The 2025 NFL regular season is over, and it could not have been more unpredictable, especially at the coveted quarterback position. Imagine telling someone in the summer that the MVP would come down to 37-year-old Matthew Stafford with his back problems and 23-year-old Drake Maye coming off a 4-13 rookie season.
Imagine telling someone that none of Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Jared Goff, C.J. Stroud, Jordan Love, or Justin Herbert would win their division. For that matter, imagine if someone told you Philip Rivers (4) would throw more touchdown passes in the month of December 2025 than Patrick Mahomes (0), because that happened too.
Just a deeply weird year, and who knows what the postseason will hold. We could see Trevor Lawrence against Sam Darnold at this rate. But before the playoffs start, let’s rank the 32 quarterbacks one more time for 2025, and we’re not going to do a Week 18 ranking since we’re not going to bother listing players like Kenny Pickett, Brady Cook, Chris Oladokun, etc.
Instead, for our final quarterback ranking until summer 2026, let’s just go back to the preseason rankings from July 2025, and let’s rank every main quarterback from top to bottom on their overall season contributions, some of which were unfortunately limited by injuries.
Each week at 365Scores, we ranked all 32 NFL quarterbacks from top to bottom. The methodology was to start with our preseason quarterback rankings from July, which were based on a mixture of career value and recent play. Then each week, we adjusted the rankings to account for the latest game to get a sense of which quarterbacks are performing the best in the 2025 season.
Table of Contents
1. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Preseason rank: 9 (+8)
Remember in the summer when Matthew Stafford wasn’t practicing because of a bad back that led to many questions about if he’d be ready to go at 37 years old this season? He never missed a game, and he turned in his most consistent, impressive season of his career for a Rams team that finished 12-5 but got better than 12-5 quarterback play.
Seriously, the Rams should be kicking themselves for not getting that No. 1 seed after having a lead or tie in the fourth quarter/overtime in all 17 games. They led the league in scoring behind Stafford, who led with 4,707 passing yards and 46 passing touchdowns while only throwing 8 interceptions against one of the toughest schedules of any playoff team in the last 20 years.
It wasn’t Stafford’s fault when the Eagles blocked a game-winning field goal for a touchdown in a game where the Rams led by 19 points. It wasn’t Stafford’s fault when his running back, Kyren Williams, fumbled a go-ahead touchdown with just over a minute left against the 49ers, then Williams was stuffed on 4th down in overtime in that loss. Then of course the blown 16-point lead in Seattle, a game where Stafford threw for 457 yards without Davante Adams.
In that game, Stafford became the first quarterback in NFL history to lead a go-ahead touchdown drive in overtime and not win the game because the Seahawks ended up scoring eight points in a 38-37 win. That’s the No. 1 seed right there.
Stafford had some hiccups this season with too many turnovers in Carolina and Atlanta, but the bar wasn’t that high for an elite quarterback season in 2025, and no one played great in every game. He still led a go-ahead drive in Carolina and had the game tied in Atlanta last week.
After last year, I have no clue what will happen with the honors befitting of the season’s best quarterback like first-team All-Pro and the MVP award. Stafford has reclaimed the best odds (-165 at FanDuel) for MVP after Sunday’s finale, but I’m not sure that’s any real indicator of how people are going to vote this week. I expect it to be close between Maye and Stafford.
I just know my vote would be for Stafford, because he did the best job over the course of the full season of putting his team in a position to win by producing such high-level offense against such a tough schedule in maybe the best division race we’ve ever seen. The 2025 NFC West is the first division to have three teams win 12 games.
The more I watch the Rams fail to convert short-yardage runs, the more sympathetic I am to why Stafford has tied Aaron Rodgers in 2020 with the most 1-yard touchdown passes (8) in a season. But for a defense that’s allowed five game-winning drives, that’s the reason the Rams didn’t easily produce the best record in the NFL this year to go along with their league-leading production on offense from Stafford.
It’s rare air for a quarterback to have this much volume and efficiency against this level of schedule. That’s why an MVP for Stafford wouldn’t be a lifetime achievement award at all. It’d simply be an acknowledgement of who the best quarterback was over 17 games in 2025, and that’s the one who had his team in position to win every single game.
