8. Drake Maye, New England Patriots
Folks, don't say I didn't warn you. Drake Maye and the New England Patriots are coming in 2025, and Maye is going to have an insanely successful second year. He was a lot better than the raw stats might indicate during his rookie season, and it's important to not take the rookie season stats for what they are on the surface.
Rookie quarterbacks are playing the hardest position in sports in the NFL for the first time, so there is a lot of bad sprinkled in with the good, and these young passers often get a lot better as the season goes on. Maye is going to shock the NFL world in 2025 and gets to play in an offense now run by Josh McDaniels.
7. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
Bo Nix was on a 40-touchdown pass over the second half of the 2024 NFL Season, and this is one of those examples where the stats don't tell the entire story. Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos proved just about everyone wrong in the 2024 NFL Season, and they could do the same in 2025.
The talent is finally in place on offense, and the defense somehow found a way to get better. On paper, this might be the best team in the AFC West, and the untapped potential of Bo Nix himself has to be factored in as well.
6. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
Jared Goff is just an excellent QB and one of the few legitimate pocket passers left in this game. Sure, the Lions offense might take a hit with Ben Johnson no longer being in the picture, but Goff is plenty good enough to led the offense through any sort of bumpy road. Being that fifth or sixth-best QB in the NFL at any given time seems to be the ceiling for Jared Goff.
The bigger question is if this franchise will win a Super Bowl with Goff under center.
5. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes has not been great statistically over the past two seasons with the Chiefs, but this QB definitely has a 'floor' in the NFL. Mahomes is going to have another solid season, no matter how you slice it, and it's likely that KC is again atop the AFC. Mahomes did win the MVP back in 2022, so he's not all that far removed from being the best in the game without question.
He'll rank fifth in our power rankings from the future.