NFL QB Tiers

Season tracker

Most weeks at No. 1 Patrick Mahomes 3 of 3 weeks

Season climber Tyler Shough ▲18 since debut

Season slider Jj Mccarthy ▼22 since debut

These 2026 pre-season NFL QB tiers rank every quarterback worth watching, all 55 starters, backups, and rookies, from the GTA "Cheat Codes" down to the emergency-only "Clipboard Club." Instead of a flat 1-to-55 list because that's boring, we sort every QB by the question that actually decides seasons: who shows up when the games get hard? We are separating the quarterbacks who pad stats in the fall from the ones who deliver in January. For the full tier-by-tier breakdown, read our complete 2026 NFL QB tiers analysis.

No. 1 this week Patrick Mahomes

This edition 55 ranked · 10 tiers

CHEAT CODES

3 QBs

The apex. These guys are playing the same sport on a different difficulty setting - you don't game-plan to beat them, you game-plan to survive them.

#1 NEW Patrick Mahomes Headshot

Patrick Mahomes

#2 NEW Josh Allen Headshot

Josh Allen

#3 NEW Matthew Stafford Headshot

Matthew Stafford

KEYS TO THE CAR

5 QBs

Hand them the offense, walk away, and trust it gets driven home. Franchise quarterbacks you build around, not around.

#4 NEW Joe Burrow Headshot

Joe Burrow

#5 NEW Lamar Jackson Headshot

Lamar Jackson

#6 NEW Dak Prescott Headshot

Dak Prescott

#7 NEW Drake Maye Headshot

Drake Maye

#8 NEW Jared Goff Headshot

Jared Goff

PROVE-IT PROM KINGS

8 QBs

All the talent, all the hype, all the votes for most likely to succeed. This is the year the yearbook photo has to become a resume.

#9 NEW Justin Herbert Headshot

Justin Herbert

#10 NEW Caleb Williams Headshot

Caleb Williams

#11 NEW Jalen Hurts Headshot

Jalen Hurts

#12 NEW Jordan Love Headshot

Jordan Love

#13 NEW Sam Darnold Headshot

Sam Darnold

#14 NEW Baker Mayfield Headshot

Baker Mayfield

#15 NEW Trevor Lawrence Headshot

Trevor Lawrence

#16 NEW Bo Nix Headshot

Bo Nix

GOOD ENOUGH TO BREAK YOUR HEART

4 QBs

Steady enough to get you believing, wired to let you down at the exact moment it matters. You'll ride with them and you'll regret it.

#17 NEW Brock Purdy Headshot

Brock Purdy

#18 NEW Jayden Daniels Headshot

Jayden Daniels

#19 NEW Cj Stroud Headshot

Cj Stroud

#20 NEW Daniel Jones Headshot

Daniel Jones

BUFFERING…

5 QBs

The outcome is still loading. Elite ceiling, trapdoor floor, and no telling which one downloads on Sunday.

#21 NEW Tyler Shough Headshot

Tyler Shough

#22 NEW Kirk Cousins Headshot

Kirk Cousins

#23 NEW Jaxson Dart Headshot

Jaxson Dart

#24 NEW Cam Ward Headshot

Cam Ward

#25 NEW Bryce Young Headshot

Bryce Young

HELD TOGETHER BY VIBES

2 QBs

Bridges, veterans, and duct tape. Not the future, maybe not the present, but they'll keep the thing upright a little longer.

#26 NEW Aaron Rodgers Headshot

Aaron Rodgers

#27 NEW Jacoby Brissett Headshot

Jacoby Brissett

WITNESS PROTECTION

6 QBs

You forgot they were starting Week 1. New name, new city, low profile - the league would like to keep it that way.

#28 NEW Kyler Murray Headshot

Kyler Murray

#29 NEW Malik Willis Headshot

Malik Willis

#30 NEW Geno Smith Headshot

Geno Smith

#31 NEW Michael Penix Headshot

Michael Penix

#32 NEW Tua Tagovailoa Headshot

Tua Tagovailoa

#33 NEW Deshaun Watson Headshot

Deshaun Watson

LOTTERY SCRATCHERS

6 QBs

Rookies. Buy the ticket, scratch it Sunday, and try not to plan your future around the payout.

