Ranking All 8 NFL Divisions By Their QBs — Fans Will Be Furious

We all know that the quarterback is the most important position on the football field. NFL teams will win or lose based on the guy under center.

A great quarterback means that your team is never truly out of a game, but a bad quarterback can set your franchise back years, just ask the Browns, Dolphins, and Cardinals.

As we get ready for the start of the 2026 NFL season, let’s take a look at where each division ranks, from worst to best, based on its starting quarterbacks.

Which NFL Division has the best QBs today?

8. NFC South

Without a doubt, the NFC South is the worst division in the NFL, and as such, they are the worst quarterback group in the league. Seriously, not one team in the division finished with a record above .500 last year. Let’s start with the best quarterback in the worst group, Baker Mayfield. The Bucs QB will be entering his 9th year in the league, and he has not lived up to his status as a 1st overall draft pick. 

He has made three playoff appearances, but with a 2-3 record, he has not had much success. In fact, Mayfield might be one of the most frustrating QBs in the game, as he has the ability but has just been too inconsistent. The Falcons enter the season with a QB battle between Michael Penix, who has been disappointing in his first two seasons, and Tua Tagovailoa, whom the Dolphins decided it would be better to absorb a $99.2 million hit to the salary cap to get rid of.

 In New Orleans, Tyler Shough made 9 starts for the Saints last year, finishing with a 5-4 record. While Shough has potential, the Saints are heading towards a rebuild. With a changing roster, the young signal caller might take several years before showing what he can really do. Fourth-year QB Bryce Young flashed his ability last year in Carolina and might have the most upside of the group. With a few more key pieces added around him, Young has the potential to lead the Panthers back to contending status.

7. AFC East

Looking at the starting quarterbacks in the AFC East reveals a tale of the haves and have-nots. Two teams are stacked at the quarterback position, while the other two are in bad shape. The Buffalo Bills possess one of the game’s best QBs in Josh Allen. While the Bills have not reached their ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl, Allen has led the team to the playoffs in each of the last 7 seasons, winning 5 AFC East titles and the 2024 AP MVP Award. 

Over the last 7 NFL seasons, Buffalo had little intra-division competition, but now there is another stud QB in the division: Patriots signal-caller Drake Maye. In just his 2nd season in 2025, Maye finally arrived, leading New England to a 14-3 record and a trip to the Super Bowl. Even though the Pats lost to a superior Seattle team, Maye and the Patriots look like a team that will be competitive for many years to come. We’ve covered the cream of the AFC East, now let’s look at the dregs. Miami decided to cut Tua Tagovailoa and absorb one of the largest salary cap hits in NFL history just to get rid of him. 

The rebuilding Dolphins will start the season with Malik Willis under center, and while he flashed skill in a limited role in Green Bay, the Fins are in complete disarray, so good luck to him there. Finally, Justin Fields returns for his 2nd season in New York, and let’s be honest, does anyone think that he will improve on his 2-7 season last year? Most likely, he will not. In 53 career starts for the Bears, Steelers, and Jets, Fields has a record of 16-37. Two top QBs and two bottom feeders mean the AFC East has one of the worst quarterback groups in the NFL.

6. AFC South

I’ll say this for the starting quarterbacks of this NFL division: they’re not as bad as the other two teams on our list. By all accounts, Trevor Lawrence had a pretty good season in 2025, throwing for over 4,000 yards with 29 touchdowns, and led the Jaguars to a 13-4 record before losing in the Wild Card round. 

Yet while people seem to be jumping on the Lawrence bandwagon, a deeper look at last year’s numbers reveals some issues. His 12 interceptions show that he still makes too many mistakes, and his 60.9 completion percentage ranked 30th in the league. Houston has one of the best defenses in the league, which takes the pressure off the offense to score. 

