Fantasy Football Rankings 2025: Quarterback tiers

• Jayden Daniels could join the elite tier: Daniels exceeded expectations as a rookie and the Washington Commanders could greatly improve the wide receiver room this offseason.

• Don’t count out Brock Purdy: The San Francisco 49ers quarterback is one of four quarterbacks to rank in the top-10 in fantasy points per game for a quarterback each of the last two seasons.

• 2025 NFL Draft season is here: Try PFF's best-in-class Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2025's top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

With the conclusion of the 2024 NFL season, these way-too-early 2025 fantasy football rankings are an initial look at how players could be ranked this summer.

Player movement in free agency will have a big factor on the rankings, particularly at running back. For now, players expected to be unrestricted free agents are marked as free agents in the team column.

These rankings are for redraft PPR leagues. Most of the logic is for single-quarterback leagues, but the general order of the quarterbacks remains true for superflex leagues.

Last Updated: 7:00 a.m Monday, January 20

Tier 1: The 24 points-per-game players

Allen and Jackson have been in a league of their own regarding quality and consistency. In the last five seasons, Allen has finished among the top three quarterbacks in fantasy points per game. His worst season over the five-season stretch is better than anyone else’s average season. Allen also had the best PFF offensive grade among quarterbacks at that time. His only problem this season was a lack of consistency early in the year and a few games where the Bills dominated with their run game and didn’t need Allen to accumulate many stats for a decisive victory. A young core of receivers, including Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman and Dalton Kincaid, should help keep Allen near the top of the position.

Jackson was the best fantasy quarterback last season. He finished among the top 12 fantasy quarterbacks in all but one game and ranked in the top six in 65% of his matchups. While Jackson was the better of the two quarterbacks this year, there is concern the offense won’t be as dominant next year. Derrick Henry and Mark Andrews are past the age players at those positions usually peak. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley will be 31 years old and a free agent. Jackson is also well past the age quarterbacks usually excel as a runner. There has never been another quarterback like Jackson, so it’s hard to know when his rushing will regress, but he averaged one fewer carry per game this season than any other season of his career.

Allen and Jackson had two of the highest ADPs among quarterbacks last season, and they were the two most likely to lead their teams to the fantasy playoffs and two of the top four the year before. Their consistent success should make them third-round picks in most leagues, and it’s possible their price could get driven to the second round.

Tier 2: The other quarterbacks to prioritize

These three quarterbacks averaged at least 21 fantasy points per game last season. The main way a quarterback has consistently hit 21 points per game over multiple seasons is by rushing. Hurts joins Allen and Jackson as the only quarterbacks with at least 21 points in the last two seasons. All three quarterbacks have accomplished this in at least four of the last five seasons. They have rushed for at least 550 rushing yards 13 times over the last five seasons, whereas all other quarterbacks combined have seven. While Hurts has a lot of value from one-yard touchdowns, he would have still ranked among the top-12 fantasy quarterbacks in points per game without them.

Daniels is a riskier option, but his upside is enough to rank third. He averaged 21.5 fantasy points per game despite a bumpy middle part of the season. He finished second in rushing attempts and rushing yards. The Commanders have the third-most cap space heading into the offseason, according to OverTheCap, and most of their wide receivers outside of Terry McLaurin are hitting free agency. If the Commanders can bring in more firepower on offense, that could be enough to move Daniels into the top tier.

Burrow is the first quarterback on the list who isn’t a runner. We haven’t seen a pocket passer have back-to-back excellent seasons in recent years, but Burrow should be the exception. He’s averaged over 21.5 fantasy points per game in two of the last three seasons, with injuries taking their toll on his 2023 season. Burrow’s 92.9 PFF passing grade over the last three seasons is the clear best among quarterbacks. The Bengals’ offense and his receivers help increase the gap between Burrow and the rest of the passers. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins‘ contract situation could take a turn for the worse, which could bring Mahomes down a tier.

Tier 3: Most likely to take a leap

There is a large gap between gaps two and three, as the top five are pretty safe bets to reach 21 fantasy points per game or better, and arguments could be made for most of the other starting quarterbacks in the NFL to round out the top 10. These three have the highest odds of finishing in the top five or, at the very least, top 12.

