2. AFC West (Bo Nix, Justin Herbert, Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins)
The AFC West comes in at No. 2 in our power rankings, and for good reason. This division has three slam-dunk franchise passers, and perhaps one of the greatest of all-time in Patrick Mahomes. Bo Nix has helped the Denver Broncos win 24 regular season games in the last two seasons, which may have included a Super Bowl berth, had Nix not broken his ankle.
Between his clutch and how much winning has followed the Broncos, it's obvious that Nix is not only one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, but could get better in 2026 with the addition of Jaylen Waddle on offense.
Justin Herbert has been a very efficient passer his entire career. The disappointing playoff performances have kind of turned Herbert into a regular season passer, but he's still someone many teams would trade for today if that was a possibility.
Herbert, I have maintained, is this generation's Kirk Cousins - efficient most every single season, but not much of a playoff passer. That could change, though, but that is also how his career has shaken out.
Speaking of Cousins, he's likely starting for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2026. The Raiders did take Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick in the NFL Draft this year, but with the addition of Cousins, the Raiders are clearly wanting to take it slow with their rookie passer.
Cousins is probably in that 'functional' category at this point - he's not the worst quarterback in the NFL, but he's far from the best, perhaps profiling best as a high-end backup. Las Vegas clearly isn't banking on Cousins doing anything special, but in the right situation, he could be a moderately-efficient player for them.
The AFC West as a whole is flat-out loaded at the position.
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