The 2026 NFL regular season is only a few weeks away. Which teams have the best quarterbacks going into the season. Let’s rank them, 1-32.

32. Deshaun Watson

Deshaun Watson was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, in his last season as a starter for the Houston Texans. In 2020 he played in 16 games, he threw for 4,823 yards, 33 touchdowns and only seven interceptions, while completing 70% of his passes.

In the five seasons since he has played in 19 games, threw for 3,365 yards, 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions with a 61% completion rate. This less than stellar play has come while being signed to the biggest fully guaranteed contract in NFL history. Now, he is returning from a torn achilles and the Browns just have to hope he can be somewhat close to the guy who was a top five quarterback…. six years ago.

31. Daniel Jones

Daniel Jones had a great start to last season. The Indianapolis Colts were 8-2 after the first 10 games but ended the season on a seven game losing streak. This was not all on Jones as he suffered injuries that ended his season. Jones broke his left fibula and then tore his right achilles.

A huge part of the success Jones and the Colts offense saw early in the season was due to Jones’ ability to run. That ability may be comprised in a major way, which takes away his special trait. If that trait is gone, it will be a tough year for Jones and the Colts.

30. Michael Penix

In this spot, I am assuming that Michael Penix will start over Tua Tagovailoa. Penix played in nine games last season before he tore his left ACL. In those nine games, he threw for 1,982 yards, nine touchdowns, three interceptions and completed 60% of his passes. Penix is young and has room to get better. He may be ranked a lot higher by the end of the year. Hopefully that’s the case for Falcon fans.

29. Bryce Young

The Carolina Panthers had a rollercoaster of a season in 2025. A big reason for the theme park like effect was the up and down play of their quarterback, Bryce Young. Young had some great moments during the year like his games against the Superbowl contender, Los Angeles Rams.

Where he completed 75% of his passes, along with three touchdowns and zero interceptions but then he will follow it up with a stinker against a team like the New Orleans Saints. Where in both games, he threw for less than 170 yards. The inconsistency lands him at the bottom of the rankings.

28. Geno Smith

Geno Smith was terrible in 2025, he played in 15 games, throwing for 3,025 yards, 19 touchdowns and a league leading 17 interceptions. Smith also struggled to get the ball down the field, averaging only 6.8 yards per attempt. That is towards the bottom of the NFL. The New York Jets are hoping that Smith’s bad year was a product of a bad situation and not a product of him being washed up.

27. Malik Willis

Malik Willis will get a chance to show if he is indeed a starting quarterback in the NFL this season. Last season, he was able to step up in the absence of Jordan Love and play well for the Green Bay Packers.

In 4 appearances, Willis completed 85% of his passes for 422 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns. There are still questions about Willis as a full time starter. The Miami Dolphins and Willis will get a chance to prove doubters wrong this season.

26. Jacoby Brissett

Jacoby Brissett is a veteran quarterback who took over for Kyler Murray last season. Brissett played in 14 games, threw for 3,366 yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He is obviously not the long term answer but his presence should be a calming force for a young Arizona Cardinals team.

25. Jaxson Dart

Jaxson Dart played in 14 games in his rookie campaign. In those 14 games, we saw lots of highlights and lowlights. He threw for 2,272 yards, 15 touchdowns, five interceptions, while completing 63% of his passes. Dart also ran for 487 yards and nine touchdowns. In year two, the New York Giants are hoping that he can still use his mobility as a weapon but do it in a way that does not lead to injuries.

24. Kyler Murray

Kyler Murray is looking to have a bounce back season with the Minnesota Vikings after his time with the Cardinals came to an abrupt end last season. Murray is a former number one overall pick, who at his best, can be one of the best dual threat quarterbacks in the league. This may his last chance to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. The Vikings are hoping that the seriousness of the situation will bring out the best version of Murray.

23. Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers is one of the most talented quarterbacks to ever grace a football field. The combination of his throwing power, uncanny accuracy, mobility, and great decision making led to four, Most Valuable Player awards during his prime.

The problem is that he is no longer in his prime. Rodgers has announced this is the last dance for him and the once proud break dancer has now been reduced to doing a basic two step. This version of Rodgers can still muster up some magic but now enough to be ranked higher than 23rd.

22. Fernando Mendoza

This is just a gut call. Fernando Mendoza could come into the league and be awesome or be the worst quarterback in the league. Just from watching his college tape, I placed him here, as I think he will have a “decent” season.

