NFL Most Valuable Assets

The best season by a quarterback in 2025 on almost every measure, at a cap hit under ten million. 4,394 yards, 31 touchdowns against 8 interceptions, a completion rate of 72 percent, and a passing EPA of 166.2 that led the league by more than fifteen points. A Total QBR of 77.1, first among qualifiers, plus 450 yards on the ground. New England went 14-3 and reached the Super Bowl. He is 24, signed at $9.2M a year through 2027 with a fifth-year option for 2028.

Denver went 14-3 and took the first seed in the AFC with a quarterback earning $4.7M. 3,931 yards, 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions on 612 attempts, with 356 rushing yards and 5 rushing scores. The efficiency figures sit mid-pack, a QBR of 58.3 and a completion percentage over expected of -1.2. He is a winning starter, 26 years old, with two seasons of rookie money left and a fifth-year option behind them.

3,942 yards and 27 touchdowns to 7 interceptions in his second season, with Chicago winning the NFC North at 11-6. He is 24, on $9.9M a year through 2027 with an option year to follow. The accuracy still lags, a completion percentage over expected of -3.5 and a QBR of 58.2.

Fourteen starts, 3,041 yards, 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, and a 9-5 record in the games he started for a 12-5 Houston team. Passing EPA of 47.7, eleventh in QBR at 61.7. Houston exercised the fifth-year option, so he plays 2026 at $9.1M and 2027 at $25.9M before the extension conversation begins. He is 24, with two division titles already behind him.

First-team All-Pro and an Offensive Player of the Year finalist on a contract paying $1M. 129 catches on 166 targets for 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns, 80 first downs, and a receiving EPA of 115.7, the highest of any receiver in the league. He is 25, in the last year of a fifth-round rookie deal, which caps the cheap seasons at one. The surplus in that one season is larger than any receiver in the league produces.

First-team All-Pro in the slot at 23, on $2.3M through 2027. Targeted 81 times: 49 completions for 586 yards and a single touchdown, a passer rating allowed of 76.5, 16 passes defended and 93 tackles. The tackle total matters, because he is the rare corner who is also a run defender. Two more seasons of second-round money.

First-team All-Pro on the outside. 39 completions allowed on 88 targets for 453 yards and one touchdown, a rating allowed of 64.3, and 17 passes defended. He and DeJean give Philadelphia two All-Pro corners for under six million combined. He is 25, signed through 2027 at $3.7M with a fifth-year option for 2028.

Offensive Rookie of the Year. 70 catches for 1,014 yards and 7 touchdowns, 55 first downs, for a Carolina team that won the NFC South. He is 23, on $7M a year through 2028 with a fifth-year option after that: four seasons of control on a receiver who already produces like a first option.

Twelve starts as a rookie: 2,272 passing yards, 15 touchdowns to 5 interceptions, and 487 rushing yards with 9 rushing touchdowns, a total only Josh Allen beat among quarterbacks. An Offensive Rookie of the Year finalist. The passing efficiency is average, a passing EPA of 3.4, and the Giants went 4-8 in his starts. He is 23, at $4.2M through 2028 plus an option year. The value is three cheap seasons of a starting quarterback who might become good.

97 targets, 56 completions, 690 yards, a rating allowed of 79.8, 17 passes defended and 4 interceptions, with 91 tackles. Houston’s outside corner opposite Stingley, 23 years old, on $2.3M through 2027. A second-round pick in 2024, so no option year, but two more seasons at this price.

23 years old. 112 targets faced, 68 completions for 782 yards, a rating allowed of 76.6, 14 passes defended, 3 interceptions. Baltimore’s first-round pick of 2024, at $3.2M through 2027 with an option for 2028.

Defensive Player of the Year by unanimous vote, on 23 sacks, a single-season record, with 33 tackles for loss, 53 pressures and 14 quarterback hits. He is 30, now with the Rams, at $40M a year through 2030. The play has no equal at the position.

A Most Valuable Player finalist again: 3,668 passing yards, 25 touchdowns, and 14 rushing touchdowns, the most by any quarterback. Buffalo went 12-5 and lost the divisional round in Denver in overtime. He is 30, on $55M through 2030, which is the market rate for the position. The value is elite play locked in for five seasons at a fixed price while the cap rises every year.

