The NFL quarterback hierarchy could look surprising when the 2025 season ends. Let's predict how it might look.
There will be some quarterbacks who breakout in 2025, and some who end up regressing big-time. No team in the NFL is going to sustain long-term success without high-end QB play, and there isn't really a secret formula here.
Teams have to get the QB right, and most everything else falls into place. Well, it's not much of a debate who the very best passers in the NFL are. However, the QB hierarchy could look a lot different than you might think when 2025 ends.
We tried our best to predict how the QB rankings might shake-out at the end of 2025. Let's get into it.
NFL Power Rankings: Predicting the QB hierarchy when 2025 ends
10. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
Justin Herbert is a perfectly 'good' quarterback, but that might be all he is. He's been the same B+ quarterback his entire career, and there just isn't much else to say here. The Chargers have largely been a decent team during Herbert's tenure, but they got gotten embarrassed in both playoff appearances with the QB under center.
He can put up nice statistics, but that's about it. With that said, there really aren't a ton of QBs in the NFL who are better, so being ranked 10th feels right. Justin Herbert is 10th in our QB rankings.
9. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Matthew Stafford still has some good football left, and the Los Angeles Rams may have another Super Bowl run in them, as the roster they have now might be the best they've had in quite some time. Stafford was rotting away for years in Detroit, so I still believe he's quite underrated.
However, another strong year or two could propel Stafford into a solid Hall of Fame argument. The veteran QB is ninth in our QB power rankings from the future for 2025.
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.
4. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen won the MVP in the 2024 NFL Season, but I personally believe it should have gone to Lamar Jackson. Allen is a great QB and has taken ownership of the AFC East for years now, but it's getting to a point where Buffalo needs to actually do some damage in the playoffs, as legacies are on the line.
What direction will the Bills go in if they again fall short in the postseason? What would they change? They have lost to the Kansas City Chiefs time and time again when the games matter most, but at least Josh Allen is one of the league's best passers, and that won't change in 2025.
3. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
Jayden Daniels might already be a top-5 QB depending on who you ask. He could truly be the closest thing we have to Lamar Jackson. In his first year in the NFL, he helped lead the Washington Commanders to 14 total wins and put up MVP-caliber numbers. Daniels could ascend in 2025 and actually earn a ton of MVP votes.
Washington added Laremy Tunsil and Deebo Samuel on offense and could cement themselves as a Super Bowl contender. There isn't much to like about Jayden Daniels. He'll end the 2025 season as the third-best QB in the NFL.
2. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Joe Burrow is the second-best QB in the NFL behind only Lamar Jackson, and that is not going to change in 2025. Burrow had the best season of his career, but it was wasted away by a putrid defense. You'd have to think that if Cincinnati is able to get Trey Hendrickson and Shemar Stewart onto the field in 2025, the unit will be better, right?
Burrow is a surgical quarterback and is someone who could absolutely end up in the Hall of Fame one day. He is second in our QB power rankings/
1. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson is a two-time MVP and absolutely should have won the award in 2024, but what do I know? Jackson is again playing with a loaded roster on both sides of the ball, so there is no reason to believe that he can't have another legendary season.
He seems to have put any sort of injury concern behind him, and he played the best football of his life back in 2024. The Ravens have to do more in the postseason, though, but that doesn't really have much to do with Jackson being the best QB in the league.