Not bad for a 37-year-old with a bad back.
2. Drake Maye, New England Patriots
Preseason rank: 26 (+24)
No quarterback has improved his status more this season than Drake Maye. The second-year quarterback had a forgettable rookie season, but behind a great new coaching staff in Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniels, a new No. 1 wideout in Stefon Diggs, and some real speed in the backfield, this has turned into a strong offense behind Maye.
He’s finished the season No. 1 in several categories, including QBR, EPA, passer rating, YPA, and completion percentage. He also finished No. 6 in rushing EPA, so he’s a dual-threat quarterback.
But the elephant in the room with New England this season has always been the schedule. It’s definitely the Most Valuable Schedule as arguably no NFL team’s had an easier draw of opponents in the 21st century, and we’ll quantify this better in a day when we look at Fraud Alert Rating for the 2025 playoff field on Tuesday.
The Patriots finished this season 14-3 but were just 1-2 against teams with a winning record. The three games representing a league low in 2025:
- They lost 21-14 at home against the Steelers (10-7), a game where Maye threw a red zone interception and fumbled in scoring territory in the fourth quarter when it was tied at 14.
- They split with the Bills (12-5) in games where Maye was a non-factor for a half and very good in the other half. This includes his first game-winning drive in Buffalo, and it also includes the blown 21-0 lead at home where he was held to a season-low 155 passing yards.
This is why you question the Patriots’ legitimacy as a Super Bowl contender when there’s not a single winning team they can say they had a winning record against this year. As for people who say you can do that but not question Maye’s stats, I fail to see where they draw that conclusion from. In my research, simply playing a winning team vs. non-winning team has been worth about a 9-to-10 point difference in passer rating, which is significant.
Maye’s 113.5 passer rating is 4.3 points higher than Stafford’s 109.2, for example, and I believe most of that difference can be explained by playing the schedules they have. Who you play matters, when you play matters, and where you play them matters.
Maye’s only 300-yard passing game and his only fourth-quarter comeback this season (or in his whole career) was at Baltimore in Week 16. Okay, that was probably his biggest MVP moment of the year, but what do we know about Baltimore? They’re prone to giving up big passing yards to a bunch of quarterbacks. They’re prone to blowing double-digit leads. Sure enough, they did those things again on Sunday night against Aaron Rodgers to end their season.
The Baltimore defense is exactly why I predicted Maye would have 300 yards and a comeback that night. Then if you talk about the 5-touchdown game against the Jets last week that helped Maye surge ahead in the MVP odds, consider the defense. The Jets gave up six touchdowns to Trevor Lawrence before that game, and Mitch Trubisky had four himself on Sunday with backups playing for Buffalo. The Jets finished 2025 allowing 36 touchdowns and 0 interceptions on defense.
The schedule matters, and we’ve really never had a season in NFL history where there was this much of an imbalance in schedule between the top two MVP candidates. That’s why it remains a topic as the schedule was the reason the Patriots were favored to win 11 games in May despite coming off a 4-13 season.
Again, I don’t know how voters are going to vote, but there could be some sentiment that this is Stafford’s last shot for the award, so they’ll give it to him while Maye looks like someone who is going to be an annual contender. Maybe so. Or maybe he never sniffs these numbers again because he’ll never play another schedule like this, and sustaining success in the NFL is the hardest thing to do (see Jayden Daniels from 2024 to 2025, or Carson Wentz after 2017).
Only time will tell. But Maye gets a playoff run to prove he’s more than a schedule merchant. Besides, do you really want the MVP when only Patrick Mahomes (2022 Chiefs) has been able to win it and win the Super Bowl in the same season this century?
Be content with the top under-25 quarterback going right now.
3. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Preseason rank: 1 (-2)
I’m planning on some in-depth Patrick Mahomes content in the offseason, so there’s no need to get all into it here. But I’ll just share some nuggets to show how broken the Chiefs were in 2025, and how Mahomes was still doing his best to hold things together and give them a chance against a tough schedule in the deepest AFC we’ve ever seen with five teams winning 12+ games:
- We thought we cracked the code in February on how to beat Patrick Mahomes as he was 45-2 (.957) when his average time to throw was under 2.8 seconds compared to 19-16 (.543) when it was above 3.0 seconds.
