As with all team sports, every position on an NFL roster is crucial to creating a blueprint for success. Yet, it’s clear that most of the focus is on the quarterback. As the team’s engine room, a fan base’s hopes live and die with the arm in the QB position.
The importance of quarterbacks—or, at least, their perceived importance—has been increasing recently in the NFL. This has been reflected in the MVP voting, where a quarterback has won the yearly award since 2012. Pre-2000, far more MVP awards were given to players in other positions.
Indeed, some argue that the MVP award can be misleading: Only two quarterbacks were listed in the top ten places of the NFL’s official Top 100 Players of 2024. Tyreek Hill, a wide receiver, was named the best player overall. The 2025 list is currently being compiled, with the final reveal in September, but you can be sure it won’t be as quarterback-heavy as the MVP voting.
Nonetheless, it remains the case that the quarterback is the field general, calling the offensive action and being central to the big plays. Below, we look at some of the league’s best as we head into the 2025 NFL season:
1. Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens)
If you look at the NFL odds online with sportsbooks, Jackson is tied with Josh Allen as co-favorite for the 2025 MVP award. That should be no surprise, as he and Allen were neck and neck in last year’s voting. He is central to the Ravens’ – considered Super Bowl favorites by many – chances of success, but the pressure is on to deliver this season.
2. Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills)
Allen won the MVP award last season, and he has a similar mandate to Jackson for his Buffalo Bills team—to win a Super Bowl. Buffalo’s historic bad luck in football (and sports in general) has been well-documented. Still, many think Allen is the man to lead the team out of the wilderness and finally deliver the Super Bowl to the city of Buffalo.
3. Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs)
Predicting that Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are on the verge of decline has become almost fashionable. Yet, Mahomes and the Chiefs keep winning. He has appeared in five Super Bowls (winning three) since joining the Chiefs in 2018, and he has arguably been the league’s most consistently great quarterback in that time.
4. Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals)
The above three players are the starting quarterbacks for excellent teams, almost guaranteed to be the big contenders in the Playoffs next January. Burrow, as things stand, is playing for a fairly average one. That has counted against him regarding MVP voting, but it’s worth remembering that he led the league in several statistics last season. If the Bengals can get their act together, Burrow’s elite status could get the recognition it deserves.
5. Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders)
The youngest player on this list, Daniels, had a rookie season for the ages last year, perhaps the best-ever debut season from a quarterback. Along the way, he led an unfancied Commanders team into the Playoffs, vanquishing one of the Super Bowl favorites, the Detroit Lions. Daniels now must deal with the weight of expectation, but he looks like he can handle it.
6. Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles)
While he is a two-time Pro Bowler and has set several NFL records, Hurts arguably didn’t get the respect he deserved last season, although he had the last laugh when winning the Super Bowl MVP award, leading the Eagles to victory over the Chiefs. If the Eagles start this season like they finished the previous, more awards could be waiting for Hurts.
