Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images What kind of movement will there be among NFC QBs this season? Yesterday, we gave you the current power rankings of NFC quarterbacks as we sit right now in May of 2024. You can check those rankings out here. But there’s plenty of youth in the National Football Conference. Led by the Chicago Bears’ Caleb Williams, there’s a young group of rookie QBs (Jayden Daniels, JJ McCarthy), and even potential improvement from a second-year QB like Bryce Young. So while some fans were disappointed to see Williams ranked ninth in the rankings now, how much could change over the next six months or so? Here’s a look at what the NFC QB Power Rankings could look like in January of 2025. 1. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers (Prev: 4) There’s no reason to think that Purdy and the 49ers won’t be headed to another season of winning 12 to 14 games and Purdy going North of 4,000 yards and 30 TDs again. After back-to-back seasons of playing at a high level, we will start to hear the questions being asked by the NFL media: Is Brock Purdy a top ten QB? That answer by January will be “Yes.” 2. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys (1) Prescott was always just a placeholder for that number-one spot. Prescott is a solid quarterback who could put up some numbers, but his being the best QB in the conference is more a conversation about how weak the quarterbacks are in the conference rather than any sort of talk about his dominance. 3. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers (3) Love holding the third spot should make Packers fans ecstatic. That means Love proved that his strong finish to 2023 wasn’t a fluke and he played well for the 2024 season. Love won’t be considered a top-ten QB at the end of the year, but he’ll be right outside of it with a chance to make a jump in 2025. 4. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears (9) Williams makes a sizeable jump during his rookie season and will be in prime position to snatch the top spot in the NFC in 2025. He already looks the part in practice, he’s saying all the right things, and he feels much further along than Justin Fields or Mitch Trubisky did at this point. Williams is set up to have an outstanding rookie of the year-level season. 5. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals (7) Murray is facing a big season and with better weapons, Murray will get back closer to the form he showed before the injury. That’s perhaps Murray’s ceiling at this point in his career and if it is, Murray might become Jay Cutler-esque where he becomes the epitome of league average. 6. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles (5) Hurts slips a spot in the rankings, and I think we are going to start to see the real Jalen Hurts stand up. Hurts will show he’s a better QB than he was in 2023, but his success before that was largely due to circumstance and he will show that Hurts’ abilities lie somewhere between 2022 and 2023. 7. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (2) Stafford is tough to read because if he stays healthy, with a couple of nice weapons and Sean McVay calling plays, there’s no reason to see him slip in the rankings. I just wonder if Stafford’s body is slowing down and he misses some more time due to injury and looks to hang up the cleats after this season. 8. Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons (8) Cousins will have plenty of games where he goes over 300 yards passing and throws a couple of touchdowns, but Cousins is going to be 36 this August, and that injury will linger a bit. I expect Penix to see some action in a few games this year and Cousins shows that he can still sling the football, but his best days are behind him. 9. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders (12) I think Daniels is going to show some potential during his rookie season, but he is going to have plenty of inconsistent play. I think his play could look a bit like what Justin Fields’ rookie season looked like in 2021. Daniels will show enough to be in this spot in 2025 with a chance to take a big step forward if he can start putting it all together in year two. 10. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (6) Come at me, Lions fans. I’m sure you are going to think this is a BS ranking and it might be. I don’t think Goff can outperform a $212 million contract, which means this will be the contract that starts doing in the Lions because they’ll start to bleed talent. Perhaps Goff proves me wrong, but I think with an improving NFC, he will have less terrible teams to beat up on, teams will make him a little more uncomfortable and he won’t perform like he has been. Even with all his success in Detroit, the numbers show that if the pocket is clean, Goff is elite, but with any pressure he crumbles. The pressure comes in 2024. 11. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (16) I think Young improves enough to at least give Panthers’ fans some hope that his career can turn into something positive. With a more stable coaching environment and a few more pieces around him, I expect Young to improve enough to show some hope for a crucial 2025 season where he will either take another step forward and become an above-average quarterback, but if he doesn’t, the Panthers will be looking for a new QB once again in 2026. 12. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10) Mayfield had a much better season than most anticipated in 2023 and he will put together a solid campaign in 2024 but his numbers will drop a little and Mayfield will show that he’s a capable quarterback, but he won’t be the guy that is going to be able to lead a team to a deep playoff run. 13. Sam Howell, Seattle Seahawks (13) I think Howell will take the job from Geno Smith this season. I think the Seahawks will see that there is minimal difference between Smith and Howell and they’ll go with the youth by midseason and see if he can become a legitimate option for them under center. Smith’s career will pivot back to being a capable backup quarterback for a few seasons before he retires. 14. JJ McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings (17) McCarthy will become the starter in Minnesota, but Darnold will have the job early. Will McCarthy have earned the job from Darnold or will Darnold just give it away? My money is on the latter and JJ will have an up-and-down season and leave plenty of questions about if he’s the guy for the 2025 season. 15. Michael Penix, Atlanta Falcons (18) I think Penix will get limited opportunities but show that he has the makings of a solid NFL quarterback. The Falcons will enter the 2025 season with two capable quarterbacks. The franchise will claim it’s a great situation to be in. But make no mistake, a quarterback controversy is never a great situation to be in. 16. Drew Lock, New York Giants (20) Lock will take the job from Daniel Jones, but largely due to Jones not performing well enough to keep his job. Lock will be better than Jones but still fall short of showing he’s a legit starting QB in this league. The Giants will be looking for someone new under center in 2025. 17. Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints (13) Carr continues to fade during his 2024 season and the contract with the Saints continues to look worse. He will start battling Spencer Rattler for minutes by the end of the season and Rattler will flash a little where there may even be a quarterback controversy in New Orleans in 2025. 18. Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks (11) Smith was supplanted by Howell and rode the pine for the back half of the season. Smith is still a capable backup quarterback, but he will be looking for a new home in 2025, probably backing up a young QB that could use some mentoring. 19. Spencer Rattler, New Orleans Saints (NR) Rattler goes from unranked and sneaks into the top 20 thanks to a few late-season starts where he looks decent (think Aidan O’Connell). The Saints may consider starting Rattler in 2025 and having a very expensive backup if they can’t figure out what to do with Carr. 20. Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings (19) Darnold will spend one season in Minnesota. McCarthy will be QB1 in 2025 and Darnold will be looking for a new QB2 job somewhere else. Dropped from rankings: Daniel Jones https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2024/ ... b-williams
