8. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
We saw Trevor Lawrence play some of the best football of his NFL career in his first season under Liam Coen, a really encouraging sign after the way things ended in the Doug Pederson era.
Under Coen, Lawrence enjoyed one of the most efficient seasons he's played with a career-high touchdown percentage of 5.2 percent. He threw for 29 touchdowns and added another 9 touchdowns (also a career-high) and 40 first downs as a runner.
In the second half of last season, Lawrence might have been the hottest quarterback in the entire league. There isn't much reason to believe he can't be right back there again this season, and his spot on this list is an indicator of just how awesome the crop of quarterbacks is in the AFC right now.
7. Drake Maye, New England Patriots
Is it really possible that the guy who finished 2nd in All-Pro voting last season and 2nd in MVP voting behind Matthew Stafford could be the 7th-best quarterback in his own conference?
Yes, it's possible, but just like with other quarterbacks on this list, the placement of a player like Drake Maye is not meant to make it seem like he's not good, or didn't prove anything last year. We saw a couple of different versions of Maye last season -- One player in the regular season, and a completely different player in the playoffs
Maye had to go up against an absolute gauntlet of defenses in the postseason, but he didn't look the part of a 2nd-team All-Pro or MVP candidate in those games. Especially not in the Super Bowl. Maye is building something special with his career overall, and is one of the most talented all-around passers in the NFL. We'll see how he responds this season after a tough stretch in the playoffs.
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