- But in 2025, Mahomes was 4-3 (.571) when his time to throw was under 2.8 seconds and 1-2 when it was above 3.0 seconds, so that’s more losses under 2.8 in one season than in the previous eight seasons combined.
None of Kansas City’s eight losses with Mahomes in 2025 resembled the Super Bowl losses where he was under siege and running for his life. When their quick game isn’t working that well, you know something is wrong in Kansas City in a season where they again started a revolving door at tackle, had to deal with a six-game suspension for Rashee Rice, and Travis Kelce blew up Xavier Worthy on the first pass play of the season by accident in Brazil.
Despite an offense that gave Mahomes less rushing support, fewer quick plays, less productive YAC and against the toughest schedule of his career, he still finished No. 6 in QBR (68.8) because of how effective his scrambling and making plays out of structure was. The Chiefs were also still No. 2 in yards per drive when he was active.
This offense was statistically elite with a quarterback having to do more off-script work than ever before. But without Mahomes, the Chiefs went 0-3 and failed to crack 170 yards in their last three games, two of which were against the worst teams in the NFL this year (Titans and Raiders). They’re the first NFL offense to go three games without 170 yards since the 2009 Raiders with JaMarcus Russell at quarterback.
The Chiefs better hope Mahomes has the best ACL recovery anyone’s ever seen, because without him, they are legitimately the worst offense and team in the NFL. But if they want to get back to Super Bowl contention, they better start building up the team around him again.
He can only do so much as 2025 proved. It was an elite season where the record and even the stats (three of his 11 picks were right off Kelce’s hands) will never do justice.
4. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
Preseason rank: 6 (+2)
It’s going to be a tall task for Justin Herbert to win his first playoff game as a No. 7 seed going to New England, a place of horrors for the Chargers franchise over the years. But Herbert has a real coach behind him this time, his receiving corps is as deep as it’s ever been, and his backfield is healthier.
The problem is going to be the protection that he’s had to overcome this year at offensive tackle after losing Rashawn Slater in the preseason, then Joe Alt was limited to six games. Herbert’s been banged up, sacked often, and he had a broken hand that needed surgery.
Yet he hasn’t missed a start due to injury, he’s dragged the team to some impressive wins, he swept Mahomes and the Chiefs, and he wasn’t the issue in the Houston loss. He’s carrying this offense and has never scrambled better than he has this year.
It’ll be interesting to see him in the playoffs with more experience than the Patriots have, but he is going to have to protect the ball and hope their lack of facing quality quarterbacks this year will shell-shock them a bit when they see one of the game’s best passers.
5. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
Preseason rank: 23 (+18)
The season stats aren’t going to be there for Trevor Lawrence (58.3 QBR ranks 15th), but how many quarterbacks have been hotter since November? If not for blowing a 19-point lead to Davis Mills in the fourth quarter, the Jaguars would be the No. 1 seed and entering this postseason on a 10-game winning streak.
Lawrence has 38 total touchdowns this season, and his game really took off once they stopped trying to make Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter his featured receivers, and they have instead focused on players like Parker Washington, Jakobi Meyers, and tight end Brenton Strange who don’t drop the ball as often. Thomas is still there, Hunter is on injured reserve, but things are flowing way better with these other players stepping up.
You can’t rule out Lawrence going on some improbable 2011 Eli Manning/2012 Joe Flacco/2017 Nick Foles type of Super Bowl run that feels overdue and fitting for how this 2025 season has gone around the league.
This is what we were promised with Lawrence as a “generational talent” when he was drafted No. 1 in 2021. Let’s see how he handles expectations.
6. Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks
Preseason rank: 19 (+13)
Yeah, quarterback play is in a weird place when Sam Darnold is putting up back-to-back 14-3 seasons for different NFC teams. I don’t necessarily know if his 2025 Seattle performance has been better than his 2024 Minnesota performance, but it’s certainly on par with him leading some timely drives in both years to help these teams get to places no one had them going.
He did it this year by getting Justin Jefferson-type numbers out of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who didn’t appear to be this level of wideout in his first two seasons, so Darnold deserves some credit there.