#34 NEW Shedeur Sanders Headshot

Shedeur Sanders

#35 NEW Drew Allar Headshot

Drew Allar

#36 NEW Fernando Mendoza Headshot

Fernando Mendoza

#37 NEW Cade Klubnik Headshot

Cade Klubnik

#38 NEW Carson Beck Headshot

Carson Beck

#39 NEW Ty Simpson Headshot

Ty Simpson

BOOM-OR-BUST BENCH

3 QBs

Too much upside to bury, not enough trust to start. One injury from either saving a season or ending a regime.

#40 NEW Anthony Richardson Headshot

Anthony Richardson

#41 NEW Justin Fields Headshot

Justin Fields

#42 NEW Jj Mccarthy Headshot

Jj Mccarthy

THE CLIPBOARD CLUB

13 QBs

Break glass in emergency. They've held the clipboard, they know the script, and everyone's praying they never have to read from it.

#43 NEW Trey Lance Headshot

Trey Lance

#44 NEW Dillon Gabriel Headshot

Dillon Gabriel

#45 NEW Quinn Ewers Headshot

Quinn Ewers

#46 NEW Spencer Rattler Headshot

Spencer Rattler

#47 NEW Riley Leonard Headshot

Riley Leonard

#48 NEW Joe Flacco Headshot

Joe Flacco

#49 NEW Jameis Winston Headshot

Jameis Winston

#50 NEW Mason Rudolph Headshot

Mason Rudolph

#51 NEW Marcus Mariota Headshot

Marcus Mariota

#52 NEW Mitchell Trubisky Headshot

Mitchell Trubisky

#53 NEW Mac Jones Headshot

Mac Jones

#54 NEW Jake Browning Headshot

Jake Browning

#55 NEW Davis Mills Headshot

Davis Mills

No. 1 this week Patrick Mahomes

Biggest riser Sam Darnold ▲12

Biggest faller Joe Burrow ▼29

This edition 41 ranked · 9 tiers

Truck Drivers

3 QBs

Truck Drivers: True apex drivers of the offense.

#1 = Patrick Mahomes Headshot

Patrick Mahomes

#2 = Josh Allen Headshot

Josh Allen

#3 ▲2 Matthew Stafford Headshot

Matthew Stafford

A+ Copilot

2 QBs

A+ Copilot: You can win it with these guys.

#4 ▲3 Baker Mayfield Headshot

Baker Mayfield

#5 ▲1 Jalen Hurts Headshot

Jalen Hurts

Slippin

3 QBs

Slippin: Trending down or under the microscope.

#6 ▼2 Lamar Jackson Headshot

Lamar Jackson

#7 ▲3 Justin Herbert Headshot

Justin Herbert

#8 ▲1 Jayden Daniels Headshot

Jayden Daniels

Don't Get Fooled Again

3 QBs

Don't Get Fooled Again: Solid… but keep the receipts.

#9 ▲4 Jared Goff Headshot

Jared Goff

#10 ▲2 Dak Prescott Headshot

Dak Prescott

#11 = Jordan Love Headshot

Jordan Love

Zombies Mystery Box

5 QBs

Zombies Mystery Box: Chaos engines—boom or bite.

#12 ▲3 Bo Nix Headshot

Bo Nix

#13 ▲6 Drake Maye Headshot

Drake Maye

#14 ▲12 Sam Darnold Headshot

Sam Darnold

#15 ▼1 Caleb Williams Headshot

Caleb Williams

#16 ▲11 Daniel Jones Headshot

Daniel Jones

The Sour Patch Kid

4 QBs

The Sour Patch Kid: Sweet then sour—volatile tier.

#17 ▲1 Trevor Lawrence Headshot

Trevor Lawrence

#18 ▼1 Brock Purdy Headshot

Brock Purdy

#19 ▲10 Kyler Murray Headshot

Kyler Murray

#20 ▼4 Geno Smith Headshot

Geno Smith

Quicksand

2 QBs

Quicksand: The more you fight it, the deeper you sink.

#21 ▲9 Tua Tagovailoa Headshot

Tua Tagovailoa

#22 ▲9 Aaron Rodgers Headshot

Aaron Rodgers

Half Baked Idea

5 QBs

Half Baked Idea: Ingredients present; still needs the oven.

