2025 Fantasy Football: Top 5 Quarterback Strength of Schedules

Strength of Schedule is a valuable—though imperfect—tool in fantasy football, offering a helpful starting point for identifying players with favorable matchups. Take last season, for example: the Chicago Bears allowed the fewest fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. At first glance, that might make fantasy managers think twice about starting a QB against them. But context matters. The Bears were one of the league’s worst teams and often fell behind early, which led opposing offenses to shift into clock-killing mode by leaning heavily on the run. So while the numbers suggest the Bears had the best defense against fantasy quarterbacks, there’s an important caveat. Strength of Schedule can be insightful, but it shouldn't be the sole factor in your draft or start/sit decisions.

With the 2025 NFL schedule dropping tonight, it’s the perfect time to break down which quarterbacks have the most favorable matchups—based on last season’s fantasy points allowed to opposing signal-callers. While the exact dates are still under wraps, we do know each team’s opponents. So with that in mind, let’s dive in.

Top Five Quarterback Strength Of Schedules:

5. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans

Just wow!!! CJ Stroud 75-yard touchdown pass to Nico Collins on the Texans first play on offense.
pic.twitter.com/AAL1LtFBeC
— Mark Berman (@MarkBerman_) January 7, 2024

Stroud and the Texans enter 2025 with the fifth-most favorable schedule for quarterbacks, making him a strong bounce-back candidate in fantasy. Playing in the AFC South, Stroud will face the Jaguars, Colts, and Titans twice—three defenses that struggled last season. Notably, the Jaguars surrendered the third-most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. The Texans also match up with the AFC West, including a Raiders defense that ranked eighth-worst against QBs in fantasy. Their NFC West opponents bring shootout potential with the Rams (10th-most) and Arizona Cardinals (16th-most), though the 49ers and Seahawks will present more difficult scenarios.

Despite losing Stefon Diggs to the Patriots and uncertainty surrounding Tank Dell’s availability, Stroud still has a strong WR1 in Nico Collins, a dependable WR2 in Christian Kirk, and reinforcements in promising rookies Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel. After a sophomore slump, Stroud is well-positioned to rebound in 2025.

4. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers benefit from matchups against the AFC South, including a Jaguars defense that gave up the third-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, and the NFC South, highlighted by a Panthers secondary that allowed the second-most fantasy points to the position.

While Purdy will be without Deebo Samuel—now with the Washington Commanders—he still has a strong supporting cast featuring Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, rookie Ricky Pearsall, and George Kittle. If Christian McCaffrey returns to top form and remains a reliable pass-catching weapon, Purdy could flirt with fringe QB1 production. That said, he profiles more realistically as a high-end QB2 heading into the 2025 season.

3. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

Puka Nacua sets a rookie record for receiving yards in a playoff game!

📺: #LARvsDET on NBC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/upLPjD2Lhe
— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2024

Stafford has essentially the same schedule as Purdy being in the same division so it’s no surprise to see him on this list. Although the Rams lost Cooper Kupp, they brought in an upgrade in Davante Adams to complement Puka Nacua on the outside. Stafford is chasing another ring before he hangs up his cleats and getting to play four of the worst five defenses against opposing quarterbacks (Carolina Panthers 2, Jacksonville Jaguars 3, Atlanta Falcons 4, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5) could deliver fantasy fireworks for Stafford and company in 2025.

2. Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints

Despite Tyler Shough and the New Orleans Saints boasting the second-most favorable fantasy schedule for quarterbacks in 2025, expectations should be tempered. The Saints invested a second-round pick (40th overall) in Shough during the NFL Draft, but the 26-year-old rookie faces an uphill battle after a college career marked by inconsistency and a modest 61.6% completion rate over his final three seasons.

While he’ll have talented weapons like Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and Alvin Kamara to support him, the transition to the NFL is rarely smooth—especially for older rookies with questionable collegiate production. I’m forecasting a rough season in New Orleans, and despite the favorable schedule, Shough remains low in my preseason quarterback rankings.

1. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals

MARVIN HARRISON JR. AGAIN ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! 🤯

2 CATCHES. 2 TDS. 😳

(via @AZCardinals)

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— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 15, 2024

Surprise, surprise—another NFC West quarterback tops the list. It’s a remarkable turnaround for the Cardinals, who faced one of the toughest fantasy schedules in 2024, finishing dead last in quarterback matchups. But 2025 is shaping up to be a much more favorable landscape.

Arizona is set to face nine defenses projected to rank among the league’s bottom 10, including soft matchups against the 49ers (twice), Jaguars, Cowboys, Bengals, Panthers, Saints, Falcons, and Titans.

With a full offseason to build chemistry with rising stars Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr., Kyler Murray’s fantasy value could get a noticeable bump heading into draft season.

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