Drake Maye and the New England Patriots got off on the wrong foot in Week 1, losing to the Seattle Seahawks. New England and Seattle have played the last two 'real' games in the NFL, which is a fun tidbit to note.
And in both games, Maye has looked frazzled, to put it mildly. While Maye did enjoy an MVP-caliber season in 2025, and finished second in that voting, many identified how easy the Patriots' schedule was, saying that Maye was only lighting it up due to the opponents New England faced.
That might not be the most inaccurate statement right now, either. After Maye's dreadful Week 1 performance, could the quarterback hierarchy in the AFC simply not look like we expect? Is Maye not as good as his 2025 numbers would suggest? Let's rank the 16 AFC Starters.
Updated AFC QB rankings following Drake Maye's Week 1 letdown
16. Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns
Deshaun Watson may universally be looked at as the worst starter in the NFL right now. While some may rank him 30th and not 32nd, it's still largely true that Watson is, at least, a bottom-3 player at the position right now.
There just isn't much of anything to like with the veteran, as he's been rather unplayable for a majority of his Browns' tenure.
15. Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans
Cam Ward's preseason struggles might be nothing. They also might be something. Ward did make some big-time strides in his development as a rookie near the end of the 2025 season, but no prior success ever guarantees future success. He should be in good hands with Brian Daboll as the offensive coordinator, but there is simply much more we do not know about Ward than we do know.
14. Geno Smith, New York Jets
Geno Smith is now on his third team in as many seasons for a reason. He's been extremely careless with the football in recent years and has regressed each year since that shocking breakout with Seattle back in 2022. Smith is a declining player at a premium position.
13. Kirk Cousins, Las Vegas Raiders
Kirk Cousins is who he is. Clearly over the hill, Cousins can't move like he used to, and he wasn't able to move that well to begin with, and his arm, which was never special, is also headed in the wrong direction. At best, Cousins might be slightly-below-average for Las Vegas this year.
Add us as a preferred source on Google