2025 NFL QB Power Rankings: Rating all 32 starters before minicamp

The NFL offseason is far from over, but the roster building is largely complete.

We saw the final starting quarterback fall into place last week, as Aaron Rodgers (finally) signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. There’s an outside chance the Falcons’ Kirk Cousins could still join another team and take over as a starter, but in all likelihood, every club’s starting QB is already on its roster. So, now seems like the perfect time to rank them.

I took a look at what the outlook is for all 32 QBs and ranked them for 2025 with a focus on how things changed around each signal-caller over the offseason. 

Let’s dive in.

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It’s anyone’s guess who will start in Cleveland. Logically, you could make the case for any one of them. 

Flacco has played well in Kevin Stefanski’s offense, and the coach needs to make sure he doesn’t get fired. Kenny Pickett cost the Browns a draft pick, and is a compelling candidate to pull off what Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield and Geno Smith have done in recent years. And then there are the rookies, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel. 

Whether he’s playing or not, Sanders will drive the national conversation more than any other rookie QB. And I think, sooner or later, Sanders will play.

I’m optimistic that he’ll win the QB1 job. I’m not optimistic about what’ll happen next.

Ward’s first year in Tennessee is likely to look eerily similar to Williams’ first year in Chicago.

Wilson will fend off Jaxson Dart for as long as he can.

These are the guys Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen bet their jobs on. 

Wait, these are the guys Daboll and Schoen bet their jobs on?

It would be extremely exciting if the Richardson experiment finally looked like a success. It just also feels a little unrealistic, given how tense things will get with GM Chris Ballard and coach Shane Steichen likely on the hot seat. There is almost a 100 percent chance that Richardson and Daniel Jones will both start for this team.

Penix didn’t show us enough last year to make an honest assessment. But in the limited sample (three starts and 105 passes), he kept his team competitive. 

I just want to let myself get excited about DK Metcalf and Kaleb Johnson and Jaylen Warren and Pat Friermuth and Broderick Jones. And I’d let myself, if it wasn’t for … Aaron Rodgers.

It seemed that folks in Pittsburgh breathed a sigh of relief when Rodgers signed: Finally, this nightmare is over. 

But that’s not how it works with this version of Rodgers. The nightmare is just beginning.

I just want to let myself get excited about Fields and Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall and Aaron Glenn and Armand Membou and Mason Taylor. And I’d let myself, if it wasn’t for … the Jets.

It feels like a decade ago when Lawrence played in the postseason. But the date was Jan. 21, 2023. Things change fast in the NFL. It’s just that I’m not sure Lawrence has changed enough since entering the league as the top pick in 2021.

For those who watched Carolina in the back half of last season, Young reminded everyone why he was the No. 1 overall pick in 2023. But few watched. His job in 2025 will be to ensure everyone has no choice.

I’m fading on Murray, who has no feel for how and when to use his tremendous talents to tip the scales of a game and generate wins for his team. It’s the Cardinals (who have been bad for a long time), so take this with a grain of salt. But Murray is 36-45-1 in his career.

Williams remains one of the best young QB prospects in the NFL. Now, he has one of the best situations in the NFL. Let’s see some results.

Maye has kept a low profile while his hype train gains steam. Film junkies love him, because they spent 2024 wondering: What if? Well, given how much the Patriots paid to change the complexion of this offense, we might actually find out.

Can Pete Carroll have the John Harbaugh effect? By that, I mean: Can Carroll’s experience make up for a massively flawed roster? I don’t think so. Nor do I think Smith is anywhere near as talented as Herbert. Las Vegas will go through big growing pains this year.

The Dolphins are going to have to score a lot of points, given the current complexion of their secondary. (It’s a disaster — worst in the NFL.) That could be a problem for Tua and Miami. The Dolphins, who once scored 70 points in a game in 2023, scored the 11th fewest points (20.3) in 2024.

Darnold left one of the NFL’s best situations and landed in one that’s solid. I don’t expect him to wholly fall apart. I think he’ll still be fairly prolific. (Geno Smith was.) But I don’t know that Darnold will wow us — nor will he surprise — in 2025.

