The Lead’s Tier List of All 58 NFL Quarterbacks for 2025-26

Fifty-eight different quarterbacks started an NFL game in 2025.

Gunslingers, Game-Managers, and ‘Nines’ all made their way onto the field this season, which is a lot to process in the moment. Luckily, the benefit of hindsight allows us to process each QB and where they stack up relative to their peers.

In an effort to summarize and categorize the sport’s most important position following this year’s NFL regular season, this is all 58 individual QBs sorted into tiers.

Tier 10 — Not a Thing or Not Enough

Quinn Ewers, Philip Rivers, Brady Cook, Russell Wilson, Dillon Gabriel, Max Brosmer, Kenny Pickett, Chris Oladokun

Some of these guys played their best football years ago, and the end is clearly knocking at the door. Some have not played enough to make a fair assessment at all, or have played enough but not at an NFL level. This tier sets the floor for QB play in the NFL.

This serves an important purpose: it makes the truly good QBs in the league all the more impressive and valuable. And sometimes these guys are the most entertaining QBs out of them all. God knows Will Levis is missed every day.

Tier 9 – Low-End Backup

Malik Willis, Tyler Huntley, Jake Browning, Tyrod Taylor, Davis Mills, Justin Fields, Mason Rudolph, Josh Johnson, Gardner Minshew, Andy Dalton, Cooper Rush

This tier consists of QB’s who can succeed in certain spots, but relying on them to buoy a season is daunting. They can win some games and some plays but just have too many limitations. Often they get buy with savvy veteran ball-knowledge, or pure raw athleticism, but are far from a complete QB. They tend to fall back to earth quickly.

A majority are veteran backups who use their knowledge of the system to move the chains and find success. They know exactly what the offense’s goals are and are capable of to make things happen, but are still limited in the scope of what they accomplish. They are quintessential ‘Game-Managers’, and not in a fully-derogatory sense.

Tier 8 – High-End Backup

Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, Jacoby Brissett, Carson Wentz, Kirk Cousins, Daniel Jones, Mac Jones, Joe Flacco, Spencer Rattler

While of a similar ilk as the tier below (or above, really), the QBs in this tier are the elevated versions. They are capable of buoying a season for long stretches, and can play at higher levels than their other lower-tier backup counterparts.

Placing Daniel Jones in this list might be unfair, given how well he was playing to begin the year. He looked sharp and in control of Shane Steichen’s offense, completely opposite of his Giants days. Jones could move up when he returns from injury, but the majority of his career leads him to this tier.

Winston and Flacco are the quintessential ‘quick fling’ QB’s. They’re sporadic, loose fun that teams can go to in a pinch. Having them as your QB isn’t ideal, but it’s not a death sentence either. They are a blast to watch and root for (Jameis especially), can put up big numbers here and there, and can look better than some starters if given the chance.

Good backups are an essential function for the league, but fanbases should still prefer the starters.

Tier 7 – Talent with a Shaky Future

Shedeur Sanders, Michael Penix Jr., J.J. McCarthy, Kyler Murray, Tua Tagovailoa, Bryce Young

All highly touted prospects that entered the league with lofty expectations that have largely failed to meet them. Outside of Sanders, McCarthy is the lowest drafted player at No. 10 overall. As it stands, the standing of these QBs as long-term starters is in question.

Kyler Murray missed time with a foot injury early November, and his season was declared over by former coach Jonathan Gannon in early December after he was supposed to return from IR. Whether it was a bona fide nagging foot injury or a silent benching, its best not to speculate.

The truth of the matter is Murray has degraded from No. 1 pick, to decent starter, to a giant question mark. He has all the talent in the world, but the offense looks and works better with Brissett in. Murray has yet to stand out over a full season the way a number-one pick is expected to. His talent and legs will be enough to get another shot.

Young has put together a nice season but still looks very inconsistent with some glaring flaws. The Penix experiment is off to a discouraging start, and McCarthy has become the internet’s symbol of awful Quarterbacking, fair or not. While better down the stretch, there was a point where McCarthy was in the statistical company of the worst QB’s ever.

Tua is in the same boat as Kyler, and his situation honestly warrants its own breakdown. His days in Miami seem numbered.

Sanders is the outlier. He is a late-round rookie playing on the one of worst teams in the league, forced to start due to injury. It’s a tough draw. He’s more talented than the other QB’s on their roster, but his status as a long-term option is still very open for debate. His stats speak for themselves.

