Welcome to the 4th installment of this year’s QB rankings. This is the first season I have done this, deciding to do an update at roughly 25% installments throughout the season. In the preseason, I decided
to rank the top 50 quarterbacks, but at the quarterpole, I felt it was silly to rank a bunch of quarterbacks who hadn’t played, so I only ranked the 32 week 1 starters.
Entering the halfway point, I expanded it to 40. With the number of QB2s that have played this year, I thought it was worth expanding it back out to 50, and that’s what we will do today. However, with that in mind, it seems silly to rank the top 50 quarterbacks with the qualifier that they had to have played this year. It’s not Jimmy Garoppolo’s fault that he hasn’t had an opportunity to play, but I’m sure many of us would confidently take Jimmy G over Dillon Gabriel.
So while the backend of these rankings has been inconsistent (it’s clearly a work-in-progress), I think I am going to keep the list at 50, and we can keep the rankings stagnant on the backend early in 2026 until we have new information, as some of the QB2s across the league get opportunities to play.
So here are the top 50 QBs in the NFL. As a reminder, these rankings are not only for the 2025 season; careers are considered, and how we should (in my opinion) broadly view each particular QB against his peers. Obviously, the 2025 season is weighed heavily, but their abilities over their career (and the last few seasons) also have strong consideration.
1. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (Prev. 1 preseason, 1 at the quarter pole, 1 at midseason)
The king is on the other side of 30, and the dynasty may be over; he still has the top spot, but it’s starting to become a little more vulnerable if someone can come up and grab it. But uncrowning the king is never easy.
2. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (2, 2, 2)
If anyone right now is in line to unseat Mahomes, it’s Allen. But unless Mahomes fades (and he hasn’t), Allen is going to need more postseason success to take the crown.
3. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens (3, 3, 3)
You can’t convince me Lamar isn’t playing hurt right now. He’s not the same player we’ve seen over the last few seasons.
4. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals (4, 4, 4)
Burrow comes back and throws a gem on Thursday Night Football. Showing why he’s also in the top tier in the league.
5. Matthew Stafford, LA Rams (9, 8, 8)
I’ve been reluctant to put Stafford in that top tier of QBs and thought if anyone would crack it, it would be Herbert. But Stafford is having an MVP-type season, and his back has remarkably held up. It’s incredible what he’s doing.
6. Justin Herbert, LA Chargers (5, 5, 5)
It’s been a rough season for the Chargers with the injuries to the offensive line, but Herbert continues to keep them in games and put up big numbers.
7. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys (8, 12, 10)
Is Dak this good? This season, he certainly is. Will his even-year season next year be mediocre, and he drops back 5 spots? Also, certainly possible.
8. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers (12, 10, 9)
Love and the Packers swooned a little bit for a couple of weeks in the middle of the season, and Love still makes some puzzling choices that sometimes have major consequences, but you can’t deny the body of work for 95% of the game.
9. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles (6, 6, 6)
Hurts is clearly a good quarterback, and he has certainly been boosted by some excellent talent around him and a dynamite offensive line, but the locker room is fracturing, he’s playing very conservatively, and the Eagles’ offense is sputtering. He has to shoulder a good part of the blame.
10. Drake Maye, New England Patriots (21, 18, 14)
How much higher can Maye climb on the list this year? He could win the MVP award, and that doesn’t mean he’s automatically a top 5 quarterback. We need to see it for more than one season, but he’s certainly showing that he has all the makings of a top 10 quarterback and can certainly climb a few more spots this year.
11. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (10, 7, 7)
Goff really looked sharp to start the season, but as some things got bumpy around him, you could see his play diminish somewhat. He’s still a very good quarterback, who is elite when the conditions are excellent, but under pressure and when things aren’t smooth, there are plenty of quarterbacks you would rather have in those situations.
12. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (15, 11, 11)
The Bucs offense doesn’t look quite as strong as it did earlier part of the year, but Mayfield is a serious competitor who can beat you with his arm and grab some yards with his legs when he needs to. When you see how bad things are at QB for the Browns, you have to scratch your head.
13. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders (7, 9, 12)
It’s been a disastrous season for the Commanders, and Daniels has missed a lot of it. It will be curious to see if he’s closer to the top 10 quarterback we saw in 2024 or if he’s more in this category of good quarterbacks and he’s not quite as good as he showed his rookie season (see CJ Stroud)
14. Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks (22, 17, 15)
Darnold should get plenty of credit for the season he’s having in Seattle. Especially when the argument against Darnold was “Well, everyone looks great with KOC.” Darnold proved he can still look good outside of Minnesota, and KOC is proving he can’t make every quarterback look like a Pro Bowler.
15. CJ Stroud, Houston Texans (11, 15, 18)
Stroud is certainly young enough to ascend this list and solidify himself as a top 10 quarterback in the league. He’s certainly a good QB, but it’ll be tough to see him make caviar out of you know what unless the situation improves overall for the offense.
16. Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts (36, 16, 13)
Daniel Jones has settled down from his hot start a bit, but he’s still playing far better than the QB we saw in New York the last couple of seasons. Jones is going to have to show he can do this consistently and can be a solid veteran QB. I think it’s still fair to question if he can.
17. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears (18, 14, 19)
Williams needs consistency to ascend this list, and if he gets consistent at the level his highs are, he’s going to climb at least 10 spots when he does. Some of those inconsistencies are on him, some are on the passing game, not quite clicking. It may not fully click this year, but it should next year, and if it does, if you can combine the constencies with the throws as he made to Cole Kmet on the Eagles game, it could be mesmerizing.
18. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos (19, 22, 17)
I still think Sean Payton is covering up a lot of warts, but the passes are made when they have to be thrown, and he makes plenty of good throws throughout the body of the game. If Broncos fans came across this list, I think they’d probably be annoyed with me (and I couldn’t blame them), but the advanced numbers aren’t great for Nix this season.
19. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers (14, 13, 16)
Purdy has had a rough season with the turf toe, and he probably isn’t feeling 100% since his return, but let’s just say it, he hasn’t looked as good as Mac Jones has. He will make some better big-time throws in the body of the game, but the offense has issues, and he’s turning the ball over. I expect him to settle down, but he really does need to play better than this.
20. Jaxson Dart, NY Giants (35, NR, 26)
I feel like after Purdy, there’s definitely another tier drop, but Dart has shown enough to show that he belongs in the league, and if he starts avoiding major hits, he could be a solid QB in this league for a decade. But if he keeps playing this recklessly, his play is going to drop off as his body ages a decade in the next 3 or 4 years.
21. Mac Jones, San Francisco 49ers (NR, 21)
With this spot in the rankings, Jones is strongly in the position of best QB2 in the NFL. Based on how he’s looked the last couple of seasons, that’s certainly a credit to him and a bigger credit to Kyle Shanahan.
22. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (25, 29, 28)
I am not a Bryce Young believer, but he’s thrown for 400 yards and also made some huge throws to help secure a win over the LA Rams. You can see the talent. You can see plenty of the reasons why he can’t do it, play in and play out, but he does show great skills on occasion.
23. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars (13, 23, 23)
I don’t think anyone knows what to do with Trevor Lawrence, including Liam Coen. The Jaguars are in first place, but Lawrence doesn’t look particularly strong, and it’s just hard to consider him much higher than this. Having him a spot below Bryce Young is actually twisting my brain into a knot.
24. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins (16, 24, 24)
What’s there to say about Tua at this point? He isn’t a great quarterback; he’s probably good enough to start, but at this point, everyone should be comfortable in saying he doesn’t have another gear.
25. Joe Flacco, Cleveland Browns (28, 30, 25)
The Flacco games were fun in Cincinnati. It’s amazing to think he was on his sofa at midseason just a couple of years ago. He still can play the position, even if, at this point, it’s just on brains and instinct alone.
26. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals (17, 20, 22)
The Cardinals are done with Murray, and it’s fair to say he should be dropped further on this list, but it’s also hard to imagine that he’s not a QB1 on a roster next season.
27. Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers (24, 19, 20)
The king is cooked. I honestly wonder if Aaron Rodgers regrets coming back this year. He simply cannot play anymore. Doesn’t mean the golden arm can’t kick in and deliver a 35-yard strike on occasion, but that’s throwing and not actually playing the quarterback position.
28. Jacoby Brissett, Arizona Cardinals (NR, NR, 39)
I’ve always liked Brissett for who he is in this league, and that’s a quality QB2. The fact that I didn’t rank him in August was a bad job by me.
29. Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints (40, NR, 36)
Shough doesn’t look terrible. Does he look good enough for the Saints to not take a quarterback in the top 5 of the draft in 2026? That’s going to be a tough decision for them to make, depending on how the next few games go for the rookie QB.
30. Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders (20, 21, 29)
Geno is also cooked. He can still throw for 300 yards (when he’s team is down three scores) because he can crush a soft zone, but pressure and stickier coverage, and he simply can’t make it happen anymore.
31. Michael Penix, Atlanta Falcons (23, 27, 27)
This was an alarming season for Penix and the Falcons. This may be a miss, and with the injury he has, who knows what 2026 will look like for him and Atlanta?
32. Marcus Mariota, Washington Commanders (38, NR, 33)
He’s a solid veteran and a really nice QB2 for any team to have.
33. Jimmy Garoppolo, LA Rams (32, NR, NR)
He hasn’t had a chance to play, but I think most would agree that Jimmy G can still make some throws if he gets a chance to get out there.
34. Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans (31, 25, 32)
The Titans’ season is a disaster. It feels a lot like Caleb Williams’ season did last year, except Williams is a better talent and played better in the dumpster fire. It would be interesting to see what Ward could look like in a better situation, and there’s no guarantee it will look better in Tennessee next year.
35. Malik Willis, Green Bay Packers (34, NR, NR)
Willis has thrown three passes this year and completed them all. Every time he has a chance to play in Matt LaFleur’s system, he looks like a solid QB.
36. Spencer Rattler, New Orleans Saints (51, 31, 30)
He’s a QB2. It may only be his second season, but it feels like we have enough information to say that’s who he is. He isn’t a QB3; he just isn’t a QB1.
37. Carson Wentz, Minnesota Vikings (39, NR, 38)
Wentz should get plenty of credit for how he gutted things out for the Vikings, but it’s still remarkable to think that in the year 2025, Carson Wentz was the best quarterback on an NFL roster.
38. Tyler Huntley, Baltimore Ravens (NR, NR, 40)
He beat the Bears. He gets a spot because he beat the Bears.
39. Justin Fields, New York Jets (29, 28, 31)
Watching Justin Fields in his last few starts was honestly sad. It’s tough to see what he is at the position now. Is Taylor better than him now? In this moment, yes, but Fields has shown such crazy levels of athleticism over the years, it’s tough to actually make that swap in the rankings just yet.
40. Shedeur Sanders, Cleveland Browns (42, NR, NR)
Sanders doesn’t look good, but he could look much, much worse. And it’s Cleveland, so we HAVE seen worse.
41. Jameis Winston, NY Giants (43, NR, NR)
The Winston experience is like nothing else. There’s really nothing else to say.
42. Davis Mills, Houston Texans (46, NR, NR)
Mills did an excellent job filling in for Stroud, and even though fans regularly forget about him, he’s a solid QB2.
43. Dillon Gabriel, Cleveland Browns (47, NR, 35)
Another QB with very few data points, but enough to say that he’s no better than a QB2 in the league.
44. Tyrod Taylor, NY Jets (NR, NR, NR)
Just your typical solid veteran QB2. He’s bounced around the league, but he always finds a job for a reason.
45. Tyson Bagent, Chicago Bears (NR, NR, NR)
He was a UDFA. He made the team. He’s won over an offensive genius to remain his QB2. That earns plenty of points.
46. Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons (27, NR, NR)
It’s time for Kirk Cousins to retire.
47. Russell Wilson, New York Giants (26, 32, 37)
It’s time for Russell Wilson to retire.
48. Andy Dalton, Carolina Panthers (NR, NR, NR)
It’s time for Andy Dalton to retire.
49. JJ McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings (30, 26, 34)
Yikes. It’s not too late for McCarthy to become something. But great googly moogly, this isn’t good. You notice that both McCarthy’s ankle injury and head injury cannot be identified on tape. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but you can’t tell me they weren’t soft benchings.
50. Jake Browning, Cincinnati Bengals (NR, NR, NR)
With how much better the offense looked when Joe Flacco entered, it’s safe to say there are probably other QB2s on this list that belong on here at this spot, but it’s him or Mason Rudolph, and I’ll give Browning the nod. There may be a QB that hasn’t played like Jimmy G that should be on the list over Browning, but nobody is going to cry that guys like Kenny Pickett didn’t round out the top 50.