The rookie year was impressive, though maybe that’s been overstated at this point. The sophomore year was unimpressive … and maybe that’s also been overstated at this point. I genuinely don’t know where he goes from here.

The 49ers lost their way offensively in 2024, and it wasn’t just because of injuries. Yes, Purdy was sorting out how to manage a locker room, a huddle and a game plan without his best players. But I also think Kyle Shanahan was doing that in a season where teams schematically caught up to the 49ers’ system.

For the 49ers, is this the beginning of the end? Or the beginning of a new chapter?

Here’s a guy who quickly learned how to eliminate bad plays. Nix is boring. But if he can stay in a good system with a good supporting cast, there’s no reason why he won’t be the next Jared Goff — and maybe even with a little more athleticism.

Love has to do what is theoretically simple but actionably difficult (and boring). He needs to eliminate bad plays from his repertoire — even if that means losing some of his explosive, highlight-reel plays.

You could put just about anyone in the Vikings’ QB slot, and I’d get excited about him. But McCarthy was a top-10 pick in what’s shaping up to be an incredible QB class. This year, McCarthy might look like 2023 Brock Purdy — an athletic point guard with an idyllic supporting cast.

It was a bad 2024 season for Prescott before the injury. The arrivals of George Pickens and Tyler Booker should help. But given that Prescott is making $60 million per year (and given that he plays for the most-discussed football team in the world), he’s going to be living on a knife’s edge for the whole 2025 season.

It’ll be the second year in Jim Harbaugh’s system. Herbert will have more help, with the arrival of Mike Williams, Tre Harris, Omarion Hampton, Najee Harris and Mekhi Becton. It’s the Chargers, so they’ll always let you down. But Herbert should have another strong, efficient year.

Can he survive losing two offensive coordinators in as many years? 

Here’s what Mayfield did after losing his OC in 2024: 4,500 passing yards, 41 passing touchdowns. Yes, I’m betting on Baker.

Stafford won’t go away. I’m not as sure as everyone else that Davante Adams is the same transcendent talent at 33 years old. Adams will be WR2 behind Puka Nacua. But Stafford and Sean McVay have been too quiet for too long. This year, things are going to align for the Rams to make a deep run on the shoulders of Stafford.

The Lions’ offseason was mostly about maintaining the status quo. But the status quo could end up being pretty damn good for Goff, who had 4,629 passing yards, 37 passing touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

The first act was incredible. He was the Offensive Rookie of the Year and he appeared in the NFC Championship Game. He might regress, if only because of how much he achieved. But it’ll be important to keep in perspective how good he is, even if he’s just below where he finished last year.

The Eagles were at their best in an efficiency-based passing offense — maximizing each throw, but throwing relatively sparingly.

So, what happens if this Eagles defense isn’t reliable — or even good? That’ll put more on Hurts. I look forward to seeing him taking over a few games with his arm.

Nothing’s changed.

Here comes another huge year from Lamar. And it feels criminal to have him ranked fourth, but I hope people see that’s a testament to the current quality of QBs (and not a shot at Lamar).

This coming year, the Bills won’t suddenly shift into a high-volume passing attack, but Allen will have more help with the addition of Josh Palmer and the growth of Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman and Dalton Kincaid. Because of that, I think Allen might only get better.

Here comes another huge statistical year from Joe Burrow. The offense is likely to play as well as it did last year. The defense is likely to play as poorly as it did last year. So it’s not just that Burrow is playing the best football of his life. It’s that he’ll have to play the best football of his life in order for the Bengals to stay playoff-relevant.

Mahomes might not finish the season with a stellar record, but his individual performances will look a whole lot prettier than last year. The Chiefs invested in the left tackle position in both free agency (Jaylon Moore) and the draft (Josh Simmons). I’m willing to bet that position holds solid throughout the season. If the line keeps it together and the young wideouts (Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy) continue to ascend, Mahomes can finally do more with his offense. Which means he’ll be the best QB in the NFL again.

Before joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna. 

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