“Catch The Latest with Sr. NFL IDP+ Analyst Joel Wirth’s Top 2025 Quarterback Best Ball Rankings”
Best Ball is now officially on the Dynasty schedule. We take a break after the hardware is awarded in Week 17 until the Super Bowl, and then it’s right back to rising and grinding. Pre-draft Best Ball contests are available on both DraftKings and Underdog. With the NFL Draft still five long weeks away, let’s take a look at my early rankings for Best Ball drafts, starting with the Quarterbacks.
The Big Picture
I’ve done significantly more drafts on Underdog so far. So I can only speak intelligently to how things are happening on that platform. Always remember, Best Ball market dynamics prevail. People value stacks, and Quarterbacks are the key to building them. This creates an artificial floor for someone like Joe Burrow, who has two receivers taken in the top 25 picks.
The top-tier QBs usually start to come off the board in the late third round, and you can generally get one to fall to the late fourth. After that, there is a sizable gap until the next group is taken. Don’t rush to take one in that approximately three-round gap. Use those rounds as an opportunity to fill out your roster. Once the QBs start going, they’ll go fast and furious, so if you don’t have one by then, you’ll need to be prepared to take a couple. You’ll need to keep an eye on your stacks as well, or you can lose them to a QB run.
These are 20-player rosters, so most drafters will actively want a third QB. The obvious problem comes down to the maths. 12 player draft times 3 QBs per team equals four more QBs than there are starting jobs. Don’t wait too long to get your third, assuming you, you know, want an actual starter in that spot.
2025 Quarterback Rankings
1 – Lamar Jackson – 35.2 Underdog ADP – Does anybody else care that Lamar outscored Josh Allen by 50 points last year? Just me?
2 – Josh Allen – 33.1 ADP – That said, Allen proved he could put together an elite fantasy season without an elite receiver. He’s cemented in the top tier in perpetuity.
3 – Jalen Hurts – 45.9 ADP – Double-digit rushing touchdowns for four straight seasons in a scoring format that heavily rewards scoring touchdowns.
4 – Jayden Daniels – 39.7 ADP – I’m slightly below market on Daniels, but by no means fading him. Like all the elite tier QBs, I generally only want him at or slightly behind ADP.
5 – Joe Burrow – 50.2 ADP – The definition of the One-Man Tier. Burrow doesn’t have the rushing chops to be included in the Elite Tier, but the Chase/Higgins stack chasers keep Burrow’s ADP two-plus rounds higher than the next group.
6 – Patrick Mahomes – 79.6 ADP – Some serious benefit of the doubt going on here. I’m assuming all the injuries on the KC offense really hampered what they wanted to do. The floor is still very high and he brings along lots of stack partners.
7 – Caleb Williams – 96.7 ADP – Probably the QB I’m highest on relative to market. Take what Jared Goff‘s done the last couple years in Detroit under Ben Johnson, add in Williams’ rushing ability. And you’ve got the player most likely to be the newest member of the Elite Tier in 2026.
8 – Kyler Murray – 94.5 ADP – Not much separates Murray from the next guy on the list, but he does come with much more attractive stack partners.
9 – Bo Nix – 91.5 ADP – See above, Murray, Kyler. I don’t buy Evan Engram in the Jimmy Graham “Joker” role, but if Denver adds another reliable pass catcher in the draft, I’m willing to swap Nix up.
10 – Justin Herbert – 113.2 ADP – 10, 11, & 12 are similar enough to be interchangeable. High floor guys whose seasonal totals will depend on how many touchdown passes they throw in a given season.
11 – Jordan Love – 117.3 ADP 2025 Quarterback Rankings
12 – C.J. Stroud – 127.2 ADP 2025 Quarterback Rankings
13 – Jared Goff – 100.7 ADP – What does the Lions’ offense look like post-Ben Johnson?
14 – Brock Purdy – 102.8 ADP – What does the 49ers’ offense look like sans Deebo Samuel and with Brandon Aiyuk recovering from his ACL tear? Can CMC sustain a full season carrying the team on his back?
15 – Michael Penix, Jr. – 135.4 ADP – I’m irrationally high on the Falcons’ offense this year. Mostly because they have the worst defensive front seven in the league. And I expect a lot of shootouts (see Week 18, 2024 vs. Carolina).
16 – Dak Prescott – 123.9 ADP – The best QB bargain on UD, primarily due to the complete lack of non-CeeDee Lamb stack options.
17 – Baker Mayfield – 87.7 ADP – Duplicated (and then some) Dak Prescott‘s 2023 season, but had 16 picks to Dak’s 9. Losing Liam Cohen may ding him more than most expect. Does provide some juicy stack options, though.
18 – Trevor Lawrence – 133.6 ADP – If you’re going to take Brian Thomas, Jr. in the 1st (and you should definitely do so), TLaw has to be a top-20 QB.
19 – J.J. McCarthy – 137.5 ADP – If Sam Darnold can have a quasi-MVP season in the Kevin O’Connell/Justin Jefferson offense, McCarthy should be bare minimum starter-worthy.
20 – Tua Tagovailoa – 142.8 ADP – A weary nation of Devon Achane and Jaylen Waddle drafters implores you to please, please, protect yourself and stay healthy.
More Fantasy Football And Draft Advice
21 – Drake Maye – Love the player, hate the situation. Even if the Pats invest in multiple offensive linemen and receivers. He’ll still have to deal with playing for Mike Vrabel.
22 – Matthew Stafford – 150.7 ADP – Every year makes him less and less likely to get through the season unscathed, but how fun is a Puka Nacua/Davante Adams receiver corps?
23 – Anthony Richardson – 162.3 ADP – Will almost certainly be my most rostered QB this year. I refuse to believe the Colts are seriously entertaining Daniel Jones as the starter.
24 – Bryce Young – 154.6 ADP – I like the kid a lot going forward, but Xavier Legette and Adam “Methuselah” Thielen heading the receiver group does not inspire confidence for the 2025 season.
25 – Justin Fields – 119.4 ADP – He can absolutely be a fantasy difference maker, but how many “unnecessary sacks that force the defense back on the field” will Aaron Glenn let him take before pulling the plug?
26 – Cam Ward – 158.8 ADP – Ward to Tennessee feels like a fait accompli at this point in the process. A rookie QB with only Calvin Ridley to throw to doesn’t inspire me to draft him much (read: at all).
27 – Geno Smith – 164.6 ADP – Vegas is in for the Pete Carroll experience. Lots o’ running the ball and playing defense.
28 – Derek Carr – 190.9 ADP – The ideal 3rd QB. Kellen Moore should squeeze all the juice there is to pull from Carr.
29 – Kirk Cousins – 237.2 ADP – I’m convinced he ends up in Cleveland with old mentor Kevin Stefanski. And that he’ll be healthier than last year. Those two assumptions being true would make this ADP an absolute steal.
30 – Sam Darnold – 167.7 ADP – Similar situation to Drake Maye, but with way less talent to transcend the situation.
