We say all the time that it’s okay to wait to draft a quarterback in fantasy football. After a certain point, a huge group of them is only separated by a small margin in points per game. But how wide IS the gap? Every summer, I put together stat projections to help me rank players for fantasy football. Sometimes I do really well. Sometimes, not so much. This year, I wanted to break down tiers in addition to my fantasy QB rankings. Many of us play in multiple leagues. Some even draft an inordinate number of best ball teams. So instead of following a straight line rankings sheet, let’s group players into tiers and allow ourselves to zig and zag in a given draft, providing variance with our lineups.
With that, let’s talk about my QB tiers heading into the 2025 fantasy football season.
Don’t miss the rest of my Rankings Tier Articles: RBs here! | WRs here! | TEs here!
QB Tiers – 2025 Fantasy QB Rankings
Tier 1
It’s unsurprising to have the top 2 QBs in the 2024 MVP voting in this list. It’s probably unsurprising to have arguably the QB1 in dynasty formats in this tier as well. But many will tell me they’re surprised to see the 2024 Super Bowl MVP in this tier.
All of these guys, in my projections, average over 26 fantasy points per game (6 points per passing TD). Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, one could argue, belong in their own tier. They’re the clear top of the class and have been doing this for years. Daniels is the newcomer, having finished as QB5 last year. He presents a similar rushing upside to Lamar Jackson, which elevates his floor. If he becomes as efficient as Jackson, look out.
So why is Hurts in this tier? Last year was a down year passing, with less than 3,000 yards and only 18 passing TDs. But did you know he had a higher PPG than Jayden Daniels? Did you also know he led all QBs in rushing TDs with 14? And maybe you forgot that he has four straight seasons with over 600 rushing yards and 10 or more rushing TDs? With Saquon Barkley highly unlikely to rush for another 2,000 yards, expect more passing this year, which will push Hurts back into this tier of QBs.
These are the QBs you likely need to grab between rounds 3-4, maybe even in the 2nd round, if you like the idea of drafting a QB early and never having to worry about the position for the rest of the season.
Tier 2
Burrow is the only QB without an elite rushing floor that regularly belongs in this tier, just as he did last year. Every year he’s played a full season (three of five years), he’s thrown for more than 4,400 yards and 34 TDs. His passing volume for fantasy managers is on a Peyton Manning trajectory. Oh, and he has the luxury of throwing to arguably the best WR duo in football, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
At the end of round 4, or anywhere in round 5, is a fair spot to draft Burrow.
Tier 3
All seven of these guys are separated by less than 18 fantasy points in my projections. Four of these seven finished among the top 12 QBs in fantasy a year ago. All are in situations where they should finish the season as a top 12 QB.
Kyler Murray and Bo Nix offer 500-yard rushing upside, a huge boost to their fantasy profile. And both should exceed 3,600 passing yards and 24 TDs. Purdy has been efficient enough to finish as a top QB in the past. His challenge this year is a shift in faces in featured roles. Mahomes and Herbert are top 10 QB talents (clearly), and maintain their status as top 12 fantasy QBs in 2025.
Jordan Love and Caleb Williams are my wild cards here. Love’s production took a hit from the increased usage of Josh Jacobs last year, while throwing a ton of INTs early in the season. He has plenty of WRs, but not one who has shown they can take over a game. But his ability to distribute to a multitude of playmakers offers 30 TD upside.
We all expected Caleb Williams to come out slinging last year, especially with how great the weapons were around him. But the offensive line was still shit and the play caller was bigger shit. Out with the shit and in with the golden boy. Ben Johnson is fresh off a three-year stretch as the Lions’ offensive coordinator, where they scored 57 and 68 TDs the last two seasons. They reinforced the offensive line with standout veterans and added more offensive firepower during the NFL Draft. Coming off a 26 passing TD rookie season, the arrow is firmly pointing up for Caleb Williams heading into Year 2.
These are the final group of “starting” QBs in fantasy for me. I wouldn’t be targeting any of these guys before the 9th round of drafts.