He was shaky in the big games down the stretch against the Rams and 49ers, but he got the win both times, including the most clutch drive of the year when you consider the stakes against the Rams. Darnold, with some major help from the special teams, completed a 16-point comeback in the final 10:00, then calmly led an 8-point drive in overtime to erase Stafford’s touchdown drive in that 38-37 stunner.
That’s why the Seahawks have the No. 1 seed and the best odds to win Super Bowl 60. But Darnold is also the #1 reason people are going to doubt them from going the distance. Guess he’ll just have to prove the people wrong this postseason.
7. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
Preseason rank: 10 (+3)
Brock Purdy finishes the regular season with the second-highest QBR (73.1), but you have to downgrade him a bit for the time missed to turf toe, the fact that Mac Jones had a 63.5 QBR with more injured teammates against arguably the toughest part of San Francisco’s schedule, and Purdy did not deliver in Saturday night’s game for the No. 1 seed against Seattle.
But Purdy’s game-winning drive at Seattle in Week 1 and his hot play down the stretch had the 49ers in position for that No. 1 seed too. He’s playing about as well as he was in 2023 but doing it now with less weapons and a lesser version of Christian McCaffrey in the backfield. In fact, McCaffrey tipping that pass near the goal line for an interception on Saturday night robbed Purdy of a chance at the first 10-point comeback in the fourth quarter in the Kyle Shanahan era.
So, the 49ers don’t get to stay home for the whole Super Bowl run at Levi’s Stadium. Purdy has to go to Philadelphia, the site of his elbow injury in the 2022 NFC Championship Game, so maybe this becomes a revenge tour for him and the 49ers. Take out the Eagles, the Seahawks, then maybe the Rams, and there won’t be any Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City waiting in the Super Bowl this time.
8. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Preseason rank: 3 (-5)
We can talk a lot more about Josh Allen this week in playoff coverage, but he’s coming off a very interesting year where James Cook won the rushing title in his backfield, he finished with 39 touchdowns (fewest since 2019), and he didn’t do very well on the road where he’ll have to likely win three playoff games just to get to the Super Bowl.
But there is a lot of pressure on him to get to this Super Bowl in an AFC where Mahomes, Lamar, and Burrow are nowhere to be found in the playoff picture. A late foot injury that was self-induced by a horrible sack in Cleveland could slow him down, though he didn’t show a ton of ill effects from that in the Philadelphia loss, and he got to rest it against the Jets while Mitch Trubisky lit up that embarrassing defense.
Allen has to go to Jacksonville next, a tough opponent right now. He’s the top quarterback in this postseason field based on recent accomplishments, but you have to say 2025 comes as a bit of disappointment given Buffalo was favored due to the schedule to be the No. 1 seed. Instead, the Patriots beat up that AFC East schedule to win the division with a 14-3 record, and Allen has to go the No. 6 seed route.
He’s still seeking his first road playoff win in his career.
9. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
Preseason rank: 12 (+3)
Coming off their fourth-straight loss, the Packers are not going into the playoffs with any positive momentum as the No. 7 seed for the third year in a row. But with Jordan Love cleared from a concussion, they’ll have a shot to do something even if he’s lost teammates who can be Super Bowl difference makers in Tucker Kraft and Micah Parsons to torn ACLs.
Love still had arguably his best season as he was so good on third downs, he’s made the deep ball work even with throwing fadeaway jumpers, and he’s had a lot of injuries around him and disappointment from first-round pick Matthew Golden not improving the offense as had hoped.
But Love, the only quarterback to beat a No. 2 seed as a No. 7 seed, is in the tournament, so you never know what can happen. Maybe he avenges the 2014 NFC Championship Game by upsetting Seattle in two weeks after getting his revenge on Chicago for the concussion hit in December.
10. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Preseason rank: 14 (+4)
Dak Prescott’s job got so needlessly harder right before the season when Jerry Jones traded Micah Parsons to the Packers. That defense was an issue all year, and Prescott overcame it multiple times to get high-scoring wins over the Giants and Chiefs, and at least he got a tie against Parsons’ Packers in prime time.
George Pickens helped give Prescott two great receivers, but there were some games (Bears, Cardinals, Broncos, Chargers) where this offense simply didn’t show up for a half or more, including some home disappointment late in the year against the Vikings when they started settling for too many field goals.
That’s 10 years in Dallas and still no advancement past the second round of the playoffs for Prescott and the Cowboys.
11. Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts
Preseason rank: 29 (+18)
It’s a shame that Daniel Jones’ incredible 7-1 start to the 2025 season will be lost to history because of a fractured fibula that led to a torn Achilles. This was the best offense for half a season, and he was playing at an MVP level at the time. So consistent and efficient.
But once the leg injury came into play, Jones started to struggle like in the Kansas City loss, then the Achilles happened in the Jacksonville game. The Colts lost out after getting crazy contributions from a retired Philip Rivers and a first start gem from Riley Leonard on Sunday in Houston.
Now, the Colts don’t know who their quarterback is for 2026, they wasted two first-round picks to trade for Sauce Gardner because they thought they had their guy in Jones, and now you just wonder if they’ve screwed themselves out of having the draft capital to land Arch Manning in 2027.
But “Indiana Jones” was very much a thing for half a season, and it’s a shame what happened to this team in 2025.
12. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
Preseason rank: 2 (-10)
It’s probably the most frustrating season of Lamar Jackson’s career as there was so much promise that this could be his Super Bowl season. Instead, they blew that 15-point lead on Sunday Night Football in Week 1 in Buffalo, he got the hamstring injury in Kansas City during a 1-3 start, he struggled for a month upon returning from it, and then he left the New England game with a back injury before another blown lead.
Then it was all on the line for him in Pittsburgh, win the division title or go home. A shootout broke out in the fourth quarter with Aaron Rodgers, and Jackson went over the top of the defense for several big plays and touchdowns, taking the lead a few times before setting up what should have been a game-winning field goal to take the Ravens to a playoff run that very well could have led to a Super Bowl with Jackson healthy.
Instead, the rookie kicker missed it as we warned could happen in July, and now Jackson’s Year 8 is over short of the playoffs. We’ll see if that game is the final one for the pairing of John Harbaugh and Jackson in Baltimore. The quarterback isn’t going anywhere, but the coach might be.
13. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
Preseason rank: 24 (+11)
Remember when there was a goal for Caleb Williams to throw for 4,000 yards and complete 70% of his passes? He came closer than any Chicago quarterback ever has at the yardage, but he wasn’t even a 60% passer under Ben Johnson this year.
However, he cut his sacks way down from his rookie year behind an improved line, and he still is very good at not throwing interceptions. He also excelled in clutch situations, helping the Bears to a record six wins after trailing in the last 2:00. That number could have been even higher if he pulled out some red-zone drives in losses to the Packers and 49ers.
But there is a roughness to Williams’ game that a year of Johnson hasn’t ironed out yet. The team is also going to be in regression hell next year after building a first-place record on late wins and turnovers on defense. But Williams is in the playoffs, he has another shot at the Packers to advance, and his highlight reel is incredible stuff. If Johnson keeps developing him, you can see him getting to the top tier in the near future as he has a knack for getting it done with the game on the line, something we saw glimpses of on a worse roster and pathetic coaching staff in 2024.
14. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
Preseason rank: 8 (-6)
The Lions still finished with a winning record (9-8) and one of the highest point totals in the league despite losing offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and declining in the offensive line, which led to the running game getting worse. But Jared Goff and the passing game were still sound, and he also didn’t have tight end Sam LaPorta for much of the year.
The difference this year is Goff only had two game-winning drives as the Lions couldn’t capitalize on some close ones late in the season, including those back-breaking losses to the Steelers and Vikings on Christmas Day, the latter being the game where Goff had five turnovers after a good season of protecting the ball.
15. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Preseason rank: 5 (-10)
Joe Burrow really had another wasted season with the turf toe injury way back in Week 2 knocking him out until Thanksgiving. Things didn’t get off to a great start nor was it a great finish on Sunday against the Browns. Burrow had his third interception returned for a touchdown late in the season after it also happened in Buffalo (the biggest one) and Baltimore in a 24-0 shutout loss.
He did put up some numbers against a few bad teams, but after missing the playoffs for the third year in a row, it’s hard to keep him up there with the elite class.
16. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
Preseason rank: 20 (+4)
It’s games like Sunday that will give many pause on the 2025 Broncos as a viable No. 1 seed to reach the Super Bowl. Sure, the Broncos beat the Chargers, but the offense did not have any touchdown drives. Bo Nix led the team in rushing (49 yards), which should not be a goal in the playoffs.
Nix also led a league-high seven game-winning drives this season to get the team to 14 wins, so that’s something people will be expecting to not continue this postseason. Maye has shown an ability to string together very long drives (that often end in field goals) and timely drives when the Broncos need them, but let’s see how he performs in the playoffs in those conditions.
17. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
Preseason rank: 11 (-6)
There was a time when the Texans were 0-3 with the No. 1 scoring defense because of how poor C.J. Stroud and the offense were. But after shredding Baltimore, things perked up. Still, a concussion to Stroud meant backup Davis Mills had to lead some game-winning drives to help this Houston team get back on track for the playoffs.
It is strange that Mills has four comeback wins now in his career to just two for Stroud, but we have seen Stroud play great on wild card weekend twice in his career. He has another shot this year at an even deeper run with how good this defense is.
18. Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers
Preseason rank: 18 (0)
It’s a good thing Aaron Rodgers saved his most prolific passing games of 2025 for the Ravens, because without that sweep, this would have been a losing season. Instead, it’s a 10-7 record and a division title, the first for Pittsburgh since 2020.
Rodgers has been a lock for first-ballot Hall of Fame for about a decade, but this season is another tip in his cap for his legacy. This defense has not been good, and they gave Rodgers one capable wide receiver in D.K. Metcalf, who was suspended for the last two games. Despite a lack of offensive identity all year, Rodgers found ways to put it together with the running backs and tight ends to lead an offense that was good enough to win 10 games, including some upsets of the Patriots, Colts, and Ravens.
It took a missed field goal for the Steelers to advance, but that was also after a missed extra point by Chris Boswell that could have ended Rodgers’ age-42 season. Might have even been his final game. But he physically looks like someone who can play again next year, and if the Steelers want him back, they better restock the wide receiver room for him.
19. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
Preseason rank: 7 (-12)
Jalen Hurts remains one of the toughest quarterbacks to judge in today’s NFL. He was the only quarterback to win his division again in 2025, no small feat when no one else repeated in the NFL in 2025, and the NFC East had that crazy streak with no repeat winners in 2005-2024.
But Hurts did it by leaning on his defense, winning several low-scoring games that other quarterbacks couldn’t have the luxury of affording to go three-and-out so often, or score so few points and still win the game.
Hurts has shown he can make throws when you absolutely need him to, and his Super Bowl resume keeps him afloat after playing Kansas City well twice. But the Tush Push kind of broke down this year, his red-zone touchdown passes are basically nonexistent unless it’s a beautiful design to a wide-open Dallas Goedert, and he doesn’t seem to scramble as much as he should.
Yet, because the Eagles have a defense and at least one home playoff game, they have a chance to repeat as champs behind their frustrating quarterback.
20. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Preseason rank: 13 (-7)
I’m just going to wait for news that Baker Mayfield was playing with a torn labrum since October or something, because this collapse for the Buccaneers makes little sense. Sure, the close wins Mayfield was pulling out early in the year were never sustainable. But you usually don’t see a team fall off like this when the schedule got easier and the skill players around Mayfield got healthier late.
Yet, his accuracy throwing to Emeka Egbuka fell off after such a great start with the rookie. He had some crucial turnovers in losses. There was a month where he didn’t scramble once, which should have raised an alarm after scrambling was so much of his early-season success this year.
We may never find out what Mayfield really went through health-wise this season, but I still say something must have happened after that scramble against the 49ers in October because he was never the same the rest of the year.
21. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
Preseason rank: 27 (+6)
Look who can say he’s won a division title, the first for the Carolina Panthers since 2015. We’ll see Young in his first playoff game this Saturday against the Rams, one of the contenders he helped upset with one of his six game-winning drives this season. Young now has 12 game-winning drives in his 14 wins in the NFL, so he is very much the “Carolina Reaper” when the game is close.