Tier 6 – The Enigma

Aaron Rodgers

Rodgers gets his own tier.

The Enigma himself is just that when it comes to finding a spot for him on the list. He isn’t awful, but he isn’t great. He’s very old, but might not retire? He’s still capable of some vintage Rodger’s throws and performances, like against Miami in Week 15 or in the season finale against Baltimore, but they’re few and far between.

Poetically, like the Steelers, he is the most baseline and do-just-enough QB in the league. He plays extremely safe in all facets, doesn’t push the ball downfield (at all), doesn’t take sacks, and doesn’t throw many picks. He had the quickest Time to Throw in the league this season, making sure he has the ball out of his hands before he has to self-create.

Rodgers ranks middle of the pack in counting stats and slightly lower in advanced stats. The most telling Rodgers stat: he ranks dead last in ADOT out of qualifying passers (min. 250 pass attempts).

It’s very challenging to figure out where Rodgers goes. He is unlike all other QBs. Honestly, he was always that, but it was more fun when he was in his prime.

He tore his Achilles at age 39 and his career didn’t immediately end. That’s worth noting. It’s kind of impressive what he’s done when you consider that. He’s played average, but should he be graded on the Achilles-Tear-at-39 curve?

Lots of signs are pointing at Tier 10, but he just hasn’t been bad enough, especially after a vintage season finale. It may be safe football, but it’s been alright football.

Tier 5 – Young Promise

Cam Ward, Tyler Shough, Jaxson Dart

The rookie class of 2025 might just be all right after all.

No. 1 pick Cam Ward inherited a abhorrent situation in Tennessee and has still gotten better. If you’ve watched most Titans games, first of all God bless you, but second its stunningly clear that he is not at fault for their failure.

Ward can create and find opening and make high-level throws. The metrics are in his favor. The supporting cast just isn’t there yet. Cam Ward will be a good, high-tier QB in this league, and likely already is. Despite his lack of supporting cast, his numbers make for a really solid rookie year.

First-rounder Jaxon Dart had an impressive year himself. Dart was not considered an NFL-ready QB coming out of Ole Miss, but he’s cemented himself as one. The rookie has impressive improvisation and creativity. Paired with good vision and accuracy, he looks anything but unpolished.

The nagging flaw that he needs to fix is his self-preservation instincts, or lack-thereof. Dart welcomes hits at an unsustainable rate that will cut his career short if he doesn’t adjust. A Blue Tent visit should not be a routine for any QB. The Joe Burrow career-arc is an undesirable one.

“Shough Yeah”

Last, but definitely not least, is second-round rookie Tyler Shough in the Big Easy. Shough has shined with what most considered one of the worst rosters in the league coming into the year. It seemed as if New Orleans was going to use 2025 as a reset year to eat dead cap, move off contracts, and clear the deck for a rebuild that should’ve happened years ago. They sort of did that, but Shough was so good that he made the Saints a truly competitive team.

Shough doesn’t just look good for a rookie with no expectations; he looks good good. So good that the Saints likely found a guy worth building around. That’s an incredible advantage for a team in a rebuild that badly needs offensive talent.

He’s only played half a season while losing weapons every game, and he hasn’t missed a beat. It’s kind of surreal. Maybe Kellen Moore is just that good of a QB coach, but the Saints have something in Shough.

Tier 4 – The Median

Baker Mayfield, Jalen Hurts, Sam Darnold, Geno Smith, Jared Goff

Incredibly high highs. Super-Bowl MVPs, MVP votes, number-one seeds.

Incredibly low lows. No passing yards in a half. Leading the league in turnovers. Less than 100 yards of offense in a game.

This tier of QB ebbs and flows, but they all come back to the middle.

Darnold has looked very competent his last two years, but still has moments that echo his terrible Jets years. Him and Tom Brady are the only QBs with back-to-back 14 win seasons. He’s been admirable and turned himself into a very solid QB since escaping New York, but he’s still not quite elite.

Goff has been solid the bulk of his career and directed two of the more electric offenses of the last decade. He’s also bottomed out in games and has been paired with two of the best offensive minds in the NFL during his career.

Geno Smith is subject to a QB-hellscape in Las Vegas. Smith hasn’t been as dreadful as first meets the eye, but it hasn’t been pretty. The Raiders problems root much deeper than Geno, but he has not been an elevator.

