Daniel Jones Climbs to QB21, But His Ceiling Still Depends on Steichen
Jones jumped eight spots in The Athletic's QB tiers after a career year cut short by a torn Achilles. Here's what his QB15 fantasy rank really means.
Healthy and QB15 in our ranks, but the late-season fade is a flag.
- Ranked 21st among NFL starters, up 8 spots
- 68.0% completions, 19 TD, 8 INT in 13 starts (2025)
- Our rank: QB15, No. 32 overall
- Practicing without limitations at camp
- Named Pro Bowl alternate despite missing 4 games
Daniel Jones just posted the biggest year-over-year jump of any quarterback in The Athletic's annual poll of coaches and execs, climbing eight spots to 21st overall and drawing eight Tier 2 votes — more than the rest of his career combined. That's a real leap for a guy one offensive coordinator described as looking "broken" during his Giants tenure and merely "functional" in Indy. The catch: 21st among starters still means below average.
The résumé backs the bump. Before a fractured fibula and then a season-ending torn right Achilles in December, Jones completed 261 of 384 passes (68.0%) for 3,101 yards, 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, adding 5 rushing scores across 13 starts. He set career bests in yards per attempt, passer rating and EPA per play, and still landed as a Pro Bowl alternate despite missing the final four games. The good news for camp: he's practicing without limitations.
The System Quarterback Debate
The knock is familiar — Jones is a product of Shane Steichen's scheme, propped up by Jonathan Taylor and a run game that opened everything else. Defensive coaches who faced Indy largely agreed the Colts protected him and handed him answers, with one calling Steichen the best in the league at manipulating tempo and cadence. Another noted Jones' history of lower-body injuries could threaten his mobility long term.
Here's the thing about the "system QB" label, though: Brock Purdy and Jared Goff wear it too, and both have reached a Super Bowl. Goff finished 2025 with 4,564 yards and 34 touchdowns for 303 PPR points, good for our QB10. Being schemed up isn't the insult it was five years ago. The bigger red flag is that Jones' production tapered once defenses got more film — exactly the pattern you don't want from a fantasy streamer.
The Fantasy Read
We have Jones at No. 32 overall and QB15, buoyed by his 246 PPR points across just 13 games in 2025 — elite per-game value while it lasted. But his last five healthy games ran 5.1 fantasy points below his season average, and that fade is the whole story. The AFC South offers no cover, either: Trevor Lawrence (16th), C.J. Stroud (20th) and Cam Ward (25th, our QB22) aren't running away from him.
Verdict: WATCH. Jones is a legitimate late-round QB target given the Steichen offense and Taylor's presence, and coming off an Achilles at his ADP he could pay off as a QB1 in the right stretch. But draft a backup and don't pay up. Confirm the mobility looks real in preseason before you commit — the second-half regression and injury history are both live concerns.