Mahomes used to average at least 22 fantasy points per game every season, but then he lost Tyreek Hill and the team became so dominant that it didn’t need Mahomes to put up excellent numbers every week. Mahomes should have his best group of wide receivers in his career next season, led by Rashee Rice, who has a top-12 PFF offensive grade among wide receivers over the last two seasons combined. Xavier Worthy had a top-40 receiving grade over the last eight weeks of the season after a slow start to his rookie season. Kansas City will also play six of the other seven teams that made the divisional round and will face the up-and-coming Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers twice each. Mahomes will likely need bigger numbers next season and should have the receivers to do so.

Purdy was quietly one of the most consistent fantasy quarterbacks last season despite the 49ers' disaster season. He was one of seven quarterbacks to finish among the top 12 fantasy quarterbacks for 60% of his games and one of seven to finish among the top six in one-third of his games. He accomplished this despite only having Christian McCaffrey for four games, Brandon Aiyuk for seven and Trent Williams for 10. Several things went wrong on and off the field, but the San Francisco 49ers’ history of success is enough to expect Purdy and the team to turn things around. Purdy has been a top-10 fantasy quarterback during good times and bad, and he should stay among the better options.

Nix is the final quarterback of the three after an impressive rookie season. He finished eighth in fantasy points per game at 19.3. Part of this was a strong season as a runner, with 92 rushing attempts, the fifth-best among quarterbacks. The four quarterbacks ahead of him were the top four quarterbacks on this list. The Broncos could make improvements at both running back and tight end this offseason, which would also help Nix’s production. While both quarterbacks entering their second seasons had sophomore slumps in 2024, that shouldn’t discourage anyone from taking a chance on Nix to have a better second year.

Tier 4: Wait and draft two

An argument could be made for most established starters to finish as a fantasy starter. Most quarterbacks finish well this season against the right opponents and struggle against the strong defenses. We might see fantasy managers wait longer than ever to take their first quarterbacks in drafts because of the depth at the position, but then a run at quarterbacks to take both their first and second options.

This tier includes every quarterback who finished in the top 13 fantasy points per game this season but wasn’t included in the top three tiers. That group is led by Mayfield, who averaged 22.5 fantasy points per game last season. A big part of that was his 41 touchdown passes, tied for second-most among quarterbacks. Mike Evans will be 32 before next season, Chris Godwin is a free agent, and offensive coordinator Liam Coen could leave to become a head coach. Enough is working against him to leave him out of the first three tiers.

This tier also includes Prescott, Love, Stroud and Richardson. All four ranked in the top 12 in fantasy points per game last season but didn’t have as strong of performances in 2024. Injuries to those quarterbacks and their receivers impacted their poor seasons, and all four could bounce back.

Williams is the only quarterback on this list who wasn’t a borderline fantasy starter this year or last. The first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft had a few excellent games, enough to show his potential. He will have a new head coach and offensive coordinator, hopefully enough for a much better second season. He ranked seventh in rushing attempts and rushing yards but wasn’t one of the 37 quarterbacks to score a rushing touchdown. His rushing production gives him a relatively high floor to mix with his passing potential.

Tier 5: Reason for optimism

This tier of quarterbacks helps to show how deep the position is. Herbert scored the seventh-most fantasy points for a quarterback over the last nine weeks of the season. The reason he’s this low is the Chargers wanted to run the ball last season but ranked fourth-worst in team run grade and in the bottom half in team run block grade. The Chargers have enough cap room to improve the run game this offseason, which will mean fewer pass attempts for Herbert.

Maye and Lawrence were top-three draft picks on teams that will play for new coaching staffs. Ward, Penix and McCarthy have minimal NFL experience, but it’s entirely possible any of the three could turn into star NFL players. Some too many quarterbacks have shown they can be fantasy starters to rank the inexperienced players any higher. McCarthy has a chance to rank a bit higher on the list in the Vikings quarterback-friendly offense if the team does not re-sign Sam Darnold.