A first look at the highest scoring position in the game
As they say in Steelers’ Country, Here We Go! Today’s column begins my 2025 Fantasy Football redraft rankings and tiers. Running back, wide receiver, and tight end will follow, and I’ll update them all in August, closer to when season-long redraft season kicks in for real. Hopefully, these initial looks at each of the major positions will help you to start thinking about player values and draft strategies.
Before we get to the rankings and commentary, here are three quick observations about the quarterback position in 2025. Do with them what you will.
1. QB is loaded! I’ve been playing fantasy for 30-plus years and can’t recall this much quality and depth at the position. Look down the rankings and you’ll see what I mean. There are names well past QB12 that are very appealing starters for fantasy. All that depth means you can wait longer on QB, even in Superflex leagues, if you choose to pass on the elite options at the position. It also means that it’s not difficult to grab two good starting quarterbacks in a Superflex format, and it’s extremely easy in a 1-QB league. I always like leaving 1-QB drafts with two good QBs.
2. QB is young! It’s so young, one of the players is actually named Young! 15 of the 32 projected opening-day starters were taken in three fairly recent NFL drafts: 2018 (4), 2020 (5), and 2024 (6). Only four projected opening-day starters are currently 35 or older: Aaron Rodgers (41), Joe Flacco (40), Matt Stafford (37), and Russell Wilson (36), and at least three of those are starters for the last time. In other words, quarterback should be strong and deep (for fantasy, anyway) for a good while.
3. Running quarterbacks zip past the competition! I’ve written a lot in the past about the evolution of the running QB and how it’s changed fantasy. An elite dual-threat QB is almost like having two players in one. With a point awarded for every ten rushing yards and six points granted for every rushing TD, mobile signal-callers can pile up points a lot more easily than pocket passers. A QB who runs for 500 yards and 5 TDs on the season is getting on average 4-5 more fantasy points per game (FPPG) than a quarterback who doesn’t run much (or at all). There are more mobile QBs now than at any time in the past, and you’ll see how runners are favored throughout my rankings.
I’ve organized the quarterbacks into tiers, as I do at every position. You should do the same. I’ve written a lot in the past on why it’s smart to use tiers for your draft board. In a nutshell, everyone wants the best players, and a tiered approach allows fantasy managers to have a great view of (a) ranges of players who can be expected to have similar fantasy production, (b) where the drop-offs are between those ranges, and (c) how many players in a range remain available at any given time. Tiers really help when position runs come, and they facilitate more effective drafting, regardless of whether you use a snake or auction format.
My QB rankings and tiers assume four points per passing TD. Some leagues award six, which gives some extra juice for the heavier throwers. Season-long rankings shown are on a FPPG basis, and exclude the final week of the season.
You can link to all of my preseason fantasy content here, including all the rankings and tiers (once they’re posted), and much more.
OK, you’ve waited long enough…
Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images
Tier I – The Dual-Threat Studs
1. Lamar Jackson
2. Josh Allen
3. Jayden Daniels
4. Jalen Hurts
Commentary: I generally preach waiting on quarterback and especially now with so much depth, but these four stars bring such a scoring advantage with their running prowess (combined with solid passing) that I can’t fault you for taking any one of them at or near his ADP. Allen has been the No. 1 or No. 2 overall scorer in fantasy for five straight seasons, Jackson and Hurts each have averaged more than 20 FPPG for three straight seasons, and Daniels broke fantasy last season by finishing as the QB4 as a rookie, and will only get better. The tush-push lives on, and these four stud QBs are just about the surest things in fantasy this season.
Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images
Tier II – The Top Throwers
5. Joe Burrow
6. Baker Mayfield
7. Patrick Mahomes
Commentary: I almost put Burrow (QB3 in 2024) in his own tier, and in leagues that award six points per TD pass I’d probably do that. If Cincinnati’s defense is again just a giant slice of Swiss cheese, then Burrow could repeat or even surpass his gaudy 2024 numbers. But I can’t put him in the top tier because he has to be in the 5,000 yard-40+ TD range to compete with those guys. Mayfield has great weapons and I think he’ll be fine even with OC Liam Coen moving on to Jacksonville. Chris Godwin missed more than half of last season and Mike Evans missed four and a half games and Mayfield still finished as the QB5. The iffy one is Mahomes, who is coming off back-to-back disappointing seasons (for fantasy) where he fell all the way to the QB10-12 range after finishing in the Top-5 QBs in each of his first five years as KC’s starter. His weapons should be good enough for him to do his thing, but if the defense remains stout, he won’t need to light up the scoreboard. I’m not taking Mahomes at his ADP, given the depth below.
Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
Tier III – The Upside Guys
8. Kyler Murray
9. Bo Nix
10. Justin Fields
11. Brock Purdy
12. Dak Prescott
13. Drake Maye
14. Justin Herbert
15. Caleb Williams
16. Jared Goff
Commentary: There’s a lot to like in this tier, which offers a range of younger and older QBs, dual-threats and pocket passers. Williams disappointed as a rookie but should benefit from offensive line upgrades, two shiny new rookie passing weapons, and most importantly, new HC Ben Johnson. Fellow sophomores Nix and Maye are dual-threats who showed lots of promise as rookies. Fields is a gifted runner and while it’s not always pretty, he’s performed as a Top-10 quarterback every time he’s gotten a chance to start for a decent stretch. I have Goff (QB7 last season) last in this tier because he’s the only one who won’t give you anything on the ground, plus Williams’s gain (Ben Johnson) is Goff’s loss, and I don’t think Detroit’s defense will be decimated with injuries again. If Prescott can stay healthy, he’ll benefit from the addition of George Pickens in what figures to be a pass-happy offense (and especially in the red zone).
Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images
Tier IV – The Sleepers
17. Jordan Love
18. C.J. Stroud
19. Trevor Lawrence
20. Tua Tagovailoa
21. Bryce Young
22. Matthew Stafford
23. J.J. McCarthy
24. Michael Penix
25. Cam Ward
26. Geno Smith
27. Sam Darnold
Commentary: OK, none of these guys are “sleepers,” and several of them have had Top-10 seasons at some point in the past. But the position is so deep, I had to call them something. This tier is where the real depth is. I won’t make a lot of guarantees this season (I never do), but I’ll guarantee this: At least one of these 11 quarterbacks will finish Top-12 at the position (making him a QB1). Bank it. My top choices for that would be Love or Lawrence, but I can see a path for just about all of them. Given the uncertainty with second-year QBs, I especially like backing up Maye or Williams (or even Nix) with one of the higher-end players in this tier.
Tier V – The Rest
28. Aaron Rodgers
29. Joe Flacco
30. Daniel Jones
31. Russell Wilson
32. Anthony Richardson
33. Jaxson Dart
34. Saints’ QBs
Commentary: Other than in the deepest of Superflex leagues, these QBs should live on the waiver wire this season, with one caveat. If one quarterback wins and keeps the Colts’ starting job, that player should outplay his ranking and especially since both are runners, and the weapons are good.
Coming next: Running back rankings and tiers, so keep it here!