- Lamar Jackson continues to prove he’s an elite weapon: 2024’s QB1 has as high a ceiling as any player at his position entering Year 8.
- The optimism around Jayden Daniels is well deserved: Coming off not just an encouraging NFL season for the 2024 rookie, but Daniels’ fantasy potential heading into Year 2 is as high as any player at his position.
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Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
Breaking fantasy football rankings down into tiers helps fantasy managers better understand what separates each group and how to value each player at the position for this coming season.
TIER 1: The QB cheat codes
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM |
| 1 | Lamar Jackson | BLT |
| 2 | Josh Allen | BUF |
| 3 | Jayden Daniels | WAS |
| 4 | Jalen Hurts | PHI |
It’s no secret that an elite rushing quarterback offers significant upside for fantasy purposes, as the majority of top-five finishers each year offer above-average rushing ability. Heading into 2025, these four are the clear top options in rushing potential, and all have a history of top-five fantasy finishes in their careers.
Lamar Jackson just finished as the overall QB1 in 2024 by a significant margin, where even if he didn’t return to his career-high 93.3 passing grade like in 2024, he’d still likely push for the overall QB1 in fantasy. Jackson’s 41 passing touchdowns were also a career high, though he’s shown the ability to find the end zone through the air before with 36 passing touchdowns in 2019, as he’s also come with some expected positive regression in that regard in the seasons in between. Jackson ran the ball seven times per game last season – an elite rate – and found the end zone as a runner just four times despite posting the second-most rushing yards (852) for the position on the year, leaving a little room for improvement there, even with Derrick Henry in the lineup.
Jayden Daniels immediately established himself as a threat to Jackson’s rushing throne in his rookie season, surpassing Jackson in rushing yards (864), runs per game (8.1), and scramble rate (12.6%) – all league-leading marks. Not only did Daniels thrive as a runner, but he earned a top-five mark in PFF passing grade as a rookie, which is naturally going to combine for high expectations heading into Year 2, and if he delivers on those expectations, it would make him worthy of being the QB1 in the rankings.
Both Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts are no strangers to this top-tier ranking, and Allen has finished no lower than QB2 every year since 2020, and Hurts has ranked as the QB3, QB2, and QB6 over the past three years. Allen is arguably the most deserving of being ranked as the overall QB1 right now, though he offers the least amount of rushing upside of the group now despite coming up with the second-most rushing fantasy points last season due to his 12 rushing touchdowns, which may regress. With Daniels potentially improving in Year 2 while displaying more rushing potential, that ended up pushing Allen and Hurts slightly lower but still within this interchangeable top tier.
TIER 2: Variety is the spice of life
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM |
| 5 | Joe Burrow | CIN |
| 6 | Patrick Mahomes | KC |
| 7 | Baker Mayfield | TB |
| 8 | Justin Fields | NYJ |
| 9 | Kyler Murray | ARZ |
| 10 | Brock Purdy | SF |
| 11 | Bo Nix | DEN |
Outside of the top four quarterbacks, we get a good mix of high-end passers and those with above-average rushing upside. Depending on which style fantasy drafters might feel better about once the top names are off the board, there is still enough variety to choose from for a QB1 in 2025.
This past season was a down year for Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers as a whole, so a big part of this ranking is projecting a bounce-back year for the 49ers‘ franchise quarterback after signing a top-10 contract for the position this offseason. Purdy is just one year removed from finishing as the overall QB6 for fantasy after throwing for over 4,000 yards and 31 passing touchdowns. This ranking isn’t as optimistic as that for 2025, but it’s expected to be better than 2024, when his efficiency and accuracy dropped off. Helping Purdy’s case is that he flashed more rushing upside than he ever has last season, running about four times per game with an 8.2% scramble rate and delivering 4.2 rushing fantasy points per game, which ranks behind only the best runners in this tier (Kyler Murray and Justin Fields).
Fields also gets back into the QB1 conversation, as he has been in the past thanks to his high-end rushing ability. While Fields hasn’t quite been the passing threat that most teams would want from their starting quarterbacks, Fields is still locked in as the New York Jets‘ QB1 this season. As long as that is the case, he’ll be a QB1 option for fantasy. Even in limited starts on a more conservative offense last season, Fields ran the ball 5.3 times per game which ranked eighth at the position and thanks to how well he does with those attempts, he ranked fourth among all quarterbacks (min. 100 dropbacks) in fantasy points per dropback (0.62) behind only Jackson (0.83), Hurts (0.75), and Allen (0.70).
TIER 3: The Best of the Non-Obvious QB1s
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM |
| 12 | Caleb Williams | CHI |
| 13 | Drake Maye | NE |
| 14 | Jared Goff | DET |
| 15 | C.J. Stroud | HST |
| 16 | J.J. McCarthy | MIN |
| 17 | Justin Herbert | LAC |
| 18 | Dak Prescott | DAL |
| 19 | Jordan Love | GB |
| 20 | Trevor Lawrence | JAX |
The quarterback position is arguably in as good a place as it’s ever been for fantasy, and with this tier offering several former top-12 options and a movement at youth who all have that potential as soon as this season, there are some great quarterback options from this tier for anyone who may want to wait on the position.
