Quarterbacks Most Likely to Rise in 2025:

Dak Prescott, DAL: He’s not Patrick Mahomes obvious but Dak is still a fairly obvious choice to reclaim past Top 10 glory. He’s merited that status five times in nine NFL seasons and, with one exception (2018 - QB12), he’s done it every time he’s played every game. Heck, he’s even done it once when he didn’t (2021). When a guy is an almost guaranteed Top 10 solution at the position and only injuries have prevented him from being that in the past, you have to roll those dice, right? Also, Dak’s been in the league for nine years??? I’m getting old.

It’s, of course, fair to call out that Dallas’ franchise man hasn’t been the healthiest option under center, missing a whopping 26 games in that nine-year career. By comparison, the aforementioned Mahomes has only missed five games since becoming the full-time starter in 2018. It’s impossible to stay on top if you aren’t playing, so…granted, there’s always going to be risk attached to Prescott. He’s also not the running threat he once was, which means he’ll have to do the deed on the strength of that right wing. Luckily, most of his season-shortening injuries have been below the shoulders.

Assuming Dak is able to slog through a tenth NFL campaign, he’s got a suddenly stellar WR combo to play catch with. CeeDee Lamb was the only real threat the last couple seasons but an elite one. Add to Lamb the recently acquired George Pickens and the Cowboys’ passing game is cooking with fire. Pickens’ flashes of brilliance will have to be more than flashes in Big D for that fire to roar. And he’ll have to grow up a little. But if that happens AND Prescott stays upright, the latter will overdeliver on his ADP of QB13.

Justin Herbert, LAC: Yes, I watched that disastrous 2024 playoff performance in Houston (14 of 32 and FOUR picks). And yes, I’m fully aware Jim Harbaugh wants to win by running the football first and foremost (keep reading). And yes, I’m tracking the Bolts just lost their star Herbie backside protector, Rashawn Slater, to a patellar tear (woof). Oh, and yes, I’m a Ducks homer (and an unapologetic one at that!). All of these things are true, gang, and I still can’t shake my faith in that generational right cannon the born-and-raised Oregon product possesses.

It should be noted, firstly, that LAC didn’t run the ball more than they threw it in 2024, despite the run-first narrative (510 passing v. 463 rushing attempts). This despite the fact they fielded, arguably, a bottom three WR corps. Even with that paucity of reliable options, Herbert threw for a respectable 23 TDs and only three picks in the regular season, the fewest of any starting quarterback. Yes, that means he threw more INTs in one playoff game than he did in 17 other games (double woof).

Herbert’s targets this season look to be significantly upgraded. Super soph Ladd McConkey leads the way still, but the Chargers also welcomed back Keenan Allen this past week. In four seasons playing with Herbert, the venerable Allen was regularly a reliably high-end WR2 for fantasy GMs. Add to those two exciting rooks Keandre Lambert-Smith and Tre Harris and…man, even if Quentin Johnston can’t cure his case of butterfingers or gets traded, there’s more to work with here than there was a year ago. I also believe the revamped running game will augment LAC’s upgraded passing game rather than overshadow it. A good running game raises all boats, I’d argue, so set sail with Herbie this coming season.

Justin Fields, NYJ: I warned you there’d be some less obvious candidates. When the Jets and Steelers swapped QBs this past off-season, it was difficult to say who got the better end of the deal. The Curtain acquired an all-time quarterbacking great, albeit one in a steep decline and likely playing his final NFL season. The Jets, meanwhile, nabbed a much younger but less successful dual threat who’s about to suit up for this third squad in five years. Aaron Rodgers will probably take his real Steelers farther than Fields could have. I’m very confident, however, Fields will take your fantasy team to greater heights.

It’s easy to forget the former Buckeye was, as recently as two years ago, a Top 10 fantasy producer. He averaged 22.8 FPts/G that 2023 season, finishing up as QB10 (and despite only playing 15 of 17 games). In fact, if you exclude four brief appearances last season in spot relief, he’s averaged 22.1 FPts/G since 2022. The guy we just talked about, though widely considered a franchise stud for the Chargers, has averaged just 20.4 FPts/G in that same timeframe.

What makes Fields such a high-risk / high-reward option is, of course, his rushing ability. Though he’s amassed roughly 1,000 fewer career rushing yards than Aaron Rodgers, he’s also played almost two HUNDRED fewer games. On a per game basis, in fact, there’s only one QB in NFL history with a higher yards/game average. That’s Lamar Jackson. Even Michael Vick only averaged around 43 rushing yards/game, about 7 fewer than Fields has thus far. He’s very much a work-in-progress passer, granted, but he’s a constant threat to run in an offense apparently designed for that superpower. I think the sky’s the limit for Fields in 2025.