Rattler was not the issue in New Orleans during his starts and played very admirably. Baker has been great in Tampa tenure and has been dealing with injuries all season.

Jalen Hurts is as divisive as any QB on this list. For long stretches of this season he has looked terrible. He’s been immobile and too reliant contested catches. He had two turnovers on the same play. The Philly offense is incredibly inconsistent with questionable choices all over it, so it is hard to determine if the system or Hurts is more responsible. Hurts’ superpower is avoiding negatives, which keeps the Eagles in games and usually leads to a win. He’s inconsistent, not terrible, a winning player, and incredibly frustrating to evaluate.

Hurts is a Super Bowl MVP and outplayed Patrick Mahomes in the Big Game twice. That’s got to mean something right?

The defining trait of this tier is this that if a QB is better than them, they’re an above average one. If they’re lower, then the inverse. Back in the day this would’ve been called the ‘Kirk Cousins Parallel”.

Tier 3 – “It’s So Over / We’re So Back”

Bo Nix, Caleb Williams, Trevor Lawrence, Jordan Love, C.J. Stroud, Jayden Daniels

All younger QBs who have risen in the ranks and separated themselves from the league in certain stretches. Their lack of consistency and experience keeps them out of reach from the top of the QB mountain, but the traits are there. Tiers two and one are not out of reach, but they have to prove they belong there. They field questions about their viability for weeks before putting together stretches where they look like the real deal.

More Experience

Love is the most consistent of all of them. He’s an efficient gunslinger who sometimes throws the worst interception you’ve ever seen. He has Aaron Rodgers’ style with Brett Favre‘s brain and arm-ego. His talent has still translated to the league wonderfully and he’s the perfect avatar for Matt LaFleur.

Lawrence has had a tough time and overall failed to live up to his No. 1-pick status, outside of this season. The talent was always there, it was just a matter of cleaning up the decision making lapses.

He’s done it this season, and Lawrence’s 2205 is just shy of the best QB season in Jacksonville history (shoutout Blake Bortles). Just when it seemed like he wouldn’t figure it out, he did. Maybe Coen fixed him, maybe he didn’t, but right now he’s playing to his potential. Maybe Jakobi Meyers fixed him, actually.

Less Experience

Daniels and Stroud looked like true Top-10 guys after their rookie seasons. They both put up gaudy numbers and historic rookie campaigns. They looked like they’d been playing for years.

Now, things are a little different. Both have stumbled since bursting onto the scene and the vision is murkier. Daniels has been beset by injury in his second year, so maybe it’s unfair to judge him on that. The anxiety regarding his future rests in that injury was THE concern for him coming out of college. The Commanders derailed once he went down and didn’t recover.

For Stroud, it hasn’t been smooth since his rookie year. He hasn’t matched the production of that season and even had a negative EPA in 2024. He isn’t the original sin for the Texans offense in the past two years, but he hasn’t been as sharp as he has since he took over the league in 2023. Stroud has come back around to close out the season, so 2026 will tell the tale.

Year 2 for the Orange and Blue

Nix and Williams both led their teams to top seeds and are coming into their own. The sneaky truth that deserves its own breakdown is that Nix and Williams are the same exact guy.

They both had streaky rookie years that exposed their worst flaws. Both play in amazing systems that maximize what they’re capable of. They both have a gunslinger itch. Both QBs are impressive scramblers that create on the move with eye-popping speed. Both have become masters of avoiding the negative play and not losing the game. Nix and Williams have also been unstoppable in the fourth when the game is on the line.

Nix had a rough middle stretch of games, but has bounced back nicely. He also has some truly astonishing stats and records.

Williams looks like what was advertised. He didn’t quite get to the Bears first 4,000 passing yard mark, but he got close enough for Bears fans.

Also, in both counting and advanced numbers, the two QB’s are extremely similar. It’s very possible the other shoe could drop for the Bears and Broncos in 2026, but they believe they got their guys.

Tier 2 – The Real Deal

Drake “Drake Maye” Maye, Justin Herbert, Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott, Joe Burrow, Brock Purdy, Lamar Jackson

QB play in the NFL is defined by each of these. This is the pantheon. Each brings something different to the table but each has earned their place.

Maye is the youngest and is locked in an MVP race with another soon-to-be mentioned QB. He has been incredible this season, in every sense of the word. He has unrivaled deep ball accuracy, ball placement, and poise. Maye leads the league in EPA and been about as spotless as a QB can be.

The only reason Maye isn’t in Tier 1 is because he’s had one great year. Different QBs have been anointed after one good year and struggled after (Stroud and Daniels). Drake Maye‘s played QB as good as anyone can, though.

The rest are the usual suspects. Prescott is an old-school style QB that dissects teams at the line of scrimmage. He reads the field exceptionally and dices up a defense like QBs of old.

Lamar, despite a wobbly 2025 to say the least, is unlike anything the NFL has seen before. Burrow is the perfect modern QB archetype and Purdy’s career has been a fairytale. Mr. Irrelevant is without question one of the elite NFL QBs. This season has dispelled any notion that he has leeched off his supporting cast.

Herbert has his doubters, but he belongs in this tier. In a vacuum, he’s an uber-talented physical specimen with one of the most sensational arms in the entire NFL. The throws he routinely makes are staggering.

Adding in the context that his O-Line has been leveled with injury and reduced to a bunch of guys trying their best, AND that he has battled injury himself while sustaining a plethora of hits, it’s absurd. He is an elevator of the highest magnitude. The only thing holding him back is the narrative around his postseason success.

Dethroned

Mahomes being in this tier would have been heresy a couple of years ago — goes to show how fickle the league is. This placement isn’t recency bias; he hasn’t been as dominant in the same ways that he once was.

Since lighting the world on fire in 2018 and peaking in 2022, his passing numbers have steadily declined. The offense hasn’t been as explosive as the prime three-headed monster days, but that’s to be expected when your number-one option ages and your number-two departs. His advanced numbers are still good, so the assumption was that while different, it’s still effective.

The new Chiefs status quo is that they slowly but efficiently move the ball down the field at their own pace. They use YAC and movement to get openings, rather than raining bombs downfield and Mahomes finding players across the field in scramble drill. It worked for a long time, so it was hard to criticize. Three Super Bowls in four years, after all.

Tier 1 – Best in the Sport

Matthew Stafford, Josh Allen

Both Matthew Stafford and Josh Allen are the best at what they do, and they do it in opposite ways.

Josh Allen

The defending MVP is still Superman on an NFL field.

Allen uses every bit of his 6-foot-5, 237 pound frame to breakthrough sacks and crash through the spine of the defense like a runaway train. That’s not to discount his strengths as a thrower. He is still an elite thrower of the ball with a railgun of an arm. The Bills offense is so impossible to defend, regardless of receiving talent, because Allen is capable of affecting every blade of grass.

Allen is the complete QB package. The one drawback used to be his high turnover tendency, but he’s cut back heavily in recent years. His superpower is his effectiveness in the Red Zone. His rushing ability gives the Bills an out or a counter to any play. In an area of the field where defenses are usually at an advantage due to limited space, Allen ruins the math.

Allen has earned the hardware and won the regular season battles against his rivals. Mahomes is the Brady to his Manning, and he is 13 storied seconds away from an even richer postseason legacy. Josh Allen’s is written in ink on the story of the NFL.

MVP?

While Allen’s greatness lies in disorder, Stafford’s is through structure.

Stafford has had a very satisfying career arc. The former first-overall pick went from the darling of football analysts and tape experts to universally acknowledged as one of the best in the sport.

Since coming to Los Angeles, Stafford has played in many meaningful playoff games. He beat Brady on the road in the playoffs, won a Super Bowl, and received the credit he always deserved. The 37-year-old is having the best season of his career and reminding the football world of what kind of QB he always was: 4707 yards, 46 TDs, and 8 Ints. Outlandish stuff.

Some of the throws Stafford is able to complete make it seem like he is willing the ball where he wants it to go. He throws with so much precision and anticipation that the ball is centimeters from defenders. He can place the ball wherever he desires in a way no other QB can. It doesn’t matter if the route is four yards or 40; Stafford will throw it perfectly.

Watching Stafford play feels like watching the way the QB position should be played. Its flashy in a different way than Lamar or Mahomes or Allen. He’s like a vintage International Scout, and those others are the latest Lamborghini. It’s a beautiful brand of football that is easy to appreciate.

Whether he wins the MVP or not, this is season is a culmination of Stafford’s career and reminder that he shouldn’t be taken for granted — past, present, or future.

The post The Lead’s Tier List of All 58 NFL Quarterbacks for 2025-26 appeared first on The Lead.

The Lead’s Tier List of All 58 NFL Quarterbacks for 2025-26

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