That‘s a good thing, as C.J. Stroud seems to be regressing before us. His passing yards and touchdowns per season have declined each of the last three seasons, and while some of that might be attributed to injury, that brings his durability into question. The best thing to say about Daniel Jones is that he’s inconsistent. He began to blossom in 2025 until he tore his Achilles tendon. 

It’s still unclear if he’ll be 100% healthy for 2026, and which Daniel Jones shows up, the pre-injury budding star or the flop with the Giants. Cam Ward is just too green to be fairly evaluated. He threw for over 3,900 yards but only had a 59.8 completion percentage, which ranked him 33rd in the league. Part of the issue is that the Panthers are rebuilding, so let’s check back in Carolina in a few years.

5. NFC West

I’m probably going to get raked over the coals for putting the NFC West quarterbacks this low. Yes, the Seahawks won the Super Bowl last year, but that wasn’t because of Sam Darnold. It was because the Seahawks have one of, if not the, best built rosters in the NFL. I’m not saying Darnold is a bad QB. It’s just that he’s not elite. Last season, he threw 25 touchdowns but had 14 interceptions. 

Los Angeles Rams QB Matt Stafford, however, is elite. In 2025, he took home AP MVP honors while leading the league with 4,707 passing yards and 47 touchdowns. He’s won one Super Bowl, almost took the Rams to one last year, and will probably win another before his Hall of Fame career concludes. Brock Purdy has the potential to be great, but he and the whole team need to stay healthy, as he’s missed games in all but one of his four years in the league. 

When he’s healthy, he has shown enough skill to win. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have elite arm strength, but what he does have is good pocket presence and an accurate arm. He has a career completion percentage of 67.9. Arizona remains a question mark at quarterback, as they have a three-way battle in 2026 for the starting quarterback job. In this corner is veteran Jacoby Brissett… in this corner is veteran Gardner Minshew… and in another corner is rookie Carson Beck. Beck is an NFL unknown, and while Brissett and Minshew have experience, there’s a reason that they have bounced around the league.

4. AFC North

While the AFC North is technically ranked 4th, they could’ve been tied with the NFC East. I think the quarterbacks in these two NFL divisions are even, but two factors led me to place them slightly lower. I’ll get to that in a bit. At the top of the division are Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow. Jackson has been the guy in Baltimore since 2018 and is an absolute stud at QB. 

He is the best dual-threat quarterback in the game today, as he is capable of throwing for 4,000 yards and rushing for 1,000 yards in the same season, as he almost did in 2024. Without a doubt, Jackson is one of the best players today. Joe Burrow’s biggest issue is staying on the field, as he’s missed games in three out of his six pro seasons. However, when he’s healthy, Burrow has all of the tools to be one of the best passers in the NFL today, as evidenced by surpassing 4,400 passing yards in each of his three healthy years. 

Now, for our two factors: soon-to-be 43-year-old Aaron Rodgers will return for another season in Pittsburgh, and while he played well last season, it was clear he had lost a step or two. There is no doubt that his skills will be a tad more in decline in 2026; the only question is, how much? And there’s Cleveland, the worst-run franchise in the league. 

As they enter the 2026 season, the Browns will have either Shedeur Sanders or Deshaun Watson under center. For a variety of reasons, Watson hasn’t suited up since the 2024 season and only played in seven games that season. If he gets the job, how much can one truly expect from him? The other option, Shedeur Sanders, only played 7 games in his rookie season and was not impressive. It’s those two questions in Cleveland and Pittsburgh that lower this group’s ranking.

3. NFC East

Currently sitting third on our list, the NFC North has the potential to move up a ranking by the end of the season if things break right in DC and New York. First, is Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels healthy, and if so, can he replicate his breakout 2024 season? Because in that rookie season, Daniels threw for over 3,500 yards with 25 touchdowns, leading the Commanders to a 12-5 record and an appearance in the NFC Championship game. 

