Cleveland Browns: Deshaun Watson vs. Shedeur Sanders
This might be the worst quarterback situation the NFL has seen in years. Deshaun Watson truly has not been a serviceable quarterback for about a half-decade now, and Shedeur Sanders may not be anything more than a backup-caliber quarterback.
At this point, it's obviously too early for one of these two to have separated himself from the other, but ideally, someone does do that. I guess if you are a believer in Watson, you could site his experience and veteran presence over Sanders, but Sanders may actually have a higher ceiling at this point.
With Watson having played horrific football his entire Cleveland Browns tenure, there just isn't much of anything to latch onto to make you believe that would change. Sanders wins this job.
Winner: Sanders
Minnesota Vikings: Kyler Murray vs. JJ McCarthy
I have maintained a personal belief that Kyler Murray would not have signed with the Minnesota Vikings this offseason without some sort of back-door guarantee that he would be the starter. Murray is absolutely a good quarterback and just did not ever truly breakout in Arizona.
With that said, the Cardinals were also never really doing him many favors, but there were flashes of just how electric he could be. He's also a former first-round pick and does possess a dual-threat skillset. With the Vikings, he'd be playing in the best personnel situation of his career, so it's worth banking on Murray playing the best football of his career.
And while JJ McCarthy was playing fine down the stretch in 2025, the first two years of his NFL career have been anything but. He's not been able to stay on the field consistently and also has largely played poorly overall, so this should be Murray's job to lose.
Winner: Murray
Atlanta Falcons: Tua Tagovailoa vs. Michael Penix Jr.
This one in Atlanta might be the most 'quarterback competition' of them all, as two left-handers in Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. want to start for the talented Falcons. Both Tagovailoa and Penix have injury concerns and are currently banged-up, but Tagovailoa is much more of a proven commodity.
He's actually finished with a winning record every year in his NFL career but one, and through his six seasons, he's tossed 120 touchdown passes and has a solid 96.4 passer rating. The Falcons personnel situation on offense is also the best Tagovailoa would play in, and this simply might come down to which passer is able to get and stay on the practice field/preseason field the most.
While Penix did improve from 2024 into 2025, the former Miami Dolphins' passer is a better player and is good enough to win this competition.
Winner: Tagovailoa
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