It’s time for the final installment of our QB rankings for 2025. I felt we could publish them because, at this point, I don’t think Drake Maye or Sam Darnold’s play in the Super Bowl will affect their spots. They’ve both proven where they should be ranked.
As a reminder, these rankings are not just based on 2025 performance. They are based on a heavy reliance on 2025 performance, but for some QBs with years of performance and equity, that impacts where they are slotted. It’s looking at all aspects
of their performances, past and present, to make definitive rankings as to where these QBs are in relation to their peers. The other numbers are now they were slotted throughout the season.
1. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (Prev: 1 preseason, 1 at the quarter pole, 1 at midseason, 1 at 75%)
Mahomes will enter the 2026 season on thin ice for the number one spot. If Josh Allen had stormed to the Super Bowl, Mahomes might have finally been unseated, but after his performance against Denver, Mahomes still has the top spot and needs to re-establish his dominance in 2026.
2. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (2, 2, 2, 2)
Allen was making a strong case for the top spot down the stretch, but you can’t unseat the king after that performance against Denver.
3. Matthew Stafford, LA Rams (9, 8, 8, 5)
I don’t care how old he is; the man should win the MVP and has been incredible this year. After Lamar’s season and Burrow’s health, it’s time to recognize where he is.
4. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens (3, 3, 3, 4)
Lamar certainly didn’t have his best season, but he has years of equity built up. It’s going to take more than one up-and-down season to drop him out of the top 5.
5. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals (4, 4, 4, 5)
Maybe it’s his style of play, maybe it’s Cincinnati’s incompetence, but Burrow needs to start staying healthier, or he’s going to have to start getting dropped down a spot or two.
6. Drake Maye, New England Patriots (21, 18, 14, 10)
He’s reached the Super Bowl in year two and cemented himself as a top 1o QB already. CJ Stroud once had spots like this on this list and has taken quite a tumble, but if Maye keeps this up, he will be a perennial top 5 QB in the league.
7. Justin Herbert, LA Chargers (5, 5, 5, 6)
Herbert had a very nice season, and it probably would have been better if his supporting cast were healthier, but it’s tough to justify a top 5 spot for him until we see him stepping up in the bigger spots.
8. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys (8, 12, 10, 7)
It’s an even year, so, in theory, Dak is going to have a down year, but time will tell. When Dak is on, he’s excellent.
9. Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks (22, 17, 15, 14)
It’s tough to say Sam Darnold is not a top 10 QB after the squads he’s led back-to-back years. We’ve talked about the lights being too bright for Darnol,d but he certainly had his sunglasses on in the NFC Championship game.
10. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers (12, 10, 9, 8)
Love is a very good QB and kind of takes the last top 10 QB spot by default. The other good QBs behind him just had too many warts this season to place them ahead of Love.
11. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles (6, 6, 6, 9)
After winning the Super Bowl, Hurts was in a position to push to become a top 5 QB in the league, but after this season, it’s tough to keep him even in the top 10. He’s a good QB, probably very good, but it’s tough to call him great.
12. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (10, 7, 7, 11)
Goff got off to a great start, but didn’t consistently put up the numbers he did when he had Ben Johnson calling plays for him. It will be interesting to see how he plays in the coming few years with the Lions, a little in flux.
13. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears (18, 14, 19, 17)
He is certainly poised to make a huge jump in 2026 and solidify himself as a top ten QB this upcoming season. He needs to iron a few things out; many expect he will and truly live up to that generational hype he had in college.
14. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars (13, 23, 23, 23)
18 touchdowns, 3 interceptions. That’s what Lawrence did over his last 7 games, including the playoff game. If Liam Coen has finally unlocked Lawrence’s potential, he could become the top 10 QB many expected him to be when he was drafted.
15. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers (14, 13, 16, 19)
The49ers’s offense looked substantially better than it did with Mac Jones. Jones played solid football, but anyone who thought there was a controversy in San Francisco was way off base.
16. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (15, 11, 11, 12)
Baker did not look good down the stretch, and the Bucs missed the playoffs partially because of it. Mayfield had huge success under Canales and Coe,n but didn’t quite look as good when the playcalling wasn’t as tight.
17. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders (7, 9, 12, 13)
He fell a few spots even though he didn’t play, but it’s tough to hold onto a spot when QBs like Williams, Lawrence, and Purdy look great down the stretch, ch and he’s on the IR.
18. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos (19, 22, 17, 18)
Perhaps Denver would be in the Super Bowl if Bo Nix were healthy, and I would be talking about him differently. But he wasn’t, and until I see a little more from Nix, I have a hard time putting him above anyone in front of him on this list.
19. Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts (36, 16, 13, 16)
It will be interesting to see when Jones gets back, how healthy he is, and how effective he will be.
20. CJ Stroud, Houston Texans (11, 15, 18, 15)
Houston has an interesting offseason in front of it. How do they fix this offense? How do they fix CJ Stroud? And how can you justify an extension for him that he is now eligible to receive?
21. Jaxson Dart, NY Giants (35, NR, 26, 20)
Dart showed enough that he could be something with John Harbaugh. But Dart is going to have to listen to his new coach and play smarter football if he wants to start climbing this list.
22. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (25, 29, 28, 22)
You could probably argue that Young could be a few spots higher on this list, but I still don’t see it consistently enough with him to put him above these other names.
23. Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints (40, NR, 36, 29)
It will be fascinating to see what kind of season Shough puts together next year. Could he leap the top 15 QBs in the league? It’s not impossible based on the tape he put together this season.
24. Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans (31, 25, 32, 34)
I don’t think many people realize how much better Cam Ward was down the stretch for the Titans. He looked lost in the first half of the year, but the 2nd half of the year looked promising. It will be interesting to see what Brian Daboll does with him this year.
25. Mac Jones, San Francisco 49ers (NR, 21, 21)
Jones has earned the spot as the top backup QB in the league on this list. He did a great job keeping the 49ers’ season afloat for most of the season.
26. Malik Willis, Green Bay Packers (34, NR, NR, 35)
Willis will be a free agent, and you would expect someone to pay him some money and try him as a starter next year. My guess is with Jeff Hafley in Miami.
27. Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers (24, 19, 20, 27)
The king is no longer the king. Will he try to limp through another season with Mike McCarthy? I wouldn’t rule it out, but Rodgers just finished a season where he reached the playoffs and has decent stats. Hang it up before you end up with another Jets-like finish.
28. Jacoby Brissett, Arizona Cardinals (NR, NR, 39, 28)
Brissett put up some solid numbers in Arizona once they decided they were done with Kyler Murray. He’s not more than a backup Q, B but he’s a more than capable one.
29. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals (17, 20, 22, 26)
Someone is going to try to solve Kyler Murray and make him their starter in 2026. And it’s very possible the right coach could, but it’s hard to have him above Brissett, whooutperformed him with the same team this season.
30. Joe Flacco, Cleveland Browns (28, 30, 25, 25)
The Flacco games were fun, and he could certainly serve as a veteran QB2 in 2026 again if he so chooses.
31. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins (16, 24, 24, 24)
A lot of teams need a new QB in 2026, but it’s hard toimaginee if any of them make a move for Tua and dub him their QB1.
32. Michael Penix, Atlanta Falcons (23, 27, 27, 31)
This will be a very important year for Penix and the Falcons with a good offensive coach in, andin Stefanski an Penix coming off an injury, this willStefanskiseason Stefanki decides if Penix is his QB moving forward or if he wants to make a change at the position.
33. Marcus Mariota, Washington Commanders (38, NR, 33, 32)
Did a solid job filling in for Daniels and continually proves he’s a solid QB2.
34. Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders (20, 21, 29, 30)
Geno showed this past season that he’s no longer a starter in this league. It’s either time he hangs it up or returns to his role as QB2 with a team not named the Raiders.
35. Shedeur Sanders, Cleveland Browns (42, NR, NR, 40)
Todd Monken isn’t going to deal with shenanigans. These two feel like an oil and water type fit in Cleveland, nd and it wouldn’t shock me if Shedeur ends up back on the bench by week one.
36. Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons (27, NR, NR, 46)
Cousins played better than I thought he would once Penix went out, but it’s time for him to hang it up and start commentating on television.
37. JJ McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings (30, 26, 34, 49)
He looked a little better as the season finished, but it still looks like an egregious decision by the Vikings to pivot from Darnold to McCarthy.
38. Davis Mills, Houston Texans (46, NR, NR, 42)
Stroud missed some time, and Mills won some games in his place and kept the Texans alive to grab a playoff spot. Another capable backup.
39. Philip Rivers, Indianapolis Colts (NR)
I can’t even believe he’s on a QB power ranking list in January of 2026.
40. Jimmy Garoppolo, LA Rams (32, NR, NR, 33)
He hasn’t thrown a pass this year, but most teams would be thrilled if he were their backup QB.
41. Spencer Rattler, New Orleans Saints (51, 31, 30, 36)
You really have to wonder why the Saints just didn’t go with Shough right out of the gate.
42. Carson Wentz, Minnesota Vikings (39, NR, 38, 37)
If there were an NFL award for toughest player, Wentz might have won it this year for what he endured in Minnesota, but the rest of his performance showed why he isn’t more than a QB2.
43. Tyler Huntley, Baltimore Ravens (NR, NR, 40, 38)
Huntley is a decent backup and can win a game or two when called upon.
44. Justin Fields, New York Jets (29, 28, 31, 39)
What will happen to Fields in 2026? He’s not good enough to star,t and you have to build a specific offense around him;m, he’s not a typical QB2 who can step in if the QB1 goes down. Would he consider vacating the QB role and trying to become a weapon for an NFL team like Tim Tebow refused to do?
45. Jameis Winston, NY Giants (43, NR, NR, 41)
The best quote in the NFL, Winston will keep getting QB2 jobs for a few more years as long as he wants them. Perhaps he will want to pivot into media sooner rather than later.
46. Tyrod Taylor, NY Jets (NR, NR, NR, 44)
Taylor can keep an offense functioning, especially if that offense isn’t the New York Jets.
47. Dillon Gabriel, Cleveland Browns (47, NR, 35, 43)
Gabriel is nothing more than a QB2, and the fact that he had to start several games for the Browns this year shows just how bad their QB situation is.
48. Tyson Bagent, Chicago Bears (NR, NR, NR, 45)
Ben Johnson was happy keeping him as his QB2, and if an offensive mind wants him around, he makes the list for that reason alone.
49. Mitch Trubisky, Buffalo Bills (NR)
It might have been a glorified preseason game, but Mitch lit up the skyin the final week of the season, so he can grab a spot back on the list.
50. Quinn Ewers, Miami Dolphins (NR)
Looked better than I expected him to when he started, but it’s still tough to see him as anything more than a backup in this league.
