Ranking 10 worst QB rooms in NFL and predicting who will start in Week 1: Steelers, Colts, Browns on top

The NFL is full of dynamic, exciting quarterbacks all around the league.

Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, C.J. Stroud and Justin Herbert duking it out in the AFC is always a thrilling show. Over in the NFC, Super Bowl LIX MVP Jalen Hurts, Jared Goff, Matthew Stafford, Dak Prescott, Jordan Love, Baker Mayfield and Brock Purdy are also playing compelling football. 

Even the league’s latest rookie crop of quarterbacks played ahead of schedule last season, led by 2024 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Jayden Daniels. He powered his Washington Commanders to an NFC runner-up finish after being selected second overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, following a Heisman Trophy-winning season at LSU in 2023. 

However, this article isn’t about any of them. The plan here is to take a deep dive into the NFL’s 10 WORST quarterback rooms, rank them accordingly and then project the 2025 Week 1 starter for each of them. Drink a glass full of haterade and relish in some of the worst quarterback depth the NFL has to offer in 2025. 

10. Seattle Seahawks

QBs: Sam Darnold, Drew Lock, Jalen Milroe

New Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold threw 35 touchdowns in 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings, his lone Pro Bowl season. Minnesota allowing him to walk and sign with Seattle made Darnold’s 35 touchdown passes the most ever by a player who changed teams in the following offseason, according to CBS Sports Research. 

So why did the Vikings feel comfortable letting him walk for nothing despite J.J. McCarthy, their 10th overall pick quarterback from the 2024 NFL Draft, tearing his meniscus? His last two games of the season. Darnold completely melted in the NFC North division championship game at the Detroit Lions in Week 18 before getting sacked an NFL-record nine times in the Vikings’ wild-card round loss against the Los Angeles Rams. 

So how will he look outside of Minnesota’s ideal offensive ecosystem that had Pro Bowl running back Aaron Jones, perhaps the best wide receiver playing today in Justin Jefferson, another first-round pick receiver in Jordan Addison, Pro Bowl tight end T.J. Hockenson and 2024 NFL Coach of the Year Kevin O’Connell calling the plays? That’s up in the air. 

Backup quarterback Drew Lock is a journeyman, now on his third NFL team. Rookie quarterback Jalen Milroe, a third-round pick of the Seahawks in the 2025 NFL Draft, is a raw project who was the ultimate boom or bust in college at Alabama. Milroe’s 71 total touchdowns since 2023 (39 passing, 32 rushing) were the most in the SEC as were his 23 turnovers.

Week 1 starter: Sam Darnold

Seattle signed Darnold to a three-year, $100.5 million contract in free agency that included $52.5 million guaranteed. Unless Milroe fixes all his flaws in one NFL offseason, Darnold will be starting in Week 1. None of Darnold’s salary is guaranteed beginning in 2026, so Seattle could move off of him then if they really thought it was Milroe time. However, that won’t be in 2025. 

9. New York Giants

QBs: Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, Jaxson Dart, Tommy DeVito

Russell Wilson, a 10-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion, is far and away the most accomplished quarterback on this list, but the NFL is very much a “what have you done for me lately” kind of sports league. The 36-year-old had a strong start after taking over as the Pittsburgh Steelers starting quarterback, but he and the Steelers faded historically hard down the stretch. Pittsburgh’s 2024 squad became the first 10-win team in NFL history to end the season on a losing streak of five games or longer, including the playoffs, per CBS Sports Research. Wilson’s performance was a key catalyst in this collapse.  

Jameis Winston is the living embodiment of playing Russian roulette as an NFL quarterback: week to week you don’t know if you’re going to get a three-touchdown, zero-interception performance or a one-touchdown, three-interception performance. He did that in consecutive in starts for the Cleveland Browns in 2024, having the stellar aforementioned performance in a 29-24 Week 8 upset win over Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens. The next week against the Los Angeles Chargers, he threw one touchdown and three interceptions in a 27-10 defeat. 

Rookie Jaxson Dart, who the Giants traded back up into the opening round of the 2025 NFL Draft to select 25th overall, led the SEC with 4,279 yards passing and the nation with a yards per pass attempt average of 10.8. However, he enters the NFL with some clear flaws, struggling at times when needing to go fully through his route progressions if his first two reads weren’t open. Dart also had issues with zone coverage in college for a similar reason. He’s got potential, but he needs some refinement. 

Week 1 starter: Russell Wilson

Wilson was signed to a one-year, $10.5 million deal with $10 million guaranteed this offseason, and he was told he would be the starter upon signing with the Giants. Head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen reaffirmed that sentiment on Thursday. 

8. Denver Broncos

QBs: Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham, Sam Ehlinger

Denver Broncos starting quarterback Bo Nix had a strong regular season as a rookie. His 29 touchdowns passing were the second-most ever by rookie behind only Justin Herbert’s 31. He and 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniles are the only rookies in NFL history with at least 10 wins, 4,000 or more total yards and 30 or more total touchdowns in a season, per CBS Sports Research.

However, his conservative, game manager style of play led to a struggle-filled day in his NFL postseason debut at the Buffalo Bills. In the regular season, Nix averaged 7.3 air yards per pass attempt, which ranked 26th out 36 qualified quarterbacks in 2024. He threw for 144 yards on 13 of 22 passing and a touchdown as well as a rushing for a team-high 43 yards on four carries. Buffalo played to stop the run to force Nix to beat them with his arm, and he failed to do so in a 31-7 beatdown loss. He still has some work to do to become a bigger threat through the air to NFL defenses in 2025.

Backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham has bounced around the NFL, suiting up for the New England Patriots (2019-2020), Las Vegas Raiders (2022) and the Broncos (2023-present). Nothing yet to write home about. Third-string quarterback Sam Ehlinger is on a similar trajectory to Stidham, signing with Denver after three seasons as a backup on the Indianapolis Colts from 2021-2023. 

Week 1 starter: Bo Nix

Nix was the team’s first-round pick a year ago, and he solidified he belongs as an NFL starting quarterback as a rookie. 

7. New Orleans Saints

QBs: Derek Carr, Tyler Shough, Spencer Rattler, Jake Haener

Four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Derek Carr had a nice season overall 2024 season in New Orleans, playing like a top 10 quarterback when healthy in 10 games. Hand and oblique injuries popped up down the stretch of the season. 

Rookie Tyler Shough, a second-round pick by the Saints in the 2025 NFL Draft, will turn 26 years old on Sept. 28, after seven college football seasons. Despite all those years, he only had 32 collegiate starts, which is nine fewer than 21-year-old Jaxson Dart’s 41 because Shough dealt with a litany of injuries. He can really spin the football, but he can struggle under pressure and his deep passing can be all over the place. 

New Orleans went a combined 0-7 with 2024 fifth-round Spencer Rattler (six starts) and 2023 fourth-round pick Jake Haener (one start) filling for Carr down the stretch in 2024. 

Week 1 starter: Derek Carr

Carr is dealing with a shoulder injury that only became public information after the quarterback reportedly asked for a trade out of New Orleans earlier this offseason. He claimed last week in a message at a Las Vegas-area church that “there’s nothing wrong” between him and the Saints. If he’s still around in Week 1, he’ll start. If not, Shough likely gets a shot. 

6. New Your Jets

QBs: Justin Fields, Tyrod Taylor, Adrian Martinez, Brady Cook

Former first-round pick quarterback Justin Fields signed a two-year, $40 million with the New York Jets that included $30 million guaranteed after the Steelers went 4-2 in his six starts while averaging 20.7 points per game. He improved upon many things that he struggled with as a Chicago Bear in his lone season in Pittsburgh.

* Last in NFL

Tyrod Taylor, who will turn 36 years old before the 2025 preseason kicks off on Aug. 3, earned a Pro Bowl selection as the Buffalo Bills starting quarterback 10 years ago in 2015. He’s been a journeyman since 2018, playing for the Cleveland Browns (2018), Los Angeles Chargers (2019-2020), Houston Texans (2021), New York Gaints (2022-2023) and New York Jets (2024). Adrian Martinez entered the NFL as an undrafted free in 2023 and has yet to see regular-season action while with the Detroit Lions (2023) and New York Jets (2024-present). Brady Cook signed with the Jets after going undrafted in 2025 following an uneven, injury-plagued career at Missouri. 

Week 1 starter: Justin Fields

Fields is clearly positioned as the starter with Taylor serving as a sage, veteran mentor. 

5. Tennessee Titans

QBs: Cam Ward, Will Levis, Brandon Allen, Tim Boyle

The Tennessee Titans just made Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. He led college football with 39 passing touchdowns and won both the Davey O’Brien Award (best college QB) and ACC Player of the Year honors in 2024. 

Will Levis, a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft who started for Tennessee in 2024, produced the highest percentage of plays (16.3%) with a sack, fumble or interception since former Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell (17.8%) in 2009, per CBS Sports Research. He’s one of the primary reasons the Titans had the first overall pick and selected Ward. 

Brandon Allen is a journeyman who has bounced around between the Denver Broncos (2019), Cincinnati Bengals (2020-2022), San Francisco 49ers (2024) and now the Titans. He has 10 starts in 18 career games. Tim Boyle is even more a journeyman, now on his seventh NFL team with five starts in 23 career games played. The reason the Titans are higher on this list than Vikings is because Levis performed slightly better than Sam Howell in his shot as an NFL starter. 

Week 1 starter: Cam Ward

Ward was the top overall pick for a season, and it’s to start over Levis. A new era begins in Nashville. 

