter@JordanReidfor his analysis.

Chargers status at quarterback

Justin Herbert, Taylor Heinicke

The Chargers still boast one of the best quarterbacks in the league.

Justin Herbert may not have had the gaudy stats he had in other seasons, but he was as efficient and tough as ever in Year 5 wearing powder blue.

Herbert in 2024 finished in the top 10 in passing yards, quarterback rating and pass EPA while growing into the unquestioned leader of the team.

The 27-year-old finished the regular season with just three interceptions on 504 passing attempts, an interception percentage of just 0.6 percent the second-fewest picks and second-best interception percentage in NFL history by any player in a season (min. 450 attempts).

His TD:INT ratio of 7.67 ranks eighth all-time among quarterbacks who threw at least 15 touchdown passes in a season.

Herbert, who played through multiple injuries last season, including a severe ankle sprain, still took a step in his career and generally thrived in Year 1 under Head Coach Jim Harbaugh.

The Bolts also brought back Taylor Heinicke in free agency to serve as the team's backup in 2024.

The Chargers landed Heinicke in a trade last August, sending what turned out to be a 2025 sixth-round pick to the Falcons.

Heinicke appeared in four games last season and will once again a veteran presence in the quarterback room behind Herbert. He is one of the top backup options in the league, especially due to his dual-threat ability on the field.

Is it a position of need?

No.

Herbert will be the Bolts top guy under center for the foreseeable future as the 27-year-old signal caller continues to be one of the NFL's best quarterbacks.

They also have the second spot behind Herbert locked up for 2025 with Heinicke, who is one of the backups in the league with the most experience in the pros.

However the Bolts do only have two quarterbacks under contract, and Reid believes they could opt for a quarterback late in this year's draft or even as an undrafted free agent that could eventually develop into a "long-term backup."

Key Questions for 2025

1. Where do you think Herbert ranks among the NFL's top quarterbacks?

"He hasn't had a lot of postseason success to this point, so that's really what's missing for him to be that fifth guy [in the QB conversation]. It's kind of a back and forth of who you feel is that fifth-best quarterback in the league behind Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and Joe Burrow. That fifth guy, whether it's Jalen Hurts, Herbert, he's another guy who could be in contention with that along with Hurts If Herbert can go on to have any semblance of postseason success, he definitely could be a strong contender for that."

2. What do you think of this year's quarterback draft class from top to bottom?

"It's not a strong quarterback class. We were spoiled with last year's group with six guys going inside the top 12 picks. It's definitely not that class, but it's not as bad as the 2022 class, in my opinion. It's not as bad as that one. In my honest opinion, it's a little bit better than that year. Overall there's just not a ton of depth throughout the class."

3. Who is a possible undrafted free agent you like for the Chargers?

"Cam Miller from North Dakota State. Good arm, you saw it in the first game against Colorado where they almost ended up winning. He was really competitive in that one. He can play from under center, he can play from shotgun, really accurate, a big-time competitor as well. It would be surprising if he does go undrafted, I think he has a chance to go undrafted in the seventh round. But if you're able to get him as a UDFA, I definitely think that would be a really good pickup for them."

Expert rankings

NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah currently has three quarterbacks in his latestTop 50list, as does ESPN's Mel Kiper, Jr., in hisTop 25.

The Athletic's Dane Brugler has six quarterbacks in his most recentTop 100list, with the highest coming in at No. 15 (Cam Ward).

Pro Football Focus has three quarterbacks in the top 100 in theirBig Board Rankings, with a high of No. 21 (Ward).

Potential Chargers options

Note: Heights and weights are from each player's profile on NFL.com (linked for each player's name).

Dillon Gabriel

School:Oregon| Year:Senior| Ht:5-foot-11| Wt:205 pounds

2024 stats:14 games, completed 326 of 447 attempts (73 percent) for 3,857 yards with 30 touchdowns and six interceptions; rushed for seven touchdowns.

Quick fact:Gabriel was a Heisman Trophy finalist and ended his collegiate career as the FBS all-time leader in total touchdowns (189) and second in FBS history in career passing yards (18,722) and total yards (19,931).

Kyle McCord

School:Syracuse| Year:Senior| Ht:6-foot-3| Wt:218 pounds

2024 stats:13 games, completed 391 of 592 attempts (66 percent) for 4,779 yards with 34 touchdowns and 12 interceptions; rushed for three touchdowns.

Quick fact:McCord shined in his lone year at Syracuse, setting the ACC all-time passing record (4,779) and set new program records for completions (391), attempts (592), passing yards (4,779) and touchdown passes (34).

Riley Leonard

School:Notre Dame| Year:Senior| Ht:6-foot-4| Wt:216 pounds

2024 stats:16 games, completed 269 of 403 attempts (66.7 percent) for 2,861 yards with 21 touchdowns and eight interceptions; rushed for 906 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Quick fact:Leonard helped lead the Fighting Irish to the National Championship and won the Offensive MVP award in both the quarterfinal and semifinal games during the tournament.

Kurtis Rourke

School:Indiana| Year:Senior| Ht:6-foot-4| Wt:220 pounds

2024 stats:12 games, completed 222 of 320 attempts (69 percent) for 3,042 yards with 29 touchdowns and five interceptions; rushed for two touchdowns.

Quick fact:Winner of the Jon Cornish Trophy given annually to the top Canadian player in NCAA football, Rourke led the Big Ten with 176.0 rating and was under center for the Hoosiers run to their first College Football Playoff appearance.

Reid's take:"The toughness is something that you love about him, the accuracy is another thing and just how quickly he matured on that level. You lead the team to the College Football Playoff, that says something especially coming from Ohio to your first year at Indiana. The toughness that he has, the smarts, the football IQ that he has and also the frame. That's something a lot of NFL teams are going to love."