But despite the division title and the 23 touchdown passes showing his improvement, there are still question marks about his legitimacy as a long-term franchise quarterback. He made throwing for 200 yards look difficult in many weeks this season, and winning the worst division after you lost your last two games and backed in because of a different team’s outcome on Sunday isn’t the strongest argument for signing him to a mega extension.
But we’ll see how Young does in the real playoffs this week.
22. Jaxson Dart, New York Giants
Preseason rank: N/A (Russell Wilson was No. 21)
It didn’t take very long for the Giants to bench Russell Wilson in favor of Jaxson Dart. The rookie showed some great drive engineering early on, and he was still a competitor even after losing his best receiver (Mailk Nabers) and running back (Cam Skattebo) to injury. He led an upset win over the Eagles and should have won at Denver if not for an insane fourth quarter.
But Dart will need to show some more poise in the clutch as he didn’t register a game-winning drive. More importantly, he has to learn to slide and protect himself better. He left several games for concussion checks, and that was a trend that goes back to college too. He looks like the real deal for a franchise quarterback, but he also looks like his greatest rival might be the blue medical tent, so the Giants better invest in a good backup quarterback.
23. Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints
Preseason rank: 32 (+9)
There’s still an outside shot that Tyler Shough can win Offensive Rookie of the Year, though his late interception in Atlanta on Sunday may have doomed that hope. But Shough helped the Saints hit the over (4.5 wins) in their preseason win total despite only starting half the season.
He exhibited some good poise in leading Kellen Moore’s offense, he did well with a high volume of passes, he can run well, he delivered in crunch time for a few game-winning drives, and he showed some great potential for 2026. Start for start, he may have been the most consistent and best rookie quarterback in a disappointing 2025 class.
Either way, he has made the Saints look vindicated in using that top 40 pick on him.
24. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
Preseason rank: 4 (-20)
At least I was smart enough to not go all in and pick Jayden Daniels as the 2025 MVP and for him to win the NFC East from Philadelphia. But the Commanders and Daniels still had a frustratingly disappointing season after such a high in 2024 when they were one game away from the Super Bowl.
After a 3-2 start, it was constant injuries for Daniels, and they were avoidable too with him injuring his elbow late in a blowout loss against Seattle, then being put back into a game against Minnesota when the season was already loss, so he aggravated the injury.
Durability was always a concern with Daniels coming out of LSU, and he mostly got through his rookie year just fine on that part. But 2025 was a mess for his health, so they’ll need to be more cautious with him going forward.
But it was definitely another bummer in 2025 to not see him get to live up to his potential after that historic rookie season.
25. Michael Penix, Atlanta Falcons
Preseason rank: 25 (0)
One could argue the Falcons (8-9) lost the NFC South in Week 1 when they missed a game-tying field goal to force overtime against Tampa Bay. Those continued failings in close games had me give Penix the nickname of DOOM, short for Destiny of Ongoing Misfortune as that’s what you expect to deal with as the quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons.
Well, Penix’s season was doomed as a partially torn ACL cut things short. He had that electric first half in prime time against Buffalo, but let’s not forget he nearly threw that game away, then he did blow a game at New England when a defender was supposedly clapping, which threw him off and led to a brutal intentional grounding penalty in a 24-23 loss.
Kirk Cousins had to finish the season for Penix and looked better in some ways running the talented offense. The 8-9 finish led to coach Raheem Morris getting the axe, so there’ll be a new coach when Penix returns in 2026. It’s not even a given he’ll be the starter upon his return either.
26. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
Preseason rank: 16 (-10)
We only saw five starts of Kyler Murray in 2025, but it’s not like the offense was thriving in that 2-3 start. In fact, the consistent passing volume provided by Jacoby Brissett in Murray’s absence, especially the huge touchdown production to Trey McBride, is a huge red flag that Murray just isn’t the answer in this offense anymore.
We’ll see what the Cardinals decide to do for 2026 as there’s a chance coach Jonathan Gannon is out after a disappointing 3-14 season with many close losses.
27. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
Preseason rank: 17 (-10)
Well, they finally did it in Miami. They benched Tua Tagovailoa in December after another disappointing season where even a little winning streak was fueled by the running game/defense/schedule more than anything Tua did. Quinn Ewers, a Texas rookie, didn’t look too bad in his place to end the year.
