Without a legitimate quarterback, no NFL team is going to sustain any sort of long-term success. For some teams, they sport one of the best passers in the NFL and are continually in the Super Bowl bubble.
For others, they have middling options at the position and just need to get more aggressive to find the right guy for the long-term. With the preseason now over and the regular season rapidly approaching, let's dive further into this position.
We've rolled out an updated ranking of QBs who are the best to start a franchise with, using success, age, and potential as our main criteria.
Ranking the best QBs to start a franchise with right now ahead of the 2026 NFL Season
10. Jordan Love
Jordan Love is a pretty slick QB. He comes in at No. 10 in our franchise QB rankings. Love has missed four regular season games over the past two seasons and has actually won nine games each year of his starting career.
Love and the Green Bay Packers have been thoroughly good thus far, not great. With that said, Love, as an overall talent, absolutely checks all the boxes. He can hang tall in the pocket and play on time, and he's also able to use his legs to his advantage. We haven't yet seen the Packers truly breakout with Love at QB, but the type of Love is, is absolutely someone that many franchises would love to have.
9. Justin Herbert
Justin Herbert is a similar QB to Love in that he does check all the boxes. The main issue with Herbert, though, is that he's played horribly in the playoffs in his three chances. The Los Angeles Chargers have gotten blown out in the Wild Card Round three times in the Herbert era, but with that being said, you can't really deny the regular season production.
Herbert has always been a productive QB in this league and feels like someone who will continue to be productive for much of his carer. The Chargers haven't exactly done him any favors over the years along the offensive line, but that also isn't an indictment on Herbert.
He's far from a perfect QB and does appear to shrink in big moments, but he's also someone who is an overwhelming talent at the position and is still right in the middle of what appear to be his prime years.
Heading into 2026, you get the sense that Herberte and the Chargers will really begin to need to make something happen in the playoffs before the noise really gets louder and louder about if this team can actually win when it matters the most.
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