Offensive Player of the Year, first-team All-Pro, Super Bowl champion. 119 catches for 1,793 yards, the most in the league, and 10 touchdowns, with 79 first downs. Seattle paid him $42.1M a year through 2031 in the offseason, the top of the receiver market. At 24 that is a fair price for the best season at the position.

Third in QBR at 72.7, a passing EPA of 110.6, 23 touchdowns to 6 interceptions and a completion percentage over expected of 5.5, in fifteen starts. Green Bay went 9-7-1 and took a wild card. He is 27, on $55M through 2028. On play alone he is a top-four quarterback; the contract runs three more seasons at the market rate.

14.5 sacks, 50 pressures, 20 quarterback hits and 14 tackles for loss, on 1,005 snaps. A Defensive Player of the Year finalist. He is 26, on $45M through 2030, signed to the top of the market and playing to it.

First-team All-Pro. The best coverage line in the league among corners with real volume: 29 completions on 67 targets, 415 yards, a passer rating allowed of 54.0, 15 passes defended and 4 interceptions. He is 25, on $30M through 2029. A fair price for the best cover corner in the league, on a defence that allowed the fewest points in the AFC.

First-team All-Pro for a 6-11 team: 125 catches on 185 targets, 1,412 yards, 8 touchdowns, 73 first downs, with Burrow available for eight games. He is 26, on $40.2M through 2029, the second-largest receiver contract, with four seasons left. Elite production on a market deal in his prime.

First-team All-Pro at right tackle for the third time, 997 snaps across 16 games with 2 penalties. He is 25, signed at $28M a year through 2029. The best young tackle in the league at a price the market has already moved past.

Defensive Rookie of the Year finalist as a third-round safety: 5 interceptions, 11 passes defended, 96 tackles on 1,094 snaps, nearly every defensive snap Atlanta played. He is 24, on $1.5M through 2028. Three more seasons at a rookie price for a starting safety who takes the ball away.

36 pressures, 7.5 sacks, 18 quarterback hits and 11 tackles for loss in 17 games. Now in Cleveland, 25 years old, at $3.8M through 2027 with a fifth-year option for 2028. Two cheap seasons and an option on a pass rusher who was Defensive Rookie of the Year two years ago.

Kansas City went 6-11 and he finished the season on injured reserve after fourteen starts: 3,587 yards, 22 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, a QBR of 68.5. Then a seven-year, $448 million contract, $64M a year through 2033, the largest in the league. He is 30. The play is still top-six at the position; the price and the age are the discount.

13 sacks and 20 tackles for loss, 32 pressures and 10 quarterback hits, at 24, on $1.6M in the final year of his rookie contract. Thirteen sacks from a second-round pick still on his first deal is the definition of surplus. The extension arrives next year.

Seventeen starts at left tackle as a rookie, 1,066 snaps, 9 penalties, at 22. The ninth pick of 2025, on $6.9M through 2028 with an option for 2029. Four seasons of a starting left tackle at a rookie price.

Third overall pick of 2025 and a Defensive Rookie of the Year finalist: 34 pressures, 17 quarterback hits, 4 sacks and 7 tackles for loss in 17 games. He is 22, on $11.3M through 2028 with a fifth-year option. The sack total is modest; the pressure and hit totals for a rookie are not.

First-team All-Pro and runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year: 12 sacks, 20 tackles for loss, 36 pressures. Houston extended him at $50M a year through 2030, the highest figure ever paid to an edge rusher. He is 25. The contract removes the surplus.

Seventh pick of 2025, 17 starts at right tackle, 1,047 snaps, 8 penalties. He is 22, on $8M through 2028 with an option for 2029.

Nine starts, 20 touchdowns, a QBR of 72.8, second in the league, and a completion percentage over expected of 7.2. San Francisco went 7-2 with him and 12-5 overall. He is 26, on $53M through 2030. A market contract with five seasons left on a quarterback who is efficient every time he plays; the games missed are the discount.