We know what he’s capable of, as long as he can return to full health. In New York, can Jaxson Dart improve on his rookie season? Although he didn’t win often, finishing with a 4-8 record, that was more a statement on how bad the Giants were last year and not the quarterback. In fact, Dart finished the season with a 63.7 completion percentage, which was enough to convince the Giants that Dart is the future. 

Elsewhere, Jalen Hurts looks to bring Philly back to the Super Bowl. While the 28-year-old has shown signs of decline over the last two seasons, he is still a threat anytime he takes the field. Hurts is an accurate passer who can also run. While he isn’t a 1,000-yard rushing threat, he typically will rush for double-digit touchdowns, especially with the tush push. 

Dak Prescott might frustrate the Dallas fanbase, but the reality is that he’s a very, very good quarterback, and they will miss him when he’s done playing. While he hasn’t won one, he is capable of putting up MVP-caliber numbers; look at his 2021 and 2023 seasons. Recently, the Cowboys might not have had the same team success as the Eagles, but Prescott might be the best QB in the division.

2. NFC North

The NFC North might be the NFL division with the fiercest rivalries in the game. Yes, I know that every division has rivalries, but the Bears, Packers, Vikings, and Lions are all just blood rivalries. That rivalry also extends to the division’s quarterbacks. Jared Goff seems to have finally found himself as a player when he was traded to the Lions. 

Since arriving in the Motor City, Goff has led the Lions into contention, guiding the team to 2 playoff appearances, but also throwing for over 4,400 yards in each of the last 4 seasons. After finally being named the starting quarterback for the 2023 season, Jordan Love has led the Packers to three straight playoff appearances. His ability to move in the pocket, throw on the run, and strong arm allows Love to thrive in today’s NFL. 

Unfortunately, the Packers have not surrounded him with adequate talent, but that doesn’t take away what Love is capable of doing. In just two seasons, Caleb Williams and the Bears went from 5-12 to 11-6 and a trip to the NFC Divisional Round. Last season, Williams delighted fans by throwing for almost 4,000 yards with 27 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions.

After last season, it seems as if the young Chicago quarterback is on the verge of stardom. The unknown in the division lies in Minnesota, where the Vikings will choose between J.J. McCarthy, who was disappointing in 10 starts last season, and Kyler Murray, the guy Arizona is paying a $46.5 salary cap hit to get off its roster. Regardless of who the Vikings choose, neither of them makes fans feel comfortable. Sure, they have talent, but they haven’t been able to utilize it or stay healthy long enough to show it.

1. AFC West

If you’re looking for an NFL division with the best overall starting quarterback groups, look no further than the AFC West. Three of the four teams possess Pro Bowl-caliber quarterbacks who are all capable of leading their teams to a Super Bowl title, and then there’s the Raiders. Is there really a need to go into what Patrick Mahomes brings to the table? The accolades are plenty for this future Hall of Fame quarterback. Pro Bowls, MVPs, 3 Super Bowl titles, and intangibles that very few have. 

Simply put, if you were starting a team and could have any current QB, Mahomes would be most people’s top choice, even though he was injured. Bo Nix led the Broncos to within one game of a Super Bowl berth, defeating the favored Bills in the process. Perhaps if Nix wasn’t injured in that OT playoff victory over Buffalo, perhaps it’s Denver hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. Based on last year, though, it won’t be long until Nix is hoisting one. 

Justin Herbert has all the tools needed to succeed in the NFL, but injuries, inconsistent play, and uneven Chargers teams have frustrated fans. This offseason, Los Angeles brought in Mike McDaniel as the new Offensive Coordinator. While McDaniel was not a good head coach, he is great at drawing up offensive schemes that should highlight Herbert’s strengths. The one weak team is the Raiders. 

Las Vegas is rebuilding and could go two ways at QB this year: rookie Fernando Mendoza or veteran Kirk Cousins. While the Raiders have holes all over their lineup, Cousins will elevate the QB play in the division this year, while Mendoza will elevate the team in a few years.