- From possible undrafted to Fantasy League winner: Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence defied expectations by finding success with Parker Washington and company as his top wide receivers, finishing the year as a top-five fantasy quarterback, including top-15 weekly finishes in 12 of his 16 games.
- Lamar Jackson didn’t replicate his usual fantasy stardom: Injuries were a major factor for the Ravens’ starting quarterback, but it was still a disappointment that he couldn’t make up his top-three quarterback ADP.
- Receive PFF+ with a 30% discount: Use promotional code HOLIDAY 30 to unlock the PFF Player Prop Tool, Premium Stats, fantasy dashboards, the PFF Mock Draft Simulator, industry-leading fantasy rankings and much more – everything you need to win your season.
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Every NFL season is full of good and bad surprises, and 2025 was no exception. Plenty of fantasy football assets seemingly came out of nowhere to become quality starting options, while others let us down, whether due to injuries, poor play, inefficiency or benching.
In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the pleasant surprises and surprising disappointments with the 2025 quarterback, leaving out players who missed significant amounts of time due to injury.
Editor’s note: Fantasy points/rankings are from weeks 1-17
Pleasant surprise: Drake Maye, New England Patriots
Maye entered year two as a potential breakout candidate at quarterback after a solid rookie season and several overall improvements to his supporting cast. The hope was that he could crack the top 12 fantasy quarterbacks of the season, which would still make him a value compared to where he was drafted – typically well outside that range (QB18 on Sleeper).
Not only did Maye prove to be a value based on his ADP, but despite all the quarterback injuries and his breakout, he posted a top-three finish at his position, averaging 21.0 points per game – significantly higher than his 2024 average of 13.6.
Maye’s overall performance jump as an NFL quarterback was perhaps the best in the league this past season. He went from a PFF grade of 64.9 as a rookie, which ranked 31st among qualifying quarterbacks in the regular season, to a grade of 85.0 in 2025, a top-five mark at the position.
Maye delivered just over 400 rushing yards, as well as his 4,203 passing yards, both of which were top six for the position. Thanks to his consistent production, Maye only finished outside the top 15 weekly fantasy quarterbacks twice all season. His rushing ability has always been a big part of his fantasy potential, but if he performs as an elite passer in year two, it should only add to his encouraging long-term fantasy profile heading into 2026 and beyond.
Pleasant surprise: Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Stafford is coming off the second-best fantasy season of his 17-year NFL career, and his best since 2011. His performances have put him in contention to win the NFL MVP, highlighted by a career-high 93.2 PFF grade through 17 weeks. If not for a bad Week 17 where he threw three interceptions, Stafford would likely be in contention for most valuable fantasy quarterback as well, considering he either went undrafted or was drafted outside the top 20 players at his position in fantasy drafts this preseason.
With Puka Nacua and Davante Adams as his top receiving weapons, Stafford was able to rebound nicely from just a QB19 finish in 2024, when he ended up throwing for a career-high 42 touchdowns this season.
What makes this season even sweeter is that Stafford is doing all this at the age of 37. He also leads the league in PFF passing grades (93.1), big throws (46) and big throws (7.8%).
We’ll have to look for signs of decline in Stafford’s big-hitting ability in 2026, though it’s unlikely he’ll be called up too early next offseason. Adams is also a potential free agent, while Nacua will be looking for a new contract – two crucial situations for the Rams to resolve. If they’re both locked up and ready to go, Stafford’s fantasy expectations heading into 2026 will be much higher than they were last offseason.
Pleasant surprise: Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
With Liam Coen taking over as head coach of the Jaguars this past season, there was a general expectation that the team’s offense would improve significantly. But Lawrence’s ADP showed that fantasy managers had some skepticism about his potential to be a weekly fantasy starter.
Lawrence has been a solid fantasy starter for most of this season for those who added him early after the campaign’s slew of quarterback injuries. Lawrence finished the year as a top-five fantasy quarterback, including top-15 weekly finishes in 12 of his 16 games, a top-12 finish nine times and a top-five finish three times.
Perhaps most impressive is that he did it without standout wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. contributed at all, and with the team’s No. 2 overall pick, wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, getting injured in Week 7 and missing the rest of the year.
Unlike Matthew Stafford, who had Puka Nacua and Davante Adams for most of the season, Lawrence was able to produce high numbers, with Parker Washington leading the team in receiving yards (760) and Travis Etienne, a running back, leading the team in receiving touchdowns (six) in 2025.
For a quarterback who often went undrafted or was selected well outside the top 15 players at his position heading into the year, Lawrence has been a pleasant surprise for fantasy managers.
Pleasant surprise: Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts
- Finish: QB7 (weeks 1-13)
- ADP: QB34
Jones is more of an honorable mention on this list as he unfortunately suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in Week 14. He was largely left out this year given his QB34 ADP on Sleeper, as there some question whether he would keep the Colts’ starting job all year with Anthony Richardson lurking behind him. However, Jones performed well and got the team off to an early 7-1 start in the first half of the year, quickly putting an end to such concerns about his job security.
Jones has had fantasy success before in his career, though much of that has been due to his rushing ability, which hasn’t been as big of a contributor to his success in 2025. Jones has recorded more than 30 rushing yards in a game just once and has averaged 13.3 rushing yards per game this season — by far the lowest mark of his career.
He really surprised through the air, setting a career high in passing yards per game (253.4), almost 40 yards higher than his career average (213.0). Unfortunately, the road back isn’t easy for Jones, so expectations for next season will likely be low again. But maybe he can surprise us again in 2026.
Surprising disappointment: Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
After finishing as the overall QB1 in 2024, Jackson was drafted no worse than QB3 at his position almost across the board this preseason, as he would be expected to produce weekly QB12 finishes or better for most of the year.
While the season started off great for Jackson, with three straight top-five picks for the position, that quickly fizzled out due to injury and some missed time, as he wouldn’t reach those highs again for the rest of the year. Jackson missed four games, and in his eight games since returning from his first injury, he finished outside the top 15 weekly fantasy quarterbacks six times.
Injuries have clearly been a major factor for Jackson this season, but he still qualifies for this list after playing 12 games this season. His play dipped dramatically this year, especially compared to his MVP-level season in 2024. Jackson’s PFF grade of 65.4 is his lowest mark since his rookie year, just one season after setting a career high in that regard (92.6).
Jackson will ideally bounce back in 2026, even if that’s the case now rumors that he is a potential trade candidatewhich will add an interesting wrinkle to its potential fantasy revival in the years to come.
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