Quarterback breakout candidates for 2025

Drake Maye, New England Patriots

Maye confronted some robust competitors amongst his rookie friends in 2024 with the likes of Jayden Daniels establishing himself as an elite fantasy quarterback, Bo Nix shocking as a top-10 fantasy choice, and even Caleb Williams salvaging a comparatively disappointing season to complete as the general QB15 on the yr. Meanwhile, Maye didn’t get an opportunity to take over till Week 6 in his rookie season however flashed loads of potential as a fantasy difference-maker heading into Year 2. Maye completed as the general QB21 on the season and tied for QB17 in factors per recreation, however with an improved offense, an upgraded teaching workers and one other yr within the league, Maye has the potential to ship top-12 numbers in 2025.

Improvement as a passer

One key space that will go a good distance in Maye’s Year 2 breakout is delivering on the high-end passing potential that he confirmed throughout his two years as a starter for North Carolina. Maye’s 91.5 profession passing grade popping out was the perfect mark of any quarterback in that class and an 89th percentile mark amongst 123 quarterback prospects since 2017. It’s unreasonable to anticipate that stage of play instantly from a rookie – even one drafted as extremely as Maye – and his 64.9 passing grade in Year 1, which ranked thirty first among the many league’s quarterbacks in 2024.

Maye will enter a brand new offensive system this season beneath offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and head coach Mike Vrabel. Maye ranked thirty third in throws 20-plus yards downfield with a 7.4-yard common depth of goal, a bottom-10 mark within the league. McDaniels has sometimes requested for extra aggression than that from his quarterbacks, as his first yr as head coach for Derek Carr resulted in a career-high ADoT (9.7) and top-five mark within the league. Maye’s profession deep accuracy in faculty (45.7%) ranked 89th percentile amongst prospects since 2017. It may very well be a serious key in unlocking that high-end passing capability in Year 2 on the subsequent stage.

Thriving as a runner

The huge benefit that Maye holds over the opposite breakout quarterback candidates is his willingness and talent to take off and run, which, as fantasy managers are effectively conscious, is usually a large benefit in his fantasy manufacturing throughout a whole season. This was the case with Maye popping out of faculty as effectively, as he had a ninety fifth percentile 11.1% scramble charge whereas averaging 8.9 rush makes an attempt per recreation. That translated a good bit to his first yr within the NFL with a ten.7% scramble charge (second behind solely Daniels, min. 100 dropbacks), and 4.0 runs per recreation, which allowed for an extra 4.5 fantasy factors per recreation from his speeding alone. As the offense improves and Maye turns into extra snug, these scramble numbers and speeding manufacturing have loads of room for enchancment, particularly as he cleans up the fumbling points after main the league with six misplaced fumbles in 2024.

Drake Maye’s QB ranks in 2024:

Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers

Young is the lone Year 3 participant on this record after a tough rookie season and a disastrous begin to his second yr earlier than turning issues round late in Year 2 to create vital optimism that he can stay as much as his No. 1 general choose potential. This is true not only for the Carolina Panthers, who hope they’ve their franchise quarterback, however for fantasy functions as effectively, as he went from a non-factor for the primary yr and a half for fantasy to a respectable fantasy starter for the second half of final yr. With a brand new WR1 added to the combination and a big enchancment as a quarterback, Young enters Year 3 with a brand new lease on life to begin the season on the trail to a possible breakout fantasy season.

Live as much as his draft capital for the whole season

Young’s rapid enchancment from the primary half of final season to the second half was about as dramatic a turnaround as there may very well be within the NFL on the place. Because it was solely a half-season, there’s some trepidation about whether or not Young can keep that stage of play for a whole season. He went from rating tied for final in passing grade (49.6) via his rookie yr till Week 7 of 2024 to QB7 from Week 8 of 2024 till the tip of the common season in that regard (83.7). As a results of enormously improved play, Young’s fantasy manufacturing additionally elevated to the purpose the place he was the QB12 over that span (Week 8-18).

This is the Alabama model of Young that the Panthers had hoped for when choosing him first general in 2023, which is why he makes this record of optimism heading into 2025. The different factor of Young’s recreation that helps his case is a willingness to run, evidenced by an 8.0% scramble charge (seventh) that added 3.6 speeding fantasy factors per recreation (14th). Finding the tip zone as a runner was key as effectively, as he delivered six speeding touchdowns, 5 of which got here in that stellar second half of final season.

