The AFC is filled to the brim with quality quarterbacks. Let's power rank the starting passers for the 2024 NFL Season. We are just a few weeks away from the start of the 2025 NFL Season, and it promises to be a good one.
What we do know in the AFC is that this conference has an insane amount of QB talent; perhaps more than ever before. There is a ton of younger QBs right in the middle of their prime, and three of the most notable ones played their best in 2024.
It is a bit hard to rank all 16 projected starters at QB in the AFC for 2025, but we did it here. Let's get into it.
Power ranking projected starting quarterbacks in the AFC for the 2025 NFL Season
Unranked: Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans
Cam Ward has not taken a snap in a real NFL game before, so we're not going to rank him anywhere for now. Ward and the Tennessee Titans hope to get on the right track in 2025, but it's probably more of a longer rebuilding process for this team.
Ward is a project, and the rest of the roster is shaky at best.
15. Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts
Anthony Richardson is the definition of "boom or bust." Unfortunately for the Colts, though, they are mostly getting the bust side of things. Richardson might be an all-time athlete at the QB position, but that is only good for so much. He is a disastrously awful passer and just doesn't have the smaller nuances of the game down.
14. Justin Fields, New York Jets
Another QB who is way more athlete than quarterback is Justin Fields. He's already on his third team in as many seasons and is set to start for the New York Jets in 2025. Fields is a bottom-5 starter in the NFL and is really only still in line to start because of his running ability. He's 14th in our rankings.
13. Joe Flacco, Cleveland Browns
If nothing else, Joe Flacco can be serviceable for a team. He's back with the Cleveland Browns and might be in the last year of his career. Flacco is a Super Bowl champion with the Baltimore Ravens and has been an average QB for most of his career, but he's down to the 18th hole, if you will.
12. Geno Smith, Las Vegas Raiders
I really, truly do not get the fascination with Geno Smith. There is a reason why the Seattle Seahawks traded him for a third-round pick this offseason. He's probably the 22nd-best QB in the NFL and is just nothing special at all.
The aging Pete Carroll may have been the only head coach in the NFL who wanted Smith to start for his team, and it's going to be a short-term thing in Las Vegas. The Raiders have shaky talent along their offensive line and a below-average defense, so things are going to go as expected in 2025.
11. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars broke out in the 2022 NFL Season but have not been able to find that success since. With Liam Coen as the new head coach, you get the sense that this is their best-possible chance at figuring things out in the Lawrence era. The former first overall pick is honestly pretty average at this point, but he's still got a bit of upside and can really do a little bit of everything at the position.
10. Drake Maye, New England Patriots
Drake Maye is going to shoot up this list, and when we're doing these power rankings a year from now, it would not shock me if Maye was well inside the top-10. He played a lot better as a rookie than the statistics might indicate, and he's now on a team with a much more secure offensive line, a proven head coach in Mike Vrabel, and a future Hall of Fame coordinator in Josh McDaniels.
Maye and the New England Patriots are absolutely on the right track. The arrow is pointing up in a big way for this franchise.
9. Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers
To be fair to Aaron Rodgers, he did throw for 28 touchdown passes in the 2024 NFL Season with the New York Jets and also was a lot better down the stretch. Now on his third career team, Rodgers is likely retiring after this season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but everyone can see that Rodgers isn't the passer he once was.
8. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
Tua Tagovailoa needs to stay on the field more, as he's actually never finished a season with a losing record in his NFL career. It's a bit shocking to hear that statistic, but it's true. While he's efficient on paper, he's never demonstrated that he can carry a team and lead them to victory like some of the top QBs in the NFL can, but he's good enough to always have a starting job.
Tagovailoa is eighth in our power rankings - right in the middle, and that feels right.
7. CJ Stroud, Houston Texans
After a major breakout season in 2023, CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans' offense regressed in the 2024 NFL Season. Stroud is a pocket passer and is going to make a living as one. Him not being all that mobile with his legs could be a major reason why he never ascends to elite status, but I promise you that the Houston Texans love that he's their QB.
I expect that CJ Stroud is going to bounce back and have a great year in 2025.
6. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
Bo Nix threw zero touchdowns against four interceptions in his first two games of his NFL career. The Denver Broncos were 0-2 through those two games, but over the next 15 contests, the Broncos went 10-5, and Nix threw 29 touchdowns against just eight interceptions, so he was incredibly efficient. The one stat I love to reference when talking about Nix is that over the final eight games of the regular season, he was on a 45-touchdown pace.
He's likely taking a bigger role in the passing offense in 2025 and will now have more reliable weapons at his disposal. Nix is sixth in our power rankings.
5. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
Justin Herbert has been a B+ quarterback for his entire career and has not really changed much at all. Herbert took care of the football at a high level in the 2024 NFL Season, but it really did not matter when the playoffs rolled around.
Herbert and the Chargers have gotten blown out in both playoff appearances they have made, so you have to wonder if this is the ceiling from Justin Herbert. He's not an elite QB and is not in the 'big four' of the remaining AFC quarterbacks.
4. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes has not been nearly as efficient over the past two seasons as he has been in previous years. Despite that dip into production, the Kansas City Chiefs have been to two Super Bowls, winning one of them, which is insane.
If the Chiefs can figure things out on offense in 2025, they could easily continue the dynasty, but as of now, he is not the best QB in the NFL, let alone the AFC. The future Hall of Famer comes in fourth in our power rankings.
3. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen won the NFL MVP award in 2024 and is looking to take his Buffalo Bills' squad to the Super Bowl. Josh Allen and the Bills have done everything there is to do besides winning the big game, so you have to wonder if anything changes?
They dominate the regular season, but they have failed to get past the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs. Fortunately for them, Allen played the best football of his NFL career in 2024, so better things could be coming soon.
2. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Throwing 43 touchdowns but missing the playoffs in 2024, Joe Burrow was on fire and formed a lethal connection yet again with Ja'Marr Chase. I do truly wonder if Burrow is fed up with the Bengals' franchise - they have failed to put consistent teams around him, and Burrow himself is a top-flight QB and is surely wanting to build a legacy for himself.
Do we have another (future) Carson Palmer situation on our hands? Whatever you think of the Cincinnati Bengals, you can't dispute how good Burrow is. He is second in the AFC.
1. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson should have won the MVP award in 2024 and I am not sure that is controversial at all. Jackson seriously threw 41 touchdowns against just four interceptions and was still elite on the ground. It's insane to be that Josh Allen won, but I think what we saw with the MVP voting was a classic case of voter fatigue.
Anyway, Jackson is the best quarterback in the NFL right now and is a future Hall of Famer.