Which player has the most pressure to perform well in 2025?

[tjforce]

Prefer to break guys down into a few tiers, because almost any NFL QB is going to be facing some kind of pressure:

High Paid QBs that could have people will be calling for their jobs:

-Purdy: Maybe the most pressure. Huge contract coming off of a losing season. He won't get benched, but he'll catch a lot of flack if he doesn't perform

-Dak: Not only is he under the microscope of Dallas, they added Pickens next to Lamb, so there will be a higher expectation to succeed.

-Tua: Does he still have it or have the concussions gotten to him?

-Lawrence: Has Brian Thomas and Travis Hunter. The excuses stop if he can't get it together this season

-Herbert: Year 2 of Harbaugh he'll be expected to deliver


Young QBs that need to prove they are NFL Starters:

-JJ McCarthy: Has to follow the act Darnold put on last season. We haven't seen anything from him yet

-Caleb Williams: Will always be tied to Jayden Daniels

-Bryce Young: Almost flushed year 2, then showed some skill. Needs to show which QB he is.

Stars that need to prove they are champions, but are secure as one of the NFL's top QBs regardless:

-Josh Allen: We know the story. MVP, HOF trajectory, has lost the the Chiefs 4 times in the playoffs and the Bengals once

-Lamar Jackson: 2 Time MVP. 3-5 record in the playoffs.

-Joe Burrow: Huge stats last year. He missed the playoffs for the 3rd time in 5 NFL seasons.

As little pressure as they could face:

Jalen Hurts: He has his Super Bowl win, a ton of talent around him, and not much more he needs to prove right away

Baker Mayfield: From Panthers scout team to $100MM contract again. Baker being a mid tier QB for a long time is all he needs to continue making a fortune in the NFL.

His own their with a different type of pressure nobody else faces:

Patrick Mahomes: The man who has more Super Bowl appearances (5) than Playoff losses (4) will actually face less pressure this year than last season when everyone was fixated on the 3 peat. The different kind of pressure will come from an all time high 7 Prime Time games, including what will be the most watched regular season game in NFL history on Thanksgiving vs the Cowboys. The social media machine will try to convince you that everything he or his team does is some evil master plan by whichever political party you aren't aligned with, and half of you reading this will believe it. But at the end of the day, whatever happens with the Chiefs this year they'll be in the exact same spot at the center of the NFL universe next season and for the foreseeable future as the league's prime draw. So there's a kind of pressure that goes with carrying the league's brand, the same way LeBron or Steph Curry have been doing it for the last 10-20 years.

[asujbl]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Prefer to break guys down into a few tiers, because almost any NFL QB is going to be facing some kind of pressure:

High Paid QBs that could have people will be calling for their jobs:

-Purdy: Maybe the most pressure. Huge contract coming off of a losing season. He won't get benched, but he'll catch a lot of flack if he doesn't perform

-Dak: Not only is he under the microscope of Dallas, they added Pickens next to Lamb, so there will be a higher expectation to succeed.

-Tua: Does he still have it or have the concussions gotten to him?

-Lawrence: Has Brian Thomas and Travis Hunter. The excuses stop if he can't get it together this season

-Herbert: Year 2 of Harbaugh he'll be expected to deliver


Young QBs that need to prove they are NFL Starters:

-JJ McCarthy: Has to follow the act Darnold put on last season. We haven't seen anything from him yet

-Caleb Williams: Will always be tied to Jayden Daniels

-Bryce Young: Almost flushed year 2, then showed some skill. Needs to show which QB he is.

Stars that need to prove they are champions, but are secure as one of the NFL's top QBs regardless:

-Josh Allen: We know the story. MVP, HOF trajectory, has lost the the Chiefs 4 times in the playoffs and the Bengals once

-Lamar Jackson: 2 Time MVP. 3-5 record in the playoffs.

-Joe Burrow: Huge stats last year. He missed the playoffs for the 3rd time in 5 NFL seasons.

As little pressure as they could face:

Jalen Hurts: He has his Super Bowl win, a ton of talent around him, and not much more he needs to prove right away

Baker Mayfield: From Panthers scout team to $100MM contract again. Baker being a mid tier QB for a long time is all he needs to continue making a fortune in the NFL.

His own their with a different type of pressure nobody else faces:

Patrick Mahomes: The man who has more Super Bowl appearances (5) than Playoff losses (4) will actually face less pressure this year than last season when everyone was fixated on the 3 peat. The different kind of pressure will come from an all time high 7 Prime Time games, including what will be the most watched regular season game in NFL history on Thanksgiving vs the Cowboys. The social media machine will try to convince you that everything he or his team does is some evil master plan by whichever political party you aren't aligned with, and half of you reading this will believe it. But at the end of the day, whatever happens with the Chiefs this year they'll be in the exact same spot at the center of the NFL universe next season and for the foreseeable future as the league's prime draw. So there's a kind of pressure that goes with carrying the league's brand, the same way LeBron or Steph Curry have been doing it for the last 10-20 years.