But now we’ll see if the Dolphins cut bait with Tua and take on a record in dead cap money a la the Broncos with Russell Wilson. His days as a starter in this league likely aren’t over yet, but he just hasn’t shown enough recent progress in six years.
28. Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders
Preseason rank: 15 (-13)
Geno Smith really peaked in Week 1 in an upset win at New England, which sounds preposterous now. But he threw a league-high 17 interceptions and really struggled in that awful Chip Kelly-coordinated offense that led to Kelly getting fired and Smith getting pummeled on a weekly basis.
It helped the Raiders (3-14) get the No. 1 pick in the draft, which will likely lead to Smith’s replacement in Vegas.
29. Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans
Preseason rank: 31 (+2)
The numbers were never really that great for Cam Ward this year, but at least he didn’t throw many interceptions a la Caleb Williams in his rookie year. Also like Caleb, Cam took a lot of sacks while playing in a stacked division and facing an absurdly tough schedule of good teams this year. That can help explain why the team was just 3-14. Well, that and the lack of a good coaching staff.
This is why I think Ward has great potential to break out in 2026 and turn things around quickly as long as the Titans find him the right offensive-minded coach. Ben Johnson isn’t there this year, but maybe they can find someone close enough.
30. J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings
Preseason rank: 30 (0)
J.J. McCarthy had one fourth-quarter comeback win and came up with a “Nine” alter ego that became a meme synonymous with terrible quarterback play this year. That’s not promising for a player who was essentially a rookie after missing his first season with meniscus surgery.
But for having an offensive mind like Kevin O’Connell and a skill group of weapons led by Justin Jefferson, the results just weren’t there for McCarthy. Things were getting better down the stretch, but the alarming issue is the kid just keeps leaving games hurt, including Sunday’s finale against the Packers.
He’s got a little bit of that Jaxson Dart in him where you’re just worried about the blue medical tent being his favorite target every week instead of Jefferson.
31. Justin Fields, New York Jets
Preseason rank: 28 (-3)
It’s crazy to think Justin Fields’ season with the Jets peaked right away in Week 1 against Pittsburgh, another near-win/close loss for him in his career. The only good news is he finally won an NFL game this year where his team allowed more than 20 points, and go figure it came against the lowly Bengals.
But after Jets owner Woody Johnson basically said they needed a quarterback who can complete some passes, that made it clear Fields’ days were numbered with the Jets. You just can’t win with a quarterback who struggles to throw for 55 yards as Fields had four starts where he didn’t reach that number.
His days as a starter in this league need to be put on hold. Maybe sit on the bench for a few years a la Geno Smith and come back stronger down the road as he is only going on 27. But you can’t win with a passer like this in the NFL.
32. Shedeur Sanders, Cleveland Browns
Preseason rank: N/A (Joe Flacco was No. 22)
He was the most scrutinized and widely covered third-string quarterback drafted in the fifth round in NFL history. After getting to start in the back half of the season, Shedeur Sanders finishes his rookie season with 7 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, some ghastly sacks, and some big plays for the highlight reel that they weren’t getting when rookie Dillon Gabriel played.
In other words, Sanders could argue he’s one of the most successful fifth-round picks ever at the quarterback position, but that’s not saying much when the bar is extremely low. Also, his 19.0 QBR is abysmal and would rank 14.1 points below Cam Ward’s bottom of the league number if he had enough plays to qualify.
Advanced stats reflect so poorly on Shedeur because of the high turnover rate, the big sacks he takes trying to create big plays, and the fact that a lot of his big plays were just short throws with major YAC.
It remains to be seen if Kevin Stefankski will return as his coach, but it’s not a sure thing that Sanders should be the Week 1 starter in 2026 should the Browns find a better alternative. But I don’t think Stefanski, a good offensive coach, was ever trying to sabotage Sanders’ career. I just think he was trying to hide his flaws and limitations that were often on display when he got to play with an offensive roster that is lacking in promising weapons outside of tight end Harold Fannin Jr.
I’m sure Sanders will still be a hot story in the offseason in Cleveland, but I’d be skeptical of thinking he has franchise potential.
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