In recent years, we have seen young quarterbacks take absolutely massive jumps in their second NFL seasons. Patrick Mahomes threw for over 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns, won MVP and reached the AFC Championship Game. Lamar Jackson won MVP. Joe Burrow and Drake Maye both took their teams all the way to the Super Bowl.
Year two can completely change the trajectory of a quarterback’s career. They have experienced NFL speed, gone through an entire offseason knowing what they need to improve and, ideally, watched their organization build a better team around them.
Heading into 2026, three quarterbacks from the 2025 draft class have my attention: Cam Ward, Tyler Shough and Jaxson Dart. All three showed legitimate reasons for optimism as rookies, but if I had to predict which one takes the biggest second year leap, I have a clear order.
3. Jaxson Dart
Let’s start with the quarterback who I believe had the best rookie season of these three.
Jaxson Dart took over as the Giants’ starter in Week 4 and immediately gave New York excitement at the quarterback position. He finished his rookie season with a 15 to 5 touchdown to interception ratio and was especially dangerous with his legs, scoring nine rushing touchdowns in only 12 starts.
Dart showed exactly why the Giants believed in him. He could make plays through the air, create with his legs and bring an entirely different dimension to their offense. Now he enters his second season with a full year of NFL experience and an organization continuing to build around him.
The Giants should also give him a better environment in 2026. Malik Nabers is expected back, New York added tight end Isaiah Likely and used the 10th overall pick on offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa.
So why do I have Dart third?
Because he might have the smallest leap left to make.
This isn’t me saying Dart will be the worst quarterback of the three in 2026. He could very easily be the best. But we’re not ranking who will have the best season. We’re ranking who will improve the most compared with what they showed us as rookies.
Dart already gave us a very impressive starting point. Ward and Shough simply have more room to make a dramatic jump from Year 1 to Year 2.
So putting Dart third isn’t a criticism of him at all. If anything, it’s recognition of just how good he already was as a rookie.
2. Tyler Shough
Tyler Shough might be the most interesting quarterback on this list.
He didn’t even become New Orleans’ starter until Week 9, but once the Saints handed him the job, something started clicking. Shough went 5 and 4 in nine starts, throwing for 2,256 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions while adding another three touchdowns on the ground. More importantly, New Orleans won four of its final five games.
That finish matters to me.
From the moment Shough became the starter, he ranked fourth in completion percentage and 12th in net yards per attempt, and his ability to attack downfield became particularly intriguing late in the season.
Now he gets something he didn’t have last year: an entire offseason knowing this is his offense.
New Orleans also gave him more help. The Saints added Travis Etienne to the backfield, drafted wide receiver Jordyn Tyson eighth overall and strengthened an offensive line that already had promising young talent. Put that alongside Chris Olave and Kellen Moore, and Shough has a legitimate opportunity to build on what we saw late last season.
What I saw late last season looked like a quarterback becoming increasingly comfortable in an NFL offense. If that continues over 17 games, New Orleans might have finally found its long term answer after years of searching for Drew Brees’ successor.
Shough was very close to being my pick.
But there is one quarterback whose situation changed too much for me to ignore.
1. Cam Ward
My pick is Cam Ward.
Ward’s rookie season wasn’t spectacular statistically. He threw for 3,169 yards, 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions while Tennessee struggled through another difficult season. But he also started all 17 games and showed enough flashes of his talent to give Tennessee plenty of reason to believe in its young quarterback.
And I haven’t forgotten what this guy was before entering the NFL.
During his final season at Miami, Ward threw for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns, completing more than 67 percent of his passes while becoming a Heisman Trophy finalist. He had the arm talent, confidence and playmaking ability that ultimately made him the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The talent didn’t disappear.
Now Tennessee might finally be giving him the environment to use it.
The Titans hired Robert Saleh as head coach and Brian Daboll as offensive coordinator, and Daboll is the part that really catches my attention. He has already played a major role in the development of one incredibly talented young quarterback in Josh Allen, and now his job is to help Ward take that next step.
Ward now gets an entirely new offensive system with a coach who has experience developing quarterbacks. After spending his rookie year simply adjusting to life in the NFL, he can enter Year 2 with a full season of experience and an offense designed to help him grow.
Then Tennessee went and got him some actual weapons.
The Titans used the fourth overall pick on Ohio State receiver Carnell Tate, giving Ward a legitimate potential WR1. Tate brings size, strong hands and big play ability, giving Ward the type of young receiver he can potentially grow alongside for years.
They also added Wan’Dale Robinson, giving Ward another proven receiving option who already understands Daboll’s offense from their time together in New York. Tennessee didn’t just tell Ward to improve. They changed the infrastructure around him.
That’s ultimately why he’s my pick.
Dart might already be the most accomplished of the three based on what we saw during their rookie seasons. Shough finished his first year playing some extremely promising football.
But Ward has the most room to explode.
He went from a rookie quarterback trying to find his way on a struggling team to entering Year 2 with Brian Daboll designing his offense, Carnell Tate arriving as a top five pick, Wan’Dale Robinson joining the receiving corps and an entire NFL season of experience behind him.
I’m not predicting 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns like Patrick Mahomes. I’m not saying Ward is about to win MVP like Lamar Jackson.
Those seasons are historic for a reason.
But every once in a while, a young quarterback enters his second season and suddenly everything starts making sense. The processing gets quicker. The throws come out on time. The flashes become consistent. And the player we saw dominate in college finally starts looking completely comfortable on an NFL field.
I think Cam Ward is next.
My ranking for the biggest second year quarterback leap in 2026 is Cam Ward first, Tyler Shough second and Jaxson Dart third.
That isn’t a prediction that Ward will necessarily be the best of the three. It’s a prediction that when we look back at where each quarterback was at the end of his rookie season and compare it with where he stands at the end of 2026, Ward will have traveled the furthest.
Now we get to see whether one of them can join the growing list of quarterbacks whose second season changed everything.
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