Jared Goff is coming off three straight seasons with over 4,400 passing yards and two straight seasons with at least 30 passing touchdowns. When considering that the Detroit Lions are one of the more run-heavy offenses in the league, that is an impressive accomplishment for Goff, which is why he’s been a top-12 quarterback in each of these past three seasons and deserves to be in that consideration once again in 2025. Without Ben Johnson running the offense this season, the expectation for Goff drops a bit, which will hopefully transfer to Caleb Williams, though we’re not quite there yet. Even if Williams’ ranking is optimistic after a disappointing rookie season, he is set up to thrive in 2025.
Drake Maye comes with a nice value here in this tier, as he’s often going a little after QB13 in drafts and is one of the better bets to deliver a top-12 fantasy season going in that range. Maye offers solid rushing upside based on what we saw from him in college and his rookie year, where he averaged 4.5 runs per game last year with a 10.7% scramble rate, which ranked behind only Jayden Daniels among quarterbacks with at least 100 dropbacks. Maye’s offensive situation should also only get better in Year 2 with a new coaching staff and improved receiving corps, along with natural development. There’s plenty of room for Maye to have a much better season than his QB21 finish last year.
J.J. McCarthy is one of the more intriguing fantasy options heading into this season, as he is essentially a rookie in the NFL after missing the entirety of the 2024 season. However, he steps into a prime spot for passing potential in Kevin O’Connell’s offense that offers Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson as the primary receiving threats. This same offense allowed Sam Darnold to deliver 20.0 fantasy points per game last season, finishing as the overall QB7 on the year when it seemed like he was destined to be an NFL backup for the rest of his career heading into 2024. Considering the investment in McCarthy in the 2024 NFL Draft and letting Darnold walk in free agency after his career year, the Minnesota Vikings quarterback has a lot of confidence backing him as a strong starting option for 2025.
TIER 4: Superflex starters
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM |
| 20 | Trevor Lawrence | JAX |
| 21 | Michael Penix Jr. | ATL |
| 22 | Bryce Young | CAR |
| 23 | Cam Ward | TEN |
| 24 | Tua Tagovailoa | MIA |
| 25 | Sam Darnold | SEA |
| 26 | Geno Smith | LV |
| 27 | Matthew Stafford | LA |
This tier offers the starting NFL quarterbacks who don’t have any questions surrounding their starting ability heading into 2025, which keeps them as viable depth options for fantasy and likely starters in most superflex formats.
Penix was a surprise as a top-10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft after the team signed Kirk Cousins to a big contract that same offseason, but after taking over for the faltering Cousins late in 2024, Penix put together a small stretch of very encouraging play. After taking over as the starter in Week 16, Penix looked more than capable of running an NFL offense, earning an 84.0 passing grade through the final three games, a top-10 mark in the league over that span. As a fantasy asset, Penix has room to improve, ranking as the QB17 over that final stretch, although he did deliver a QB6 finish in Week 18 thanks to high-end passing play, which is the catalyst of his potential breakout, while playing behind a top-tier offensive line with high-end weapons on offense.
Darnold, meanwhile, joins his fifth new team since entering the league, though he is coming off his best season, earning a top-10 overall PFF grade (82.7) and passing grade (80.3) in the regular season. This also resulted in a top-10 fantasy finish in 2024, though new challenges are likely to emerge on an entirely new offense in 2025. Darnold’s final two games (Week 18 and wild-card round) were not anywhere close to the level of performance that he had displayed all season, so on top of joining a new offense, there’s concern that he will regress this season. However, his 2024 season as a whole was encouraging enough, along with his new contract, which will keep him as the season-long starter and in this superflex starting territory as well.
TIER 5: Starters with question marks
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM |
| 28 | Daniel Jones | IND |
| 29 | Aaron Rodgers | PIT |
| 30 | Russell Wilson | NYG |
| 31 | Joe Flacco | CLV |
| 32 | Spencer Rattler | NO |
This tier represents the final group of expected NFL starters who have a shot to be fantasy-relevant come Week 1, though there are enough questions about their fantasy potential or with their grasp on those starting jobs that they aren’t ideal options in most formats.
Daniel Jones won the starting job over Anthony Richardson, putting him in a good spot to deliver as a capable fantasy option when needed. The last time Jones held a starting job for an entire season (2022), he delivered a top-10 fantasy quarterback finish. The Indianapolis Colts offer a solid enough offensive line and capable receiving weapons to allow Jones to be elevated above his current ADP evaluation, making him a potential sleeper candidate to target later in fantasy drafts.
TIER 6: “So you’re saying there’s a chance…”
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM |
| 33 | Jaxson Dart | NYG |
| 34 | Joe Milton | DAL |
| 35 | Jalen Milroe | SEA |
| 36 | Jameis Winston | NYG |
| 37 | Anthony Richardson | IND |
| 38 | Shedeur Sanders | CLV |
| 39 | Kirk Cousins | ATL |
| 40 | Tyler Shough | NO |
The final tier of quarterbacks is ordered by fantasy potential if they were to somehow take over a starting role at some point this season.
Shedeur Sanders impressed in his first preseason game, and as things have improved since the pre-draft process, his likelihood to secure starting reps at some point this season has improved. Among the stable of potential Browns quarterbacks heading into this season, Sanders has the most fantasy upside of the group. He offers a little more dynamism and can potentially yield fantasy production as a result. That keeps him in play as a deep-league option.
Joe Milton’s one game in 2024, where he delivered 21.2 fantasy points on the back of a rushing touchdown to go along with 241 passing yards and a passing touchdown, was encouraging enough to let him top this list. It’s a small sample, but outside of the top 200 in ADP, that matters very little when it comes to that kind of output being within his range of outcomes, especially on a better offense than he was last season.
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