Spicy NFL QB rankings have Jayden Daniels on top, Seahawks' new starter Sam Darnold outside top-20

Now that the 2025 NFL draft is over and training camp is still months away, we've reached the portion of the offseason when we mostly argue about rankings and lists. We have fresh fodder on that front thanks to a spicy new piece from Cody Benjamin at CBS Sports, who wrote up a batch of quarterback power rankings with some interesting choices.

At the top of his list Benjamin has breakout Offensive Rookie of the Year winner Jayden Daniels, which he admits might be a bit of a recency bias thing. He followed up Daniels at No. 1 overall with another hot take: placing Super Bowl winner Jalen Hurts in second-place.

This is a pretty big departure from the usual Lamar Jackson-Josh Allen at the top rankings you'll find practically everywhere else.

If you scroll down the list you won't find the Seattle Seahawks' new starter Sam Darnold anywhere in the top 10, or the top 15 for that matter. Benjamin has Darnold ranked all the way down at No. 22.

CBS ranks Sam Darnold QB22 going into 2025

"Is he the guy whose commanding arm and confidence finally showed up for much of his 2024 Vikings stint? Or the guy who got jumpy amid the heat of the moment (and extra rushers) to close his Minnesota dalliance? Probably both, which is tantalizing but unpredictable material."

By now this should be a pretty familiar dynamic to Seahawks fans, who saw Darnold at his best when he led a comeback win for Minnesota in Seattle, totaling three touchdowns and a 78.8 QBR, his second-highest mark of the season. The case by Benjamin - and many others - is that Darnold dramatically fell off in his last two starts for the Vikings in 2024, and therefore can't be considered in the conversation among the league's best QBs.

This is nonsense - and a case of recency bias - as well as using a small sample size to judge a quarterback who was spectacular for most of the regular season. It's also worth mentioning that Darnold's offensive line completely failed him in his first career playoff start, allowing nine sacks against what was a red-hot Rams defense.

Pretty much every QB struggles in their first playoff game(s), and Darnold was impressive enough for most of 2024 to make a believer out of us - ie, Darnold is vastly improved now compared to how he looked early in his NFL career with the New York Jets and the Carolina Panthers. Even if his skill group won't be as good as with the Vikings, the Seahawks have plenty of weapons (especially after adding Elijah Arroyo and Tory Horton in the draft) to take advantage of Darnold's growth spurt.

We're likely to see some hiccups early on, especially given the Seahawks' ongoing tire fire that is their interior offensive line. A midseason trade for a proven veteran at center could be the kind of thing that might finally get this team over the hump and back to contender status. Darnold will be just fine.

Jan 13, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) against the Los Angeles Rams during an NFC wild card game at State Farm Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

CBS ranks Sam Darnold QB22 going into 2025

More Seahawks on SI stories