After what we saw in the 2025 season and offseason that followed, it feels like the AFC East is one of the most straightforward divisions in the entire NFL this upcoming season.
Aside from not knowing whether it will be the Buffalo Bills or New England Patriots emerging as division champions, the element of surprise is missing from this division right now. And just like pretty much every other division in football, that's due to the state of the quarterback position for each of these teams.
In the NFL, there are the haves and the have-nots at quarterback, and two of the teams in the AFC East have top-tier players at the game's most important position. Even though things seem pretty clear going into the 2026 season, you just never know with the NFL.
Our latest NFL Power Rankings are going to rank every projected starting QB in the AFC East worst to best going into this season, and give an early look at what we are expecting from each of them in 2026.
NFL Power Rankings: Josh Allen tops AFC East quarterback rankings in 2026
4. Malik Willis, Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins hit the reset button in the 2026 offseason. Actually, it might be more like they unplugged everything and plugged it back in. The Dolphins did a clean sweep from the top of the organization on down, and that included making a bold move to get rid of Tua Tagovailoa and his massive contract.
Taking a page out of the Denver Broncos/Russell Wilson playbook, the Dolphins decided to eat the dead cap hits from Tagovailoa now instead of prolong the inevitable. In the interim, they brought in former Packers backup QB Malik Willis in for an audition to be their starter this season, and maybe beyond.
Just like any backup taking on an expanded role, there's healthy skepticism with Willis taking over in Miami, especially because his supporting cast at WR and TE is not that great. But Willis showed some really nice things as the Packers' backup over the past couple of years, and he's a pretty dynamic dual threat at the position.
At this point, he's just the least proven of all the quarterbacks in this division, and even in the most optimistic scenario, his ceiling is probably the 3rd-best spot on this list.
Willis threw 70 passes in his time with the Packers, and the next interception he throws will be the first since his rookie year back in 2022 with the Titans. It's a limited sample, but his effectiveness in that limited sample is at least reason to be optimistic.
3. Geno Smith, New York Jets
I contemplated throwing Geno Smith at the bottom of this list, but he's accomplished enough on the field over the last four years to earn a little more respect than that.
If we were to be ranking these quarterbacks based on overall confidence level, he'd be last on the list.
Smith was an interception machine last year for the Raiders, and even though every interception has a story (and not all of them are on the quarterback), he was simply too reckless with the football, in general. His interception rate of 3.8 percent was the highest we saw from him as a full-time starter since his rookie year back in 2013 with the Jets.
The last two seasons have also been horrendous in terms of Smith's pocket awareness. He's taken 105 sacks over the past two seasons combined, but to his credit, he's only fumbled a total of three times.
Smith is in a really interesting situation with the Jets, because that is a team and franchise that needs a long-term option at the position. But there's also pressure to win games. The Jets have a ton of NFL Draft ammo, but teams aren't just going to want to trade out of one of the top slots.
The Jets simultaneously need Geno to be a strong veteran presence and help them get their QB of the future.
2. Drake Maye, New England Patriots
Even though it wasn't exactly a tale of two halves, the Drake Maye we saw in the regular season did not match the Drake Maye we saw for the New England Patriots in the playoffs.
Maye was dominant for most of the regular season last year. The Patriots were able to coast to the #2 seed in the AFC, and Maye's efficiency was a big reason why. He finished 2nd in the NFL MVP voting behind Matthew Stafford after completing 72 percent of his throws with 31 touchdown passes, just 8 interceptions, and the most explosive vertical passing attack in the NFL.
The value he added as a runner was huge as well, racking up 450 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
In the playoffs, however, it was a different story entirely. Maye completed just 58.3 percent of his passes and was sacked a whopping 21 times in four playoff games. He threw four interceptions and had seven fumbles.
The way Maye played in the postseason has cast a bit of a shadow over his regular season performance from last year, but he is still expected to be one of the top quarterbacks in the entire NFL. He will have to come out with a bit of a chip on his shoulder after the bitter way things ended for him last season.
1. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
The path to the Super Bowl for Josh Allen and the Bills could not have been more ideally paved last season.
No Patrick Mahomes in his way...The Bills looked like the team of destiny...Top rushing attack in the NFL...Getting hot at just the right time.
It was once again the AFC West that ended Allen's bid for a Super Bowl, but this time, it was Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos. Allen put his cape on for that game and made some huge plays, but he also had a pair of interceptions and three fumbles, two of which he lost.
The pressure is high for Josh Allen, to state the obvious. He's got generational talent, a term which shouldn't be thrown around as loosely as it is these days. But for him, it's true. His arm talent, athletic traits, and ability to create offense in so many different ways are incredible to watch.
It just all has to come together at the right time for him, and up to this point, it simply hasn't.
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