Best NFL general managers 2025: Ranking the 10 best NFL GMs right now

F1 São Paulo GP 2026 – Practice 2

Story by

Story by
Best NFL general managers 2025: Ranking the 10 best NFL GMs right now

Best NFL general managers — Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Matt Johnson · Sportsnaut

Sun, Jun 8, 2025 ·

7 min read

About Our Ads

Who is the best general manager in the NFL? Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is widely regarded as the best GM in the NFL. Looking across the league, it should come as no surprise that some of the best NFL general managers are the architects of several perennial contenders.

Let's dive into our list of the best NFL general managers right now.

1. Howie Roseman, Philadelphia Eagles

Howie Roseman is the best general manager in the NFL. He built one of the best NFL rosters in the last three years, creating a Super Bowl champion that is well-positioned to remain a contender for the Lombardi Trophy. What really stands out with Roseman is the work he did in the 2024 offseason. Philadelphia came away with two high-end starters on rookie contracts, Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean , while also adding C.J. Gardner-Johnson , Saquon Barkley and Zack Baun . Keep in mind, the Eagles' 2023 draft class landed four starters – Jalen Carter , Nolan Smith , Tyler Steen and Kelee Ringo – with some of his previous hits including Cam Jurgens , Milton Williams , Landon Dickerson and Jalen Hurts . He is the best of the best.

Related: Best NFL coaches 2025

2. Les Snead, Los Angeles Rams

There's not a general manager in the NFL more aggressive than Les Snead. As the architect behind the Los Angeles Rams ' success, Smith has orchestrated trades for Jalen Ramsey , Von Miller , Matthew Stafford and Marcus Peters . He's also drafted Aaron Donald , Ernest Jones , Rob Havenstein and Cooper Kupp . What stands out now with Snead is how he's rebuilt this franchise. Late-round picks like Kyren Williams (164th overall in 2022) and Puka Nacua (177th overall in 2023) provided high-end starts for Sean McVay. Defensively, Snead found Byron Young (77th overall in 2023), Jared Vers (19th overall), Braden Fiske (39th overall) and Kamren Kinchens (99th overall) have turned this unit around. Just outstanding work by Snead.

3. Brad Holmes, Detroit Lions

Hired by the Detroit Lions in 2021, coming from the Les Snead pipeline, Brad Holmes has quickly demonstrated he's one of the best NFL general managers right now. He's earned the PFWA Executive of the Year honors in consecutive seasons and for good reason. The Lions' turnaround from 8-23-1 in the two seasons before Holmes' arrival (2019-'20) to a 27-7 team over the last two seasons is a credit to both Holmes and Dan Campbell. Detroit's top decision-maker has drafted All-Pro talent – Penei Sewell , Amon-Ra St. Brown , Kerby Joseph and Jahmyr Gibbs – along with Pro Bowl starters in Brian Branch and Sam LaPorta . That's not even including the brilliant Jared Goff trade and all the quality starters and depth pieces found in the draft. Holmes has built one of the three best rosters in football and he deserves all the credit he's receiving, if not more.

Read More: NFL defense rankings 2025

4. Eric DeCosta, Baltimore Ravens

Eric DeCosta had big shoes to fill as the Baltimore Ravens general manager in succeeding Ozzie Newsome. Since taking over the job in 2019, he's demonstrated why he is one of the best general managers in the NFL. DeCosta has struck gold with gems like Geno Stone (7th Round), Nnamdi Madubuike (3rd Round), Isaiah Likely (4th Round), Devin Duvernay (3rd Round). He also signed Derrick Henry and Kyle Van Noy , along with trading for Roquan Smith . From a player personnel assistant in 1996 to an outstanding general manager, DeCosta has become an outstanding heir to Newsome.

5. Brett Veach, Kansas City Chiefs

Ranking a three-time Super Bowl champion as the fifth-best general manager in the NFL certainly might seem absurd. Promoted to the top gig in 2017, it came after Veach 'discovered' Patrick Mahomes and encouraged Kansas City to draft him. During his tenure as general manager, Sneed has found great value in Rounds 2 through 6 with the likes of L'Jarius Sneed (Round 4), Trey Smith (Round 6), Isiah Pacheco (Round 7), Jaylen Watson (Round 7), Leo Chenal (Round 3) and Creed Humphrey (Round 2). There are some big whiffs – overpaying Jawaan Taylor along with draft whiffs on Felix Anudike-Uzomah , Skyy Moore , Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Mecole Hardman and Wanya Morris . Veach has an all-time great quarterback and coach, now he needs to find a way to start putting pass-catchers and a better offensive line around Mahomes.