Seventeen starts at tackle as a rookie for Washington, 1,054 snaps, 9 penalties. He is 22, a first-round pick on $3.9M through 2028 with an option year.

Sixteen starts at tackle as a second-round rookie, 1,082 snaps, 8 penalties, for a 12-5 Houston team. He is 24, on $2.3M through 2028. No option year on a second-round contract, but three seasons at under three million for a starting tackle.

First-team All-Pro on the interior: 50 pressures and 32 quarterback hits, with 7 sacks. Denver’s defence carried a 14-3 team to the first seed. He is 29, on $25.5M through 2029.

Seventeen starts at right tackle, 1,051 snaps, 3 penalties, at 23. A first-round pick of 2024, on $3.8M through 2027 with a fifth-year option for 2028.

First-team All-Pro safety for the third time: 105 tackles, 9 passes defended, 1,003 snaps in sixteen games, on $25.1M a year through 2030, the top of the safety market. He is 25. Baltimore missed the playoffs at 8-9 and the coverage numbers were down on his standard; the voters saw the whole player.

56 pressures, 32 quarterback hits and 14 sacks across 18 games for Tennessee and Baltimore. New England signed him in March at $12.2M a year through 2028. He is 29.

First-team All-Pro centre, 1,093 snaps in 17 starts, one penalty. He is 27, on $18M through 2028. The best centre in the league, in his prime, at a price set two years ago.

Super Bowl champion. 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, and a completion percentage over expected of 5.2 for a 14-3 team. He is 29, on $33.5M through 2027, well under the going rate for a starter. The interceptions and a QBR of 55.6 say the offence carried him at times; the ring and the contract say the club has two more seasons of a bargain.

First-team All-Pro right guard: 1,108 snaps, 17 starts, one penalty. He is 27, on $18M through 2028.

70 pressures, with 10 sacks, 20 quarterback hits and 106 tackles. Carolina signed him in March at $30M a year through 2029. He is 27.

First-team All-Pro on the interior: 11 sacks, 17 tackles for loss, 67 tackles, for a 3-14 team. Tennessee extended him at $35.3M through 2030. He is 29.

First-team All-Pro and a Defensive Player of the Year finalist in fourteen games: 12.5 sacks, 48 pressures, 12 tackles for loss. He is 27, on $46.5M through 2029, and opens 2026 on Green Bay’s reserve list. Healthy, he is a top-three asset on the defensive side.

Seventeen starts at centre, 1,134 snaps, 5 penalties, at 24. A first-round pick of 2024, on $3.5M through 2027 with an option for 2028.

117 catches for 1,401 yards and 11 touchdowns, 71 first downs on 172 targets. He is 26, on $30M through 2028. A fourth straight season over a thousand yards, on a deal now below the market he helped set.

First-team All-Pro running back and an Offensive Player of the Year finalist: 287 carries for 1,478 yards, 79 catches for 820 more, 7 rushing touchdowns. He is 24, extended at $22.2M through 2030, the top of a market that pays the position less every year.

First-team All-Pro tight end: 126 catches, the most by a tight end in any season since at least 1999, for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns. He is 26, on $19M through 2029.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: 156 tackles and 11 tackles for loss in sixteen games. A second-round pick on $3M through 2028, 23 years old.

An Offensive Rookie of the Year finalist: 63 catches for 938 yards and 6 touchdowns on 127 targets. He is 23, on $4.5M through 2028 with an option year.

16.5 sacks and 22 tackles for loss, 41 pressures, for a 4-13 team. He is 28, on $28.2M through 2028.

20 pressures, 7 sacks and 9 tackles for loss from the interior for the NFC runner-up, at $1.3M in the final year of a third-round rookie contract. He is 27.

52 pressures and 18 quarterback hits from the interior, with 106 tackles, in his first season in Dallas after the November trade from the Jets. He is 28, on $35.3M through 2030.

A passer rating allowed of 57.2 on 66 targets, 32 completions for 333 yards and no touchdowns, with 14 passes defended, in fourteen games. He is 26, on $2.4M in the final year of a second-round rookie deal.