He doesn't fit any of your tiers specifically...

But I do think CJ Stroud has some legit pressure this year. Everyone put him in the Top 10 right away after his rookie season. He was that "you'd trade him for Mahomes but that's about it" category

And that didn't go as planned last season

He needs to take another step forward

[Asian62150]

Originally Posted by asujbl

He doesn't fit any of your tiers specifically...

But I do think CJ Stroud has some legit pressure this year. Everyone put him in the Top 10 right away after his rookie season. He was that "you'd trade him for Mahomes but that's about it" category

And that didn't go as planned last season

He needs to take another step forward

Agree. As a young QB coming off a down year, Stroud has a lot to prove. I feel like every young QB gets 1 mulligan year during their rookie contract.

Stroud might have set his own bar too high after his rookie year. But it is what it is.

I think Caleb has a lot of pressure and he and his dad just added to that pressure with their comments in the book (even though the comments were from last year).

The thing about Caleb is he actually had a decent/above average rookie year (sacks notwithstanding). But because Jayden played amazing, his rookie season seems subpar.

[2010GBPackers]

I'll add another one to the mix: Jordan Love.

Is he a "mid" QB as approx. 75% of his stats/record suggest, or a QB blooming into stardom like the other 25% suggests?

If he stumbles year 3 (6th year in the league), Packers fans should panic. The Packers' brass put themselves in a difficult position with this kid, when they kept Rodgers around through 2022 - meaning they only had a year to determine whether or not he was extension-worthy. That 8-game run at the end of 2023 forced their hand, but it was only an 8-game run. My instincts tell me he's more Baker Mayfield than Aaron Rodgers - good, not great.

[sethc1020]

Ill add Anthony Richardson to the mix as well. If he doesn't show any improvement this year he'll bounce around the league for a few years until he is out of the league.

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by asujbl

He doesn't fit any of your tiers specifically...

But I do think CJ Stroud has some legit pressure this year. Everyone put him in the Top 10 right away after his rookie season. He was that "you'd trade him for Mahomes but that's about it" category

And that didn't go as planned last season

He needs to take another step forward

Yeah. I thought about him.

There are a couple of guys to I didn't touch on because they didn't quite fit, like you said.

I don't see any way people are clamoring for the Texans to dump Stroud this year like Lawrence or Dak might get if they under perform. But at the same time, CJ's fallen way behind the Allen/Lamar/Burrow group that he seemed destined to be joining.

Goff is another guy, but at this point we might just know exactly who he is.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Yeah. I thought about him.

There are a couple of guys to I didn't touch on because they didn't quite fit, like you said.

I don't see any way people are clamoring for the Texans to dump Stroud this year like Lawrence or Dak might get if they under perform. But at the same time, CJ's fallen way behind the Allen/Lamar/Burrow group that he seemed destined to be joining.

Goff is another guy, but at this point we might just know exactly who he is.

I think Herbert always gets a pass because nothing is ever expected from the Chargers.

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

I think Herbert always gets a pass because nothing is ever expected from the Chargers.

Herbert gets a pass because he's the absolute prototypical QB, and has 21k yards and 137 TDs to 45 INTs by age 26. What he doesn't have is any Playoff success at all.

[CapMarvelous]

As far as starting QBs go, these are the top 5 players under the most pressure, in no particular order

Dak
Purdy
Kyler
Lawrence
Herbert

[starfox]

Originally Posted by tjforce

Herbert gets a pass because he's the absolute prototypical QB, and has 21k yards and 137 TDs to 45 INTs by age 26. What he doesn't have is any Playoff success at all.

He needs to be held to the same standard as some of the others. The ones like Tua, Dak, and Jackson. Herbert has gotten a pass for far too long. He's talented, but that's not what it's about; it's about winning. We don't talk about talented quarterbacks from the past like Tarkenton, Archie Manning, Marino, and Kelly anymore because they never won anything. The standard HAS changed. Brady and Mahomes personally saw to it that the standard went from highlight buzz plays to winning championships. That's the way it should be.

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[rlwalkre]

Originally Posted by sethc1020

Ill add Anthony Richardson to the mix as well. If he doesn't show any improvement this year he'll bounce around the league for a few years until he is out of the league.

I agree with this. I would also add that with another lackluster season, Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen could be looking for new homes as well.