Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Annual Quarterback Tier Survey – Glaring Reveal of Where the League Views Caleb Williams Among Other Veterans

Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The NFL has spoken loud and clear with the latest annual quarterback tier survey. This survey, which is conducted yearly by seasoned NFL writer Mike Sando, depicts what the league thinks of its quarterbacks.

In the 2025 quarterback tier rankings, Sando, who has been covering the NFL for nearly 3 decades, places each quarterback in different tiers according to how they are voted upon by members of the league.

And while there are not too many surprises in where the league’s veteran quarterbacks are ranked, one name, that of the Bears’ starter Caleb Williams, sticks out rather prominently.

Caleb Williams entered the 2024 draft as the consensus No. 1 quarterback.

He enters his second season facing questions about his ability to process and play quickly. pic.twitter.com/U1msgeWlt4
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) August 11, 2025

Caleb Williams Narrowly Makes Tier 3 Cut

Mike Sando’s annual quarterback tier survey is based on the votes of 50 members ranging from current and past general managers, assistant general managers, head coaches, executives, and even assistant coaches. The list is not only vast, but also has a variety of individuals, making it an ideal judge of talent in the league.

Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow lead the way, tied for the first spot in Tier 1, and they are closely followed by reigning MVP Josh Allen, 2-time former MVP Lamar Jackson, and Matthew Stafford to close out the quarterbacks in Tier 1.

And while all that is good, the biggest intrigue is to find Caleb Williams languishing in the 23rd spot in Tier 3, just a couple of spots ahead of the start of Tier 4.

Six GMs, six assistant GMs, six former GMs, five other execs, eight head coaches and 19 other coaches, including 15 coordinators, comprise @SandoNFL's 50-person panel.

The goal was simple: Tier every veteran QB in the NFL.

Did they get it right? pic.twitter.com/4UyajtKvfs
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) August 11, 2025

In fact, what is even more fascinating is the fact that of the six signal callers drafted in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft, Williams is behind Jayden Daniels (6), Bo Nix (Tied 20), and Drake Maye (22), with only Michael Penix Jr. and J.J. McCarthy behind him.

Now that is saying something, as both Penix and McCarthy saw little to no playing time last season. The former played in just 5 games and started 3, while the latter missed his entire rookie campaign with an injury.

Colin Cowherd Weighs In on the Survey

After the survey was made public, Colin Cowherd chimed in on where the NFL as a whole views Caleb Williams going into the new season. Despite maintaining that he is a fan of Williams, Cowherd has been highly critical of the Bears’ quarterback’s lack of development, especially considering how hyped he was before the 2024 NFL draft.

“Mike Sando has been doing this for a year. It’s kind of the bible of what the league thinks of its quarterbacks. He has 50 voters. He has six GMs, six assistant GMs, six former GMs, eight head coaches, five execs, 19 assistant coaches,” explained Cowherd.

He then went on to note that “Caleb Williams is bottom of tier three, but 15 voters, about 30% of voters, already knowing what a mess the Bears were last year. That wasn’t Caleb’s fault. The coaching staff, 15 voters, have Caleb in tier four. Tier four…It’s old Russell Wilson. It’s Daniel Jones. It’s Spencer Rattler. It’s Joe Flacco. That’s alarming.”

And if that wasn’t enough, Cowherd also brought to light a couple of quotes from coaches in the NFL. “Here’s two quotes from coaches. One of them, a defensive coordinator who said: In terms of processing ability and getting the ball out of his hands, he was the worst quarterback we played against. He holds the ball forever. A head coach in the NFL said his processing, to me, was alarming watching the tape.”

Are people in the league OUT on Caleb Williams already? @colincowherd pic.twitter.com/UA5xA7KuNU
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) August 11, 2025

With these recent findings from the league, it is safe to say that the NFL is not yet sold on Williams and his ability to perform at this level. Around this time last year, the football world was eagerly anticipating his debut, and Bears fans were hopeful of a turnaround.

The upcoming season will go a long way in determining whether the former number one overall pick can bounce back and prove his worth.

Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Caleb Williams

Chicago Bears

NFL

Devavrat Kulkarni

nfl

I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!