8. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
The thing with Justin Herbert is that he offers virtually nothing outside of the efficient regular season statistics, and it seems like we hype up Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers each year, only to be disappointed when it ends in a non-playoff season or Herbert playing horrific football in the playoffs.
That's simply been the case thus far. Herbert is a good, efficient QB who checks all the boxes, but there really isn't anything with his game that stands out enough to have him ranked among the very best. The state of the Chargers franchise has honestly remained exactly the same from Herbert's rookie season until now. What has the veteran QB done to be looked at with the best of the best?
7. Drake Maye, New England Patriots
Drake Maye finished second in the MVP voting last year, but I believe a lot of us are wanting to see Maye sustain some success into 2026 before crowning him as being the best, or close to it. The New England Patriots had an insanely easy schedule last year, and Maye himself didn't exactly play that well against top competition.
He also took a ton of sacks, which is something for him to improve on. While Maye does have the tools and traits, one breakout season, while spectacular, should not be looked at as being good enough to vault into the top-5 or higher.
6. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
Bo Nix has 24 regular season wins, two playoff appearances, and one AFC West division title as the Denver Broncos QB. He's clearly someone who has turned this franchise around, and had Nix not broken his ankle, the Broncos are very likely playing in the Super Bowl in 2025.
Nix dealt with 43 drops from his pass-catchers last year, too, according to Pro Football Reference, so while his production didn't jump off the page, you could look at the mountainous amount of drops he had as being a clear reason why.
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