One of the most impossible tasks in the offseason is ranking quarterbacks from around the league, not because we don't have enough data to draw from, but quite the opposite.
When the NFL offseason hits, the deck is reshuffled. The game board is reset. Everybody gets a clean slate. And suddenly, while some players may have struggled the season before, trying to sort out a list ranking each quarterback in the league becomes a battle between what a player has accomplished over the course of their career, and what they've done for us lately.
Our latest NFL Power Rankings are going to attempt to do what feels impossible, and rank the quarterbacks in the loaded AFC. The bottom of the list is a lot easier to sort out right now than the top of the list, but there might be 100 different ways you could rank these players if you were to ask 100 different people to do it.
We're going to rank every quarterback in the AFC as OTAs roll along based on the player's track record, projection for 2026, and obviously their production just last season as well.
16. Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns
The easiest quarterback to put at the bottom of a list like this, at least for the time being, is whoever you project as this year's starter for the Cleveland Browns. Not that we saw absolutely nothing from Shedeur Sanders last year, but this is perhaps the worst QB situation around the league and it might not even be all that close.
Right now, the pendulum seems to be swinging Deshaun Watson's direction for the starting gig with the Browns, and that would be a wild development.
Todd Monken believes he has two starting-caliber quarterbacks. And we all know the old saying: If you have two quarterbacks, you have none...
15. Malik Willis, Miami Dolphins
Malik Willis definitely has a lot better upside than the 15th-best quarterback in the AFC this coming season. Maybe he can put something together with the Dolphins after the glimpses we all got while he was with the Green Bay Packers.
He'll certainly have a coaching staff that believes in him, and we'll see how often Willis gets the chance to flex his dual-threat capabilities with Miami.
Teams will likely be loading up the box and pressing the issue with the Dolphins right away this season. They're going to force Willis to beat them with his arm, so we should find out quickly this season if he's up to the task or not.
14. Geno Smith, New York Jets
Over the last two seasons, Geno Smith has played 32 total games. Over the last 32 games, Smith has thrown 32 interceptions.
Ball security has been a bit of an issue for Smith, to say the least. But dare I say -- the reunion with the New York Jets is yet another reason for some optimism going into the 2026 season. Nobody is under the illusion that Geno Smith is a long-term fixture for the Jets at the quarterback position, but hopefully, he can give them a better look than he did for the Raiders over the past couple of seasons.
The Jets have playmakers and weapons galore for Smith, and even if he is still throwing an interception every week, he showed in Seattle that he can overcome it.
13. Kirk Cousins, Las Vegas Raiders
It seemed like Kirk Cousins might be trending toward his career being over, and then we saw him help the Falcons make a little bit of a run late last season.
The Raider brought him in as the bridge to #1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza, so it simultaneously feels like a really intriguing move at quarterback (especially with Klint Kubiak as the head coach) and like the clock is ticking.
Cousins didn't look like he was on borrowed time last season, but rather like he had something left in the tank. As Kubiak's father used to say in Denver: We're fixin' to find out.
12. Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans
Cam Ward looked every bit the part of a rookie #1 overall pick last year for the Tennessee Titans, and that includes extremes on both ends of the spectrum.
There were times when he had you believing the Titans might go on a little run, and there were times he had you wondering if he could even make it in the league. Ultimately, the progression signs were there all throughout the season, and Ward is perhaps the top breakout player candidate in the entire NFL with Brian Daboll calling the Titans' offense.
Not to mention, the Titans got him some much-needed weapons. His confidence should be sky-high this season, and I see him shooting up this list quickly.
11. Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts
For a good chunk of last season, Daniel Jones looked like he might need to be in the...MVP conversation?
Would we really go that far?
Before he suffered a season-ending injury, it was easily the best we've seen Jones playing in the NFL. And the Colts have plenty of talent around him. It seems like he works really well with Shane Steichen, so the Colts took a pretty big risk bringing him back at a high price tag for 2026. By big risk, we're talking about $60 million guaranteed and a whopping $44 million signing bonus on a two-year pact.
Jones is not only going to have to prove he can remain available, but consistently play at the level we saw when he was at his best last season.
10. Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers
At this stage of his NFL career, it's pretty clear that Aaron Rodgers kind of just, is what he is.
And that's not meant to carry negative connotation, although it sort of inherently feels like it. Rodgers is a grizzled veteran who will not see anything this season that he hasn't already seen at some point in his 20-plus NFL seasons. He has a familiar face at head coach this year in Mike McCarthy, but it says a lot that Rodgers was the quarterback of the Steelers during the season right before they fired longtime head coach Mike Tomlin.
The question here is -- do we really think Rodgers can be that much better than he was last year? Again, it just feels like he is what he is at this point. He isn't the MVP he once was, but he's going to take care of the ball and be solid.