4. Minnesota Vikings

QBs: J.J. McCarthy, Sam Howell, Brett Rypien, Max Brosmer

The Minnesota Vikings drafted J.J. McCarthy 10th overall out of Michigan with an eye on him being their starting quarterback in the future, and they let Sam Darnold walk this offseason to accelerate that timeline. However, it’s unclear how much faith they have in McCarthy fully being ready to roll in 2025 after tearing his meniscus in the 2024 preseason. O’Connell confirmed Minnesota “evaluated” Aaron Rodgers and is “hopeful” McCarthy is the team’s starting quarterback. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

The Vikings acquired veteran quarterback Sam Howell during the 2025 NFL Draft along with a fifth-round pick (172nd overall) in exchange for the 142nd overall pick in the fifth round. Howell started all 17 games for the Washington Commanders as a rookie in 2023, and he led the NFL with 612 pass attempts while playing on a team with the league’s worst defense. He also threw as many interceptions, 21 (most in the NFL), as touchdowns as a result of forcing the ball downfield to try and make up for the porous defense. Brett Rypien is a journeyman, now on his third NFL team and has just four starts in 10 career games played. Minnesota signed rookie undrafted free agent Max Brosmer this offseason after he served as the Golden Gophers’ starting quarterback just down the road at the University of Minnesota.  

Week 1 starter: J.J. McCarthy

Barring a sudden change of heart from O’Connell and Minnesota’s front office that results in Rodgers being signed, McCarthy is the guy. 

3. Cleveland Browns

QBs: Deshaun Watson, Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders

The most chaotic quarterback room in the NFL resides in Cleveland. It’s not the worst quarterback room, but it’s definitely the most chaotic. There’s $230 million man Deshaun Watson recovering from a torn Achilles amid a historically disappointing tenure in Cleveland. Former Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco returned on a one-year deal at the age of 40 just a couple years removed from his 2023 NFL Comeback Player of the Year campaign in Cleveland. 

Former 2022 first-round pick Kenny Pickett was acquired via trade with the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a 2025 fifth-round pick after two underwhelming seasons starting with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He backed up Super Bowl LIX MVP Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia last season. The Browns selected Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft after six years playing college football, and then also drafted 2024 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round following a massive draft slide after being a projected first-round pick. 

Week 1 starter: Joe Flacco

Head coach Kevin Stefanski will go with the steady Flacco to begin the season, and Pickett will likely be cut or ask for a release when he doesn’t win the starting job. Then, Gabriel and Sanders will compete to be the backup quarterback and the next man up when Flacco falters like he did with the Indianapolis Colts in 2024. Cam Newton, the 2015 NFL MVP, feels Sanders could start at some point in 2025, but it won’t be in Week 1. The only reason Watson isn’t cut is because Cleveland fully guaranteed his entire contract. 

2. Indianapolis Colts

QBs: Anthony Richardson, Daniel Jones, Riley Leonard, Jason Bean

Anthony Richardson, the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, became just the fourth quarterback since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger to lead the NFL in yards per completion (14.4) while ranking dead last in completion percentage (47.7%) in 2024. He’s the ultimate boom or bust quarterback in the NFL in today: he has a cannon, but he desperately needs to become more accurate. 

Indianapolis signed former top 10 pick quarterback Daniel Jones to a one-year, $14 million deal that was nearly fully guaranteed (13.15 million guaranteed) to push Jones this offseason. It will be a very light push. Jones’ 2024 season with the New York Giants marked the fourth time in the last five seasons he has started each of his team’s first 10 games and had fewer than 10 touchdown passes. That’s something every other NFL quarterback has combined to do four times total in the last five years, per CBS Sports Research. Jones has also gone 58 consecutive starts without throwing three or more touchdowns in a game, which is the longest such streak in the last 30 seasons, per CBS Sports Research.

Athletic, dual-threat Riley Leonard was selected in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft after leading Notre Dame to becoming the national runner-ups in the 2024 season. He’s somewhat of a project as are all of the quarterback in the Colts’ quarterback room. Jason Bean went undrafted out of Kansas in 2024 and has yet to appear in an NFL regular-season game.

Week 1 starter: Anthony Richardson

It’s in general manager Chris Ballard’s and head coach Shane Steichen’s best interest for Richardson to win the starting job, and he will thanks to being the most talented and tenured guy in the room.  

1. Pittsburgh Steelers

QBs: Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, Skylar Thompson

The Pittsburgh Steelers have the worst quarterback room in the entire NFL after completely turning over at the position in each of the last two years. Mason Rudolph, a third-round pick of the Steelers in 2018, returns home after a year away with the Tennessee Titans in 2024. He threw nine touchdowns and nine interceptions across eight played last season, which included five starts. 

Skylar Thompson comes to the Steelers after three seasons as Tua Tagovailoa’s backup with the Miami Dolphins. He has one passing touchdowns and three interceptions in 10 games played, including three starts. The rookie in the room is Will Howard, a sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft after helping lead Ohio State to a national championship in his fifth season of college football. 

Week 1 starter: Will Howard … unless Aaron Rodgers comes to town

Head coach Mike Tomlin ends up uninspired by both Rudolph and Thompson, which leads to Howard seizing the job after continuing the growth he showed as a passer as a Buckeye. That is unless Aaron Rodgers joins the team after visiting the team’s facility earlier in the offseason.