I guess it should not come as much of a surprise that Aaron Rodgers is back with the Pittsburgh Steelers for what clearly is going to be one more season. Rodgers gets to reunite with new Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy, as both spent a ton of time together with the Green Bay Packers.
With Rodgers back in the mix, it's very likely that all 16 teams in the AFC know who they plan on starting for the 2026 NFL Season. Sure, there could be some 'quarterback competitions' across the league, but those don't usually amount to anything substantial.
You know what they say - "if you have two quarterbacks, you have zero." Now with Rodgers back in the mix and the Steelers quarterback situation sorted out, let's power-rank the 16 starting quarterbacks in the NFL for the 2026 season. Our rankings will primarily come from the latest on-field action we saw from each passer.
Power-ranking all AFC starting quarterbacks with Aaron Rodgers back in the mix
16. Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns
It's been quite some time since Deshaun Watson last played decent football. He's been flat-out horrendous for the Cleveland Browns his entire tenure, and you get the sense that 2026 could be the final year that Watson gets to prove he can still play in this league.
Watson has largely looked lost on the field and is now coming off multiple major injuries. This could get ugly.
15. Kirk Cousins, Las Vegas Raiders
Kirk Cousins did fill in nicely for the Atlanta Falcons in 2025, tossing 10 touchdowns against five interceptions. Cousins is likely going to play rather competent football for the Las Vegas Raiders, but nothing special. He's clearly not physically there anymore and was never a physical specimen to begin with.
This is likely the last year that Cousins could realistically get as a starting quarterback in the NFL.
14. Geno Smith, New York Jets
Geno Smith has thrown 32 interceptions over the past two seasons and lasted just one year with the Las Vegas Raiders. Smith's final year with the Seattle Seahawks back in 2024 saw his former team replace him with Sam Darnold, and all the Seahawks did in 2025 was win the Super Bowl.
And in 2025 with the Raiders, Smith was bad enough for Las Vegas to earn the top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, which the team quickly used on Fernando Mendoza. If the last two seasons are any indication, the New York Jets are going to end up with a stud at the position in 2027.
Sure, the Raiders were a mess last year, but Smith was regressing before that. He's just not a functional quarterback at this point in his career and was likely able to play so well with the Seahawks for a couple of seasons primarily because there just wasn't much film out on him.
Smith doesn't do anything particularly well at this point and is likely primed to have a rather forgettable season with New York in 2026.
13. Malik Willis, Miami Dolphins
Malik Willis has appeared in just 22 games in his four years in the NFL, but over the last two years with the Packers, Willis has thrown six touchdowns and zero interceptions, filling in quite well as Jordan Love's backup.
While Willis has been efficient, the quarterback just doesn't have many reps under his belt, so there is still a massive cloud of unknown above him. The Miami Dolphins took a chance and might only ask Willis to be a functional quarterback for them while they work through an obvious rebuilding scenario.
However, given how weak the roster is overall, Willis' chances at success could be virtually zero.
12. Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans
Cam Ward is on the right track - he was quite good down the stretch, but he faces an uphill battle that many quarterbacks face - the year two jump (or regression). We've seen a ton of quarterbacks make this jump, and now that Ward has Brian Daboll on his side, the chances of making that type of jump are quite high.
Ward does have to go out there and make it happen, but this ranking isn't necessarily indicative of who Ward is as a player - he's got a great chance to get inside the top-10. Tennessee could use more talent on offense, but this franchise is going in the right direction.
Ward lands at No. 12 in our quarterback power rankings, but there is room to grow.
11. Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers
With Rodgers back in the mix for the Steelers, the team at least has a high floor to work with for the 2026 NFL Season, but that also comes with a very low ceiling in Pittsburgh's case. This team won 10 games in 2025 and would have won nine and lost the AFC North title had Tyler Loop made a field goal.
On paper, Rodgers tossing 24 touchdowns against seven interceptions does make it seem like he was efficient, but you have to dig deeper to find the truth. Pittsburgh's offense ranked 15th in points scored, Rodgers averaged fewer than 210 yards per game, and his 42.9 percent success rate was the lowest of his starting career in the NFL.
Simply put, Rodgers was inefficient and forgettable for the Steelers. If nothing else, though, he has always kept the ball out of harm's way and should at least be able to do that rather well in 2026, but that's all he brings to the table now.
10. CJ Stroud, Houston Texans
The unfortunate truth with CJ Stroud is that he's on the wrong track - he's regressed in each of the past two seasons after a masterful, historic rookie season back in 2023. Since then, Stroud has been thoroughly average, but the Texans have been a great team.
On paper, you could argue that Houston is the best squad in the NFL. Despite an 0-3 start in 2025, Houston found a way to finish the season 12-5, just barely missing out on the AFC South title. The team's chances at success in 2026 could not be simpler: if Stroud is playing as he did as a rookie, Houston could win it all.
If Stroud is playing as he has in 2024 and 2025, this team is again going to lose in the middle of the playoffs. The one thing that has gone against him is that he's not exactly the best athlete at the position, and his arm isn't threatening. There is a physical ceiling in that regard, but if he was able to play great football in 2023, why can't he do it in 2026?
For now, Stroud takes a bit of a back seat in our power rankings.
9. Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts
Daniel Jones was honestly playing like an MVP candidate for the Indianapolis Colts during the 7-1 start, but things slowly began to fall off the rails, and it unfortunately ended with Jones tearing his Achilles. The truth of 2026 is likely somewhere in the middle of Jones' insane 2025 start and the hard regression.
He'll likely plan like a functional, average starter for the Colts, and that might be plenty for this team to sniff 10 wins and a potential Wild Card spot, but given Jones' history, the Colts' ceiling in 2026 is quite obvious.
8. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Once again, Joe Burrow struggled to stay on the field, playing in just eight games in the 2025 season. At some point, we have to begin looking at this quarterback as being injury prone, right? The Cincinnati Bengals did go 5-3 in Burrow's starts, so that's something, but the inability to stay on the field consistently has hurt Burrow in these rankings.
A quarterback who lives in shotgun and doesn't love to take snaps under center, Burrow does bring some athletic limitations to the mix and is far from a perfect quarterback. However, when on the field, there might only be a very small handful of players who can say they're as good in clutch situations as Burrow has been during his career.
The Bengals have missed the playoffs three years in a row now, but Burrow's greatness when on the field can't really be disputed.
7. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
Another AFC North quarterback who did not suit up for all 17 games, Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens struggled and got into a deep hole to begin 2025. However, they did make a rather strong comeback and nearly won the AFC North. Jackson didn't look like himself but was still efficient on paper.
Given Jackson's high-end mobility, he's susceptible to taking more hits and getting hurt more. Now that Jackson is sniffing 30 years old, the two-time MVP may slowly have to begin reinventing himself more as a pocket passer.
But when Jackson does get and stay on the field, there aren't many athletes on this planet who are as good as what they do as Jackson is. The two-time MVP has a bust in Canton waiting for him one day, but given how 2025 went, his standing in our rankings takes a slight hit.
6. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
Justin Herbert is an interesting player. He's been the same "B+" quarterback his entire career, but that isn't a bad thing, either. Herbert is consistently efficient in the regular season, putting up solid season after solid season.
He's also had to deal with some horrendous offensive lines, as he's taken way more hits than he should. Despite that, the Los Angeles Chargers have gone 11-6 in each of the past two seasons, but there's been a clear ceiling in the playoffs. Herbert and the Chargers have not advanced past the Wild Card Round, and they've gotten embarrassed in the first round any time they make it.
A lot of that has to be on the quarterback. Herbert is quite good and is every bit of a franchise quarterback, but there's been some meat left on the bone in previous seasons.
5. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix led the NFL with seven game-winning drives in 2025, clearly cementing himself as one of the more clutch players in the NFL. Where Nix also stuck out was his more thorough and consistent performance throughout the season.
On the Broncos in 2025, Nix had to deal with a ton of drops and an inefficient run game when J.K. Dobbins went down with a season-ending foot injury. But through two seasons in the league, Nix has helped the Broncos to a stellar 24-10 regular season record, and two playoff appearances.
Had it not been for that broken ankle in the Divisional Round, the Broncos likely would have made the Super Bowl. Many people are, for some reason, still doubting Nix, but through two seasons, there isn't much he hasn't done.
The Broncos have turned into one of the best franchises in the NFL, and that began right when Nix arrived back in 2024.
4. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
I honestly struggled to find a good spot for Patrick Mahomes. He was 6-8 as a starter in 2025 and finished his 14 outings with 22 touchdown passes and a passer rating below 90. In four of his previous five seasons, his passer rating has been below 100.
Sure, that might not mean much, but Mahomes hasn't been that special statistically, and it did show a bit in 2025. His sack rate in 2025 was also the highest of his career. Still, though, it's Mahomes we're talking about, right?
At the end of the day, he's able to get the benefit of the doubt in almost any instance, but the season-ending knee injury and rather average production does make me wonder a bit. He'll come in at No. 4, because wouldn't be seem flat-out ridiculous to rank him lower than this?
With an offense that did see a key addition in Kenneth Walker III, the run game may at least be average enough for Mahomes to get back to his early-career days.
3. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars hit their stride near the end of the 2025 season, and it actually ended with Lawrence becoming an MVP candidate. He's got all the tools and traits to be one of the best in the league, and if he can take that 2025 second-half stretch into 2026, the Jaguars are going to be an excellent team this coming season.
Lawrence can do a bit of everything, and his large frame does make him a notable physical presence on the field. He finished with just over 4,000 passing yards in 2025 with 29 passing touchdowns and nine rushing scores.
Over the final six games of the regular season, Lawrence had a 113.2 passer rating with 19 total touchdowns (via Pro Football Reference).
2. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen is a superhuman quarterback, but the Buffalo Bills overall lack of playoff success and being able to get over the hump is beginning to get insane at this point. The Bills made a huge change this offseason, replacing long-time head coach Sean McDermott with Joe Brady.
That might not change a thing, but it might be the remaining change this team needed to make. We have seen Allen play sloppily at times, as he does tend to turn the ball over in ridiculous fashion time and time again.
But as a whole, Allen continues to be one of the most dominant quarterbacks (and players) in the NFL. He's an MVP for a reason and may already be a top-3 dual-threat quarterback of all-time. He's also shown no signs of slowing down and comes in at No. 2 in our power rankings, but he always has the ability to be the best quarterback in the NFL on any given day.
1. Drake Maye, New England Patriots
If not for Matthew Stafford, second-year quarterback Drake Maye would have won the NFL MVP award. After what was a really encouraging rookie season, but forgettable year for the New England Patriots, the Pats regrouped under Mike Vrabel, the new head coach, and won 14 games in 2025.
Sure, the schedule was on the easier side, but Maye and this crew really defied expectations. As a quarterback, Maye does have elements of guys like Allen and Herbert to his game. He's a big-bodied quarterback with a rocket for an arm.
He also has solid off-schedule ability and can throw on the run. Maye was the best quarterback in the AFC and was also the lone quarterback standing in the conference at the end of the season. While he may not remain at the top spot, he'll occupy it for now.