9. CJ Stroud, Houston Texans
The decline of CJ Stroud since his rookie year in 2023 has to be studied. When Stroud was a rookie with the Texans, he threw for over 4,000 yards and had 23 touchdowns compared to just 5 interceptions. He played at a borderline MVP level for the Texans that year, and his season wasn't just romanticized because the Texans had serious struggles before getting him.
In the two years that have followed, Stroud has not exactly been the tide to raise all boats in the harbor for the Texans, and that offense has needed him to be. Now, he's entering a crucial year with his long-term contract situation hanging in the balance.
His performance in the playoffs last year didn't exactly inspire confidence, but the talent is there for Stroud, and so is the support from that elite defense.
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.
6. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
The combination of Justin Herbert at quarterback and Mike McDaniel might be the most exciting new QB/OC duo around the entire NFL.
Herbert has struggled over the past couple of seasons to carry the Chargers on his shoulders, but perhaps with an elite coordinator like McDaniel (especially with his run game concepts), the Chargers can actually find the type of balance to take pressure off of Herbert.
Believe it or not, Herbert might be the most dynamic dual-threat at the QB position in the NFL right now. He has the highest yards per scramble of any QB in the league. He's truly a weapon, but his issues have always been finding ways to overcome all of the uncontrollable obstacles placed before him when it matters the most.
5. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix probably doesn't get the proper credit he deserves, but it's understandable to a degree. Nix was not beloved in the pre-draft process, and folks are having a hard time believing what they're seeing from him over the past two seasons.
He helped lead the Broncos to the AFC Championship Game this past year, but he wasn't able to play in the game due to a fractured ankle. He's still making his way back to full strength from that injury, but Nix has proven himself to be one of the most clutch quarterbacks in the NFL, and productive despite inconsistency with his game.
There are only two other quarterbacks in NFL history -- besides Bo Nix -- who have 24 touchdown passes and 3,500 passing yards in each of their first two seasons: Peyton Manning and Justin Herbert. And he's still got plenty of ways to improve.
The Broncos added Jaylen Waddle to the wide receiver room this offseason, hopefully adding that elite weapon they have lacked in Nix's first two seasons when he's been putting the team on his back.
4. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Over the past couple of seasons, Patrick Mahomes has proven to be a bit more human than anyone ever thought we'd see during the course of his NFL career.
Mahomes suffered an injury late last season, the Chiefs missed the playoffs for the first time in his career, and his sack percentage of 6.34 percent was the highest of his entire NFL career so far. Mahomes has struggled a good amount over the past couple of years with his deep ball accuracy and efficiency, but you still know that the league views him as one of the most dangerous players in the NFL.
I don't think it would be a really hot take to say Mahomes could be a lot lower on this type of a list, but based on what he's done throughout his career, it's hard to imagine NFL general managers would take many other quarterbacks over him if they could pick any QB in the league right now.
3. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson could easily have three league MVP awards on his mantle right now. He's been a 3-time 1st-team All-Pro selection. He's the most dynamic quarterback in the league with his arm and legs. When Jackson is on top of his game, there's probably not a bigger "cheat code" in the NFL than him.
And yet it's also entirely possible that he's the 3rd-best QB in the conference going into 2026. Again, you could ask 100 people to make this list, and you might get 100 different rankings. But Jackson being 3rd on this list doesn't take away from his MVP credentials or future candidacy.
He has what it takes to dominate weekly. Last year, he wasn't himself as he played through some injuries. Any season he's completed over 66 percent of his passes, he's been a 1st-team All-Pro selection and MVP candidate.
2. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
There isn't a better quarterback at navigating pressure in the pocket than Joe Burrow when he's healthy and on top of his game. The issue is, in two of the last three seasons, Burrow has struggled to stay on the field consistently.
When he's able to stay on the field, he's really got everything going for him. Burrow is on time, he's accurate, he's clutch, and he knows how to distribute the ball to his playmakers. He's so good at avoiding pressure and keeping plays alive, even though he's not the fastest or most athletic quarterback in the league.
His field vision is reminiscent of Tom Brady.
1. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen is in the MVP conversation every year. Not only does Allen know how to fill up the stat sheet as a passer, but he's also elite as a runner. He has at least 12 rushing touchdowns in each of the last three seasons, and at least 500 rushing yards dating back to the 2021 season.
Every single year, you can count on Allen producing to the point that the Bills are going to be in contention. He's become a model of consistency, even though that's also the most frustrating part of every discussion.
It's getting harder and harder for people to truly appreciate what Allen brings to the table because the expectation has drastically shifted to his playoff failures as opposed to his individual success. Allen has reached that point in his career where he could cement his legacy by figuring out a way to win it all, though that's easier said than done.