Rankings are subjective. Remember that. That doesn’t mean we can’t review some rankings and ask: “What were they thinking?”
Such is the case with a recent list from Charles McDonald of Yahoo Sports. McDonald ranked his version of the NFL’s top 10 quarterbacks and omitted the Washington Commanders‘ QB Jayden Daniels.
Here’s McDonald’s list:
Entering the 2025 NFL season, @FourVerts gives his top 10 QBs 👀 pic.twitter.com/aNytKuDo0v
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 19, 2025
At first glance, I thought it was a mistake. How could McDonald leave Daniels off his list? It’s understandable if he didn’t rank Daniels No. 5. While several already believe Daniels is a top-five signal caller, some believe he still has much to prove. Neither perspective is wrong. Daniels did things last season that no other rookie has ever done. He won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award, led the Commanders to the NFC championship game and the franchise’s best season in 33 years.
McDonald’s top four is inarguable: Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow. Regardless of the order, those are the NFL’s top four QBs heading into 2025. Beginning at No. 5 is where things get interesting.
McDonald chose Justin Herbert over Daniels. Herbert is 0-2 as a starting quarterback in the playoffs, while Daniels won two playoff games as a rookie. No, there’s more to quarterbacking than playoff wins or win/loss record, but, based on last season, would you take Herbert over Daniels?
McDonald ranked the QBs into four tiers: the Patrick Mahomes tier, the almost-Mahomes tier, the ceiling-raiser tier, and the floor-raiser tier. Jackson and Allen landed in the second tier, while Burrow, Herbert and Matthew Stafford all landed in the third tier. Finally, Dak Prescott, Geno Smith, Jordan Love and C.J. Stroud landed in the final tier.
Daniels should be in everyone’s top 10. So should Baker Mayfield. Could anyone make the case that Prescott, Smith and Love are better than Daniels or Mayfield?
Who would make up your top 10? Where would you rank Daniels?
Remember, rankings are subjective.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: QB rankings shockingly leaves Commanders’ Jayden Daniels out of top 10