21. Baker Mayfield

Baker Mayfield had a very up and down season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season. The start of the season was great for him and the team. The Bucs were 6-2 after the first eight games but only won two more games the rest of the season.

Mayfield threw nine of his eleven interceptions in the second half of the season. He only threw for more than 250 yards in two of the final nine games. Tampa Bay has to hope that injuries were the reason for the fall off and that we see the Mayfield that looked like an MVP candidate the first half of the season.

20. Cam Ward

In his rookie season, Cam Ward showed lots of flashes of why he was the first overall pick. He threw for 3,169 yards, 15 touchdowns, and seven interceptions, while completing 60% of his passes.

The place where Ward should make a jump in year two, is taking less sacks. Ward led the league in sacks taken with 55. If he is able to avoid that high number of sacks, his production will improve in a major way.

19. Tyler Shough

Tyler Shough did not play the first half of his rookie season but once he got on the field. He made up for lost time. Shough started in nine games, completing a very impressive 67.6% of his passes for 2,384 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Going into his second season with head coach Kellen Moore as the starter, should only improve on the solid foundation he set last season.

18. Jayden Daniels

Jayden Daniels had arguably the best rookie season by a quarterback in NFL history in 2024. Daniels’ 2025 did not live up to the high expectations that his rookie year set for him.

The leading reason for that was injuries. By the end of this season, he may be in the top ten of these rankings. Daniels is that talented.

17. C.J. Stroud

C.J. Stroud has had a very good start to his career and looked like he was a lock to be a top ten quarterback but took a step back last season. During the regular season, he played in 14 games, throwing for 3,041 yards, 19 touchdowns, and eight touchdowns while completing 64% of his passes.

In the playoffs, he was terrible, only completing 52% of his passes while throwing two touchdowns and five interceptions. Stroud was the biggest factor in the Houston Texans not making it to the AFC Championship game.

16. Bo Nix

Bo Nix had a decent season that landed him in the middle of the pack. He played in all 17 games in the regular season, throwing 25 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and completed 63% of his passes. Another season in Sean Payton’s offense should lead to a more productive season for Nix.

15. Trevor Lawrence

Trevor Lawrence has always been a top talent in the football world. He was a top rated high school recruit, a sensational college quarterback and the number one overall pick in the NFL draft. Since being drafted into the NFL, Lawrence has been the picture of inconsistency. Some of that is his fault and some of that is the inconsistency of coaching surrounding him.

Last season Lawrence played the best ball of his career and now he is entering his second season under head coach Liam Coen. This should be the start of Lawrence living up to the hype.

14. Brock Purdy

Brock Purdy has been one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the NFL since becoming a starter. Last season, he only played in nine games during the regular season. The Chandler, Arizona native threw for 2,167 yards, 20 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and completed 69% of his passes.

13. Caleb Williams

Caleb Williams was the definition of trick or treat last season. He had some of the best highlight plays you will see from a quarterback but also missed some of the easiest throws that a NFL level quarterback will miss.

Williams ended last season with 3,942 yards passing, 27 touchdowns, and seven interceptions while completing 58% of passes. Williams should be more consistent in his play as he enters his second season under head coach Ben Johnson.

12. Jalen Hurts

Jalen Hurts played in 16 games last season and threw for 3,224 yards, 25 touchdowns, five interceptions and completed 64% of his passes. Hurts only had a 41% success rate on his pass attempts last season, which ranked 29th in the NFL.

Hurts has had lots of success in the NFL but has been inconsistent in his play. He was heavily criticized for his play last season. This year Hurts is without top receiver A.J. Brown. Brown was traded to the New England Patriots.

11. Sam Darnold

Sam Darnold was once viewed as a bust after his career did not live up to expectations to start. After a tough start with the Jets, he bounced around the league and then found himself with the Vikings where he showed that he can be a good starter.

Last season, he played with the Seattle Seahawks and helped lead them to a championship. In the regular season he passed for 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns, 14 interceptions while completing 67% of his passes. In the playoffs, Darnold threw five touchdowns and zero interceptions.

10. Jared Goff

Jared Goff has truly turned his career around since joining the Detroit Lions. Last season was another example on who he has become as a quarterback. Goff threw for 4,564 yards, 34 touchdowns, and eight interceptions, while completing 68% of his passes.

9. Justin Herbert

Justin Herbert played in 16 games last season, threw for 3,727 yards, 26 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, and completed 66.4% of his passes. He also ran for 498 yards during the season.

Herbert had to deal with an injury riddled offensive line all season, last year, and was still able to help lead the Los Angeles Chargers to the playoffs. He should be even better this season with a healthier offensive line and the addition of offensive coordinator, Mike McDaniel.

8. Dak Prescott

The Dallas Cowboys were not able to capitalize on the great play of Dak Prescott last season. Prescott had an amazing season with 4,552 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, while completing 67.3% of his passes.

Normally a season like this would result in a better team record than 7-9-1 but the Cowboys were 32nd in total defense. The offense should be just as good this season, if not better. If the defense is just “decent” or “ok”, ranked in the top 20, Dallas could find themselves in the playoffs.

7. Jordan Love

Jordan Love played in 15 games last season, throwing for 3.381 yards, 23 touchdowns, and only six interceptions, while completing 66% of his passes. Those numbers may not “wow” you but Love has managed to be that efficient and effective in a run heavy Green Bay Packers offense.

This season we will see Love be unleashed even more and his stats will be up there with the elite quarterbacks.

6. Drake Maye

Drake Maye was second in Most Valuable Player voting last season after a great regular season where he threw for 4,394 yards, 31 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Maye also led the league in completion percentage, completing 72% of his passes. He helped lead the New England Patriots to a 14-3 record.

Now, the postseason was a different story for Maye and is why he landed outside of the top five. The Patriots made it to the Superbowl but it was in spite of Maye. The former North Carolina Tarheel played in four playoff games, throwing for 828 yards, six touchdowns, and four interceptions, while only completing 58% of his passes.

The questions for Maye and the Patriots is, was his great regular season a product of an easy schedule? Did he get exposed in the playoffs? Only time will tell.

5. Matthew Stafford

The reigning MVP of the NFL comes in at number five. Matthew Stafford had an amazing season in 2025. He threw for a league leading 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns.

The University of Georgia legend was also efficient, only throwing eight interceptions and completing 65% of his passes. If Stafford was closer to 30 years old than 40 years old, he would be number one on this list. Yet, the truth is the decline is coming, just a matter of when.

4. Joe Burrow

There has not been a question of Joe Burrow’s talent since he quarterbacked arguably the greatest college football offense of all-time, when he led the 2019 LSU Tigers to a national championship.

The only question about Burrow is, can he stay healthy throughout and entire season. Last season, the answer was, no. He only played in eight games. In those eight games, he played well, throwing for 1,809 yards, 17 touchdowns, only five interceptions, and completing 66.8% of his passes.

If he stays healthy and the Cincinnati Bengals defense can provide some resistance to opposing offenses, the Bengals could find themselves back in the title picture.

3. Lamar Jackson

Lamar Jackson is already a first ballot hall of famer and hasn’t turned 30 years old. He already had two MVP awards and three first team all-pro selections. The resume that he has put together along with his youth is why is he still top three for me after a down season.

The 2025 season was not a highlight for Lamar Jackson as he dealt with injuries throughout. He played in 13 games, throwing for 2,549 yards, 21 touchdowns, seven interceptions and completing 63% of his passes. The former Heisman trophy winner also didn’t run as much due to his injuries. He ran for a total of 349 yards, which was a career low by 346 yards.

Look for a bounce back season from Jackson that solidifies him as one of the best, if not, the best quarterback in the NFL.

2. Josh Allen

The Buffalo Bills have been a perennial title contender for a while now and a major part of that success is the play of their quarterback, Josh Allen. Allen had another spectacular season last year, as he threw for 3,668 yards, 25 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and completed 69% of his passes. Allen also ran for 579 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns.

One of the criticisms of the Bills’ offense last season was the lack of a number one receiver. In the offseason, they made a trade to acquire D.J. Moore away from the Chicago Bears. The addition of Moore should help Allen be even better as a quarterback.

1. Patrick Mahomes

Patrick Mahomes has an argument to be one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time and he is still in his prime. Mahomes’ prior history is why he has the number one spot. Just like Lamar Jackson he has earned more than the benefit of the doubt and is still in his prime.

Last season Mahomes had a down season as he only played in 14 games, throwing for 3,587 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions, while completing 62% of his passes.

The Kansas City Chiefs look to have a bounce back season and that has to include Mahomes looking like one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time again.

Thank you for reading this article, please leave a comment letting me know what you thought about the rankings.