#23 ▼3 Jj Mccarthy Headshot

Jj Mccarthy

#24 ▼2 Jaxson Dart Headshot

Jaxson Dart

#25 ▼4 Cam Ward Headshot

Cam Ward

#26 ▼2 Dillon Gabriel Headshot

Dillon Gabriel

#27 ▼2 Shedeur Sanders Headshot

Shedeur Sanders

Cooked

14 QBs

Cooked: Stick a fork in it (for now).

#28 ▲5 Joe Flacco Headshot

Joe Flacco

#29 ▼6 Bryce Young Headshot

Bryce Young

#30 ▼2 Russell Wilson Headshot

Russell Wilson

#31 ▲1 Kirk Cousins Headshot

Kirk Cousins

#32 ▼29 Joe Burrow Headshot

Joe Burrow

#33 ▲1 Justin Fields Headshot

Justin Fields

#34 NEW Jameis Winston Headshot

Jameis Winston

#35 = Jimmy Garoppolo Headshot

Jimmy Garoppolo

#36 = Anthony Richardson Headshot

Anthony Richardson

#37 = Trey Lance Headshot

Trey Lance

#38 = Spencer Rattler Headshot

Spencer Rattler

#39 = Tyler Shough Headshot

Tyler Shough

#40 = Riley Leonard Headshot

Riley Leonard

#41 NEW Cooper Rush Headshot

Cooper Rush

No. 1 this week Patrick Mahomes

This edition 40 ranked · 10 tiers

QB1

5 QBs

QB1: The Guy. Leader, and can lift a team to a Super Bowl when at their peak.

Patrick Mahomes

Josh Allen

Joe Burrow

Lamar Jackson

Matthew Stafford

All Systems Go

3 QBs

All Systems Go: So long as the team passes inspection, you got a shot.

Jalen Hurts

Baker Mayfield

Cj Stroud

Let's See It

3 QBs

Let's See It: For the young guys like Daniels, we just need to see it some more. For others, we keep hearing how great they are—let’s see it.

Jayden Daniels

#10

Justin Herbert

#11

Jordan Love

Better Than the Credit

2 QBs

Better Than the Credit: Not elite, but on the very high end of average QB.

#12

Dak Prescott

#13

Jared Goff

Our Guy?

2 QBs

Our Guy? These teams are wondering if they have their guy — this year is big.

#14

Caleb Williams

#15

Bo Nix

Its Fine.

3 QBs

Its Fine.: It’s okay for now, but you’re probably eyeing the next draft class.

#16

Geno Smith

#17

Brock Purdy

#18

Trevor Lawrence

What do We Have Here?

5 QBs

What do We Have Here? Young, inexperienced, full of hope.

#19

Drake Maye

#20

Jj Mccarthy

#21

Cam Ward

#22

Jaxson Dart

#23

Bryce Young

Prove Yourself

5 QBs

Prove Yourself: All ages and experience levels — time to prove it.

#24

Dillon Gabriel

#25

Shedeur Sanders

#26

Sam Darnold

#27

Daniel Jones

#28

Russell Wilson

Going Nowhere Fast

6 QBs

Going Nowhere Fast: If these are your QBs, you’re not winning a ton.

#29

Kyler Murray

#30

Tua Tagovailoa

#31

Aaron Rodgers

#32

Kirk Cousins

#33

Joe Flacco

#34

Justin Fields

Wildcards

6 QBs

Wildcards: Unknowns or really bad QBs we’ll still see this year.

#35

Jimmy Garoppolo

#36

Anthony Richardson

#37

Trey Lance

#38

Spencer Rattler

#39

Tyler Shough

#40

Riley Leonard

Cookies are small files stored on your device to keep the site working, understand traffic, and remember your preferences.

Essential

Required

Session management, login state, and CSRF protection. Cannot be disabled — the site requires them to function.

Session / up to 30 days

Analytics

Optional

Google Analytics 4 — aggregated, anonymised traffic data. No personally identifiable information stored.

Up to 2 years

Preferences

Optional

Remembers your cookie consent choice so we don't ask again on every visit.

1 year

Manage in your browser

Chrome Firefox Safari Edge

Have a question? — Reach out anytime!

Scroll