Tier 4
- Trevor Lawrence
- Baker Mayfield
- C.J. Stroud
- Drake Maye
- Bryce Young
- Jared Goff
- Tua Tagovailoa
- Justin Fields
- JJ McCarthy
- Cam Ward
- Dak Prescott
This group of 11 QBs is separated by a grand total of 36 fantasy points in my projections. You can make the case that any of them can put up a top 12 season, land squarely in this tier, or fall on their face and be outside the top 24.
Baker Mayfield and Jared Goff were QB4 and QB7 last year, respectively, and could just as easily put up stats that are similar in 2025. Their biggest obstacles are working with new offensive coordinators. Trevor Lawrence, C.J. Stroud, Tua Tagovailoa, and Dak Prescott (even Bryce Young) have 30 TD potential. Drake Maye and Justin Fields could easily top 600 rushing yards, providing a fantasy floor that no one else in this tier possesses.
The biggest wild cards in this tier are JJ McCarthy and Cam Ward. Both are 1st year starters. One gets to throw to Justin Jefferson, while the other was the number-one overall pick in this year’s draft. They have just as good a chance of launching into Tier 3 as they do of falling into the bottom quarter of starting QBs in fantasy this year.
This tier is full of priority backups that, given your league size, you’ll look to pair with a stud in the event of injury. If your league isn’t one that typically rosters backup QBs, they’re your top streaming options and are likely to be heavily featured throughout the season in Ryan Weisse’s Stream of the Week column.
Tier 5
This is the “old veterans and the young kid with no rushing upside” tier. Stafford and Geno are in spots where there’s not a young QB to threaten them, so their teams are banking on their health and effectiveness. They both are going to throw for a ton of yards, but how many TDs are in the offering with both featuring workhorse RBs that will steal red zone TDs?
Penix Jr. could easily be a Tier 4 QB, possibly even Tier 3 if the team decides to trust his arm talent and decision-making after only three starts last year. He’s another QB with a workhorse RB behind him that is likely to limit his TD upside.
Similar to Tier 4, these QBs are mainly streaming options and preferred backups.
Tier 6
This is the “veteran QB that has a young QB biting at his heels” tier. While Darnold was given a 3-year deal in excess of $100 million, it’s basically a 1-year deal. The team spent a 3rd round pick on Jalen Milroe, and the team is very excited about his potential. If Darnold turns back into a pumpkin and proves last year was a fluke, expect Seattle to give the electric rookie a chance to show what he can do as they prepare for the future.
Russell Wilson is on a one-year deal, and the Giants just spent a 1st round pick on a QB. Couple that with an absolutely brutal schedule, and it’s not crazy to think that Wilson only starts half the Giants’ games in 2025.
These QBs should only be rostered in Superflex and 2QB leagues. I’d be hard pressed to even consider them weekly streaming options.
Tier 7
- Tyler Shough
- Anthony Richardson
- Kenny Pickett
- Will Howard
- Mason Rudolph
- Daniel Jones
This is the “teams with unsettled starters” tier. The Saints, Colts, Browns, and Steelers all have major questions heading into training camp. Not one of these players has proven to their team that they should be the starter for a full season.
Tyler Shough is a rookie 2nd round pick and has to beat out two other largely unproven (and ineffective) QBs; Anthony Richardson is likely facing his last chance to be the Colts starting QB after the team brought in Daniel Jones to compete with him; Kenny Pickett is battling with three other QBs (a 40-year old Joe Flacco and two rookies) to be the Browns starter; and Will Howard is competing with Mason Rudolph to decide who will back up Aaron Rodgers when he finally decides to become the Steelers starting QB.
Basically, these are the guys you’re blowing FAAB on when your starter gets hurt and you’re desperate for a streaming option in your 14- or 16-team league.
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These tiers will be tweaked as the summer goes on and camp reports come out. I fully expect a couple of QBs to move up or down a tier, but any drastic jumps are highly unlikely.
(And for what it’s worth, if/when Aaron Rodgers signs with the Steelers as has been reported, he’d jump into Tier 5 for me, around QB24. No real threat to his starting status, but there’s only DK Metcalf to throw to, so I worry about his TD upside.)
Do you disagree with my 2025 fantasy QB rankings? Feel free to @ me on X/Twitter, Instagram, or Blue Sky and let’s discuss! You can also find more great content from Club Fantasy here!
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