These are the Best NFL Quarterbacks Right Now (2026-27)

Once again, the fate of any NFL team will depend heavily on the success of its quarterbacks. Wondering which teams have a distinct advantage in this department, with a true superstar set to step under center in the 2026 season?

Here are the quarterbacks entering 2026 head and shoulders above the rest.

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Top 10 Best Quarterbacks 2026

The pressure on the quarterback position is nearly unmatched in sports. It’s not enough to win. You need Super Bowl rings to be considered among the league’s greats. And if your team loses? You’re likely to shoulder much of the blame.

There are plenty of questions around the NFL’s signal callers entering the 2026 NFL season. Is this the year Josh Allen breaks through and claims a ring? Does Matthew Stafford still have a hot hand? Can Drake Maye cement himself as a perennial MVP candidate in his third season filling Tom Brady’s legendary shoes? Will Patrick Mahomes be healthy, or is Caleb Williams the next big star?

Let’s take a look at the current cream of the quarterback crop to find out. Right now, Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills), Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs), Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens), Matthew Stafford (Los Angeles Rams) and Drake Maye (New England Patriots) are considered the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Here’s our full top 10 picks for best signal caller in 2026.

1. Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills

Buffalo’s Josh Allen finished top five in MVP voting for the fourth straight season and made his fourth Pro Bowl after passing for 3,600 yards and 25 touchdowns and hoofing it for another 579 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground.

The Bills go as Allen goes, and last season they went as far as the divisional round before losing to Denver in overtime, a familiar end to a season for this squad. Allen enters 2026 with a new head coach in Joe Brady, his offensive coordinator over the last three years. Brady gets the unenviable task of taking over one of the best quarterbacks in the league without a Super Bowl ring to show for it. For the Bills to make another run Allen will need another MVP caliber season, but he certainly has the talent to make it happen.

2. Patrick Mahomes – Kansas City Chiefs

Patrick Mahomes has enough accolades and career statistics to be a Hall of Famer right now. In nine seasons he has already won three Super Bowls, two MVP awards and six Pro Bowl nods while piloting a Chiefs considered one of the most dangerous in football history.

Last regular season was not his best. Mahomes and the Chiefs went 6-8 in the 14 games he was available before he tore his ACL in week 15 as Kansas City was eliminated from playoff contention. It was the first year since 2017 the Chiefs did not reach the AFC Championship game, a hard fall for football’s latest dynasty.

The 2026 season should have a much different feel. Mahomes will likely have a slow start to the season, but with Kenneth Walker in the backfield he will not need to lead the Chiefs in rushing yards like he did a season ago. With Eric Bieniemy back in the fold offensively, the three-time Super Bowl champ might be getting overlooked in a disrespectful way with a Chiefs team that is ready to prove its window has not yet closed.

3. Lamar Jackson – Baltimore Ravens

One of the apex dual-threat quarterbacks of his era, Lamar Jackson was limited to just 13 games a year ago in what was an uncharacteristically subpar season by his standards. He headed up a Ravens team that struggled all year.

Jackson enters 2026 with a new head coach for the first time in his pro career as former Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter takes over for Baltimore. Jackson looks at 2026 as a chance to wipe the slate clean and remind the league why he has two MVP awards and a three first-team All-Pros. He, like much of the Ravens roster, will be looking for redemption in 2026 and their first Super Bowl in the Jackson era.

4. Matthew Stafford – Los Angeles Rams

Reigning MVP Matthew Stafford put up arguably the best season of his career in his 17th year in the NFL. He won his first career MVP after leading the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns, finishing third in pass attempts and leading the Rams to the NFC championship game.

Los Angeles ultimately fell short, but the combination of Stafford, Puka Nacua and Davante Adams made the Rams one of the best passing attacks and one of the most lethal offenses in the game. Stafford re-signed to a contract extension in the offseason as the Rams remain firmly in win now mode. A fun wrinkle in this year’s draft was the Rams selecting Ty Simpson out of Alabama with the 13th overall pick, not exactly a move you make with only the present in mind. The Rams then went ahead and made good on that win now approach by trading for Myles Garrett. Add in the rumor that Aaron Donald might be coming back and Stafford could be staring down yet another Super Bowl run.

5. Drake Maye – New England Patriots

In year two, Drake Maye made the leap that some quarterbacks wait their entire career to make. Maye led the league in completion percentage, yards per attempt, quarterback rating and passer rating, and finished the regular season as a second team All-Pro, second in the MVP race and fifth in Offensive Player of the Year voting after passing for nearly 4,400 yards and 31 passing touchdowns to go along with 450 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

Maye helped the Patriots win a blizzardy AFC Championship game and brought the Patriots all the way to the Super Bowl. It was an improbable run for New England that ultimately disastrously fell short against Seattle. He enters 2026 with a ton of confidence and a new WR1 in A.J. Brown. If the offensive line improves and he can take another leap it could mean yet another deep playoff run for the Patriots in what will surely be a competitive AFC playoff picture.

6. Joe Burrow – Cincinnati Bengals

Joe Burrow missed much of the 2025 regular season to a turf toe injury. Still, in eight games he threw for 17 touchdown passes and five interceptions and passed for 220 yards per game.

As has been the case for the last few years he enters 2026 with one of the best receiving duos in the NFL in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. The question for Burrow has never been about his skill. It all about his availability. In six seasons in the NFL, it has been close to a 50-50 shot as to whether he will be available for the entire season. But if he is, he will have the Bengals competing for the AFC North crown and another trip to the Super Bowl.

7. Trevor Lawrence – Jacksonville Jaguars

Trevor Lawrence has long been the prince who was promised after he was drafted number one overall in 2021 as one of the most hyped prospects in recent memory. He showed sparks here and there of being the type of player that becomes a number one pick but never strung it together for a stretch that made it undeniable. That is, until Week 10 of last season, when he and the Jags embarked upon an eight-game winning streak and combined for 23 touchdowns over that span. He finished the year with a career high in rushing yards

It was arguably the best stretch of Lawrence’s career so far and it has led many to believe coach Liam Coen has finally unlocked Lawrence’s skill set at the pro level. If Lawrence can channel his performance from the second half of last season throughout 2026 the Jaguars will once again be primed for an AFC South championship with Super Bowl sights.

8. Caleb Williams – Chicago Bears

Caleb Williams had a solid rookie season after being drafted number one overall in 2024, but under new head coach Ben Johnson he took his game to another level. Williams led the Bears to an 11-6 record and a spot in the NFC divisional round. He threw for 27 touchdown passes and rushed for three more, making the Bears one of the most dynamic offenses in football.

Most importantly Williams improved drastically in sacks taken. After leading the league with 68 sacks taken in his rookie season he cut that number more than in half with just 24 in 2025. He was able to play within the system while still finding opportunities to use his superhuman improvisational instincts. The Bears are a team on the come up and Williams, this year’s Madden cover star, is leading the charge. The next goal for this squad, like everyone else, is a Super Bowl.

9. Dak Prescott – Dallas Cowboys

Dak Prescott led the NFL in completions for the second time in three seasons, throwing for 30 touchdown passes and 4,500 yards and making the Cowboys one of the highest-powered offenses in football. The problem for Dallas was that it also had one of the lowest ranked defenses in football. Finishing at a near perfectly mediocre 7-9-1 the Cowboys were on the outside looking in of the playoff picture.

Prescott still put together his fourth Pro Bowl season while setting a career high in pass attempts. He will once again be the key to the Dallas chase for a Super Bowl in 2026.

10. Justin Herbert – Los Angeles Chargers

Herbert made his second career Pro Bowl in 2025, leading the Chargers to an 11-5 record and a playoff appearance. He set a career high in rushing yards with 498 and totaled 28 touchdowns. Herbert did all of that with a surgically repaired left hand for much of the season.

Now fully healthy heading into 2026, Herbert and his Chargers are geared up for what is sure to be a gauntlet in the AFC West as they look to break through into the AFC Playoffs and the organization’s first Super Bowl.

Top Quarterbacks by QBR from 2025

Quarterback rating (QBR) is an advanced football statistic that can offer a more holistic view of a quarterback’s impact on a team than passer rating alone. This metric from ESPN takes into account clutch performance, average yards per attempt and even the context of a play. Let’s take a look at QBs ranked by QBR from last season.

Of course, if you ask the players, there are only two metrics that truly matter: wins and Super Bowl rings.

Top Quarterbacks by Passer Rating from 2025

QBR takes into account a lot more than passing, but throwing the ball is a big part of any quarterback’s job. That’s where passer rating comes into play.

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