6. Brian Gutekunst, Green Bay Packers

Much like several of the best NFL general managers, Brian Gutekunst followed immediately behind an icon. Gutekunst succeeded Ted Thompson as the Green Bay Packers' general manager in 2018. In the NFL Draft, he's delivered on the draft-and-develop approach with big hits on Elgton Jenkins (Round 2), Jordan Love (Round 1), Romeo Doubs (Round 4), Zach Tom (Round 4), Rasheed Walker (Round 7), Tucker Kraft (Round 3), Jayden Reed (Round 2) and Edgerrin Cooper (Round 2). Free-agent signings Keisean Nixon , Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney also worked out brilliantly. Oddly, Rounds 1 and 3 ( Darnell Savage , Eric Stokes , Lukas Van Ness , Amari Rodgers , Josiah Deguara , Oren Burks and Jace Sternberger ) seem to be his biggest weak spots.

7. Kyle Shanahan/John Lynch, San Francisco 49ers

It's a two-man job with the San Francisco 49ers thanks to the work of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch. There's the obvious blemish on their collective resume – Trey Lance – but they made up for it and then some. Former seventh-round pick Brock Purdy is the obvious crown jewel for this regime, but they also struck gold with Dominick Puni (Round 3), Deommodore Lenoir (Round 5), Talanoa Hufanga (Round 5), Jauan Jennings (Round 7), Dre Greenlaw (Round 5) and Fred Warner (Round 3). That's not even accounting for picks like Brandon Aiyuk , Deebo Samuel , Aaron Banks , Mike McGlinchey and Renardo Green . The coach-GM duo helped San Francisco reach the Super Bowl twice, now they get to build a new core for the future.

Read More: NFL power rankings 2025

8. Brandon Beane, Buffalo Bills

Hired as the Buffalo Bills general manager in 2017, Brandon Beane hit a home run almost instantly. The 2018 draft class featured Josh Allen , Tremaine Edmunds , Harrison Phillips and Taron Johnson . In the years since, Beane landed the likes of Dawson Knox (Round 3), Dane Jackson (Round 7), Spencer Brown (Round 3), Gregory Rousseau (Round 1), Christian Benford (Round 6), Khalil Shakir (Round 5), Terrell Bernard (Round 3) and James Cook (Round 2). Beane hasn't done great with his free-agent signings and the Stefon Diggs trade meant the team missed out on Justin Jefferson , but Beane landed a franchise quarterback and has built around him nicely.

9. Jason Licht, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

One of the longest-tenured general managers in the NFL, Jason Licht has already delivered a Super Bowl for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . For those who want to give a majority of the credit for that to Tom Brady , Licht assembled the Super Bowl-winning roster that had Mike Evans , Kwon Alexander , Ali Marpet , Chris Godwin , Alex Cappa , Carlton Davis , Vita Vea , Alex Cappa, Jamel Dean , Sean Murphy-Bunting , Tristan Wirfs and Antoine Winfield Jr. He then transitioned out of the Brady era, rebuilding the Buccaneers' offensive line and hitting a home run with the Baker Mayfield signing. Licht gets overshadowed by some of his peers, but he's built two perennial contenders and won a Super Bowl ring.

Read More: NFL QB rankings

10. Nick Caserio, Houston Texans

Hired by the Houston Texans in 2021, many were rightfully skeptical of Nick Caserio. While he was a six-time Super Bowl champion, all that success was attributed to Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Houston had a lot of problems when Caserio took over. Deshaun Watson wanted out, Bill O'Brien had handicapped the Texans' front office before being fired and Houston had arguably the worst foundation in football. Even with everything that surrounded Watson, Caserio still pulled in a massive haul in a trade that ended up being a fleecing. The Texans' general manager also made controversial moves in the 2023 NFL Draft to land both C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr. Not only has Caserio drafted two franchise-changing talents at the most important positions in the NFL, but he's also hit on picks like Jalen Pitre , Tank Dell , Calen Bullock , Kamari Lassiter and Nico Collins . Considering the state of the Texans' franchise a few years ago, Caserio has earned this ranking.

Related Headlines

Mobilize your Website

View Site in Mobile | Classic

Share by: