The NFC might not have the talent at quarterback that the AFC does, but could the top five NFC quarterbacks in the 2024 season be among the best in the NFL? The AFC is filled with some of the best QBs in the NFL and is very hard to rank. However, there does seem to be clear tiers in the NFC at the quarterback position.
Last year, Brock Purdy of the San Francisco 49ers and Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys were clearly the top two QBs in this conference. Will these two passers lead the rest of their QB peers in the NFC again in 2024?
Let's predict the top 5 quarterbacks in the NFC for the 2024 NFL Season.
Predicting the top 5 quarterbacks in the NFC for the 2024 NFL Season
5. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Dak Prescott gets a lot of hate, but he was outstanding in 2023. He threw 36 interceptions against just nine interceptions and was just picking apart opposing defenses. If you want to criticize Prescott for the lack of playoff success during his tenure, fine, but at least in the regular season, he's a top quarterback.
And yes, the Cowboys have not had a great offseason by any means, but I don't know how you could rank Prescott might lower than this in the NFC. He's not going to forget how to play football all of a sudden, so while Prescott might not throw four times as many touchdowns as interceptions in 2024, he's going to again be efficient and does deserve credit for that.
4. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
From Week 10 through the end of the regular season in 2023, Jordan Love threw 18 touchdowns against just one interception. His 17-game average during this stretch would have given him 38 touchdowns, two interceptions, 4,569 yards, and a 112.7 passer rating. It's not an understatement to suggest that Jordan Love could win the NFL MVP award in 2024 if he can build on his 2023 season.
The Packers turned their year around and made a run to the NFL Divisional Round, upsetting the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card. Jordan Love could also fall back down to earth a bit in 2024, but there isn't any reason to doubt Love and the Packers.
3. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Matthew Stafford is still somehow an underrated quarterback in the NFL, but given how he ended the 2023 NFL Season, his 2024 year is about to be insane. From Week 5 through the end of the regular season in 2023, Stafford tossed 21 touchdowns against just six interceptions. Over a 17-game season, Stafford would have thrown 32 touchdowns, nine interceptions, and 4,228 yards if he kept up his pace the entire year.
He was on fire, even if his statistics don't stand out that much. The LA Rams were also working with a ton of young players on offense in 2023. Now that everyone is a year older, and also now that the offensive line seems complete, Stafford and the Rams are going to be an excellent team in 2024, so you can expect Matthew Stafford to have a huge season.
2. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
In the 2023 NFL Season, Jared Goff hit the 30-touchdown pass mark for only the second time in his career, and also added 4,575 yards and a strong 97.9 passer rating. The Detroit Lions went 12-5 and made a run all the way to the NFC Championship Game. There is no reason why this team can't make a Super Bowl run in 2024.
Through three years with the Lions, Goff has tossed 78 touchdowns against just 27 interceptions. He's playing the best football of his career and has again established himself as a top passer in the NFL. It remains to be seen if opposing teams can eventually figure out Goff and the Lions, but there isn't any reason to believe they'll be solved next year.
The Lions will again be a top team in the NFC, and Goff might end up having the best year of his NFL career.
1. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
Brock Purdy is insane at playing QB in the NFL. Even during his rookie season, Purdy tossed 13 touchdowns against just four interceptions and earned a stellar passer rating of 107.3. In 2023, the first full season of his career, he threw for 31 touchdowns against just 11 interceptions and completed nearly 70% of his passes.
This is now the second offseason where Purdy is the unquestioned starter and does not have someone he's got to compete with. To me, this is the year where Purdy can make another huge jump and even flirt with the MVP award, which he was able to do at times during the 2023 NFL Season. Both Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers offense can be elite - you don't have to choose one or the other.