An general enchancment for the offense

Dave Canales enters Year 2 as head coach of the Panthers after discovering incremental success taking on in his first season, bettering the crew’s general offensive grade (72.2), common yards per recreation (5.2), offensive scoring performs (62) and offensive touchdowns (40) because the crew was usually bottom-three within the league in these classes in 2023. The 2024 numbers had been nonetheless usually under common, although nonetheless an enchancment with room to develop in 2025. Adding top-10 huge receiver choose Tetairoa McMillan out of this yr’s NFL draft also needs to present the offense with a dependable weekly prime goal within the passing recreation, which was missing final season.

The Panthers offensive line is above common when it comes to pass-blocking grade, however Young nonetheless ranked close to the underside of the league in clear pocket dropbacks (59.7%), which partly comes from Young inviting stress. Young’s 2.94-second common time-to-throw was among the many larger marks within the league for the season and didn’t enhance throughout his sturdy second half of the yr. This was an space the place Young was a lot better than the standard quarterback prospect popping out of faculty and even bettering to common in that regard might help Young function from a cleaner pocket.

Bryce Young’s QB ranks from Week 8-18 in 2024:

Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons

While Penix was a shock as a top-10 choose within the 2024 NFL Draft after the crew signed Kirk Cousins to an enormous contract that very same offseason, however after taking on for the faltering Cousins late in 2024, Penix put collectively a small stretch of very encouraging play. After taking on because the starter in Week 16, Penix seemed greater than able to working an NFL offense, incomes an 84.0 passing grade via the ultimate three video games, a top-10 mark within the league over that span. As a fantasy asset, Penix has room to enhance, rating because the QB17 over that closing stretch, though he did ship a QB6 end in Week 18 because of high-end passing play, which is the catalyst of his potential breakout, as he’s not the efficient speeding risk that the opposite two breakout candidates are on this record.

Maintaining his high-level passing from 2024

Penix’s 87.6 passing grade, regardless of simply three begins on the yr as a rookie, gives numerous optimism that he may very well be Atlanta’s greatest beginning quarterback since Matt Ryan in 2021, who, even at the moment, wasn’t the perfect model of himself and completed because the QB18 for fantasy functions. Penix, within the prime of his profession and with a greater receiving corps than what Ryan had in 2021, holds the potential to outperform that end. He is getting drafted later than that as effectively.

Penix’s greatest recreation final season got here in Week 18 when he delivered an elite 94.5 passing grade on the again of seven big-time throws, 312 passing yards and two passing touchdowns, ending as the general QB6 for the week. That recreation did come towards one of many worst defenses within the league (Carolina Panthers), however based mostly on PFF’s power of schedule metric, Penix owns a top-10 favorable schedule for fantasy manufacturing in 2025, which might play an enormous half in permitting him to take care of that high-end stage of play as a passer, fueling his breakout fantasy season.

Utilizing this offense to his benefit

Penix will get a large assist by enjoying behind the most effective offensive strains in soccer, because it ranked top-10 in pass-blocking grade and first in run-blocking final season, with just one change at heart among the many starters. Penix ought to have the ability to function from a clear pocket as a rule, as he (and Cousins) spent 68% of his dropbacks from a clear pocket final season, which ranked fifteenth amongst 47 qualifying quarterbacks. The better part about that’s that Penix earned a 93.3 passing grade from a clear pocket final season, which ranked third behind solely Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow.

The different side of this offense that Penix can weaponize to construct his fantasy manufacturing comes within the type of two top-10 gamers at their respective positions in Bijan Robinson and Drake London. This offers him two elite weapons that Penix can get the ball to at totally different ranges of the passing recreation, the place they’ll take the ball and ship high-end effectivity in racking up bonus yardage for his or her quarterback. Both gamers ranked prime six at their respective positions in PFF receiving grades and stand out as dependable pass-catching choices to lean on each single week, on prime of any potential that Kyle Pitts and Darnell Mooney can present as extra choices places Penix in a fantastic spot to breakout in Year 2.

Michael Penix Jr.’s QB ranks from Week 16-18 in 2024: