Quarterback is the most important position in football, and heading into the 2026 NFL season, the league is loaded with talent at the position. Young quarterbacks are emerging, established stars remain near the top, and one veteran just put together an MVP season.
This isn’t simply a ranking of who had the best statistics in 2025. It’s about who I believe are the five best quarterbacks in football going into 2026 based on talent, recent performance, winning and who I would trust when the game matters most.
Here are my top five.
5. Jalen Hurts
Jalen Hurts continues to be one of the most debated quarterbacks in football, but my response is simple: all the man does is win.
Dispute Hurts all you want. Debate his passing numbers, his supporting cast or where he belongs among the league’s most talented quarterbacks. At the end of the day, he wins football games. Hurts has already reached two Super Bowls and won one, capturing Super Bowl LIX MVP in the process.
He followed that championship season by throwing for 3,224 yards, 25 touchdowns and only six interceptions in 2025 while adding another 421 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground.
Hurts might not put up the passing numbers of some other quarterbacks on this list, but his ability as a runner completely changes Philadelphia’s offense. Around the goal line, there may not be another quarterback in football who puts as much pressure on a defense.
There are more naturally gifted passers in the NFL. That’s fine. You can dispute Jalen Hurts all you want.
I’ll take the guy who keeps winning.
4. Lamar Jackson
There has never been another quarterback quite like Lamar Jackson. The two-time NFL MVP’s regular-season success is undeniable, and at his best, he remains one of the most difficult players in football to defend.
Jackson is already the NFL’s all-time leader in quarterback rushing yards. His combination of speed, open-field ability and improved passing makes Baltimore’s offense dangerous on every snap.
The 2025 season wasn’t Lamar’s best. Injuries limited him to 13 games, where he threw for 2,549 yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions while rushing for another 349 yards. But one injury-affected season doesn’t erase what we’ve already seen.
Just one year earlier, Jackson threw for 4,172 yards, 41 touchdowns and only four interceptions while adding 915 rushing yards.
There isn’t much left for Lamar to prove during the regular season. Now he has to show it in the playoffs.
That’s the one thing separating his résumé from some of the other elite quarterbacks of his generation. We’ve seen the MVP seasons and incredible individual performances. Now we need to see Lamar carry that same dominance deep into January and ultimately to a Super Bowl.
Until then, he’s my #4 quarterback entering 2026.
3. Josh Allen
Josh Allen is a walking highlight reel.
The former NFL MVP combines one of the strongest arms in football with the running ability of a power back. There aren’t many quarterbacks who can throw a football 60 yards downfield and then run through a linebacker on the next play.
Allen threw for 3,668 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2025 while rushing for 579 yards and 14 touchdowns. That means he accounted for 39 touchdowns and once again showed why he’s one of the most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks in football.
Allen can take over games with his arm or his legs, and when everything is clicking, there may not be a more physically overwhelming quarterback in the league.
But just like Lamar Jackson, it’s time to get it done in the playoffs.
Allen has already proven everything I need to see during the regular season. He’s been an MVP, produced incredible numbers and consistently had Buffalo competing near the top of the AFC.
The next step is obvious: get to the Super Bowl and win it.
Until he does, there will always be that missing piece when he’s compared with quarterbacks who have already reached the mountaintop. Allen is unquestionably elite, but entering 2026, he’s my #3 quarterback.
2. Matthew Stafford
If this ranking surprises people, it shouldn’t.
Matthew Stafford enters the 2026 season as the reigning NFL MVP, and his 2025 season was ridiculous. Stafford led the league with 4,707 passing yards and 46 passing touchdowns while throwing only eight interceptions and posting a 109.2 passer rating.
At this stage of his career, Stafford isn’t going to beat defenses with his legs. He doesn’t need to.
His arm talent, anticipation, pocket presence and ability to attack every part of the field remain elite. Put Stafford in Sean McVay’s offense and give him weapons, and he can still dissect a defense as well as anyone in football.
The résumé was already there. Stafford is a Super Bowl champion who has been one of the league’s most talented throwers for years. Now he finally has an MVP trophy to go with it.
Coming off the best statistical season of any quarterback in football, Matthew Stafford is my #2 quarterback entering 2026.
1. Patrick Mahomes
Until somebody definitively takes the crown away from him, Patrick Mahomes is still number one.
Yes, 2025 was different. Kansas City struggled, Mahomes’ numbers weren’t at his usual level, and his season ended with a serious knee injury. But we’re talking about Patrick Mahomes.
Three Super Bowl championships. Three Super Bowl MVPs. Two regular-season MVPs. Five Super Bowl appearances. One of the greatest starts to a career the NFL has ever seen.
Mahomes has already shown that he can win in virtually every way imaginable. He can throw for 5,000 yards. He can improvise when a play completely breaks down. He can make throws from angles that shouldn’t work. And when January arrives, there isn’t another active quarterback I would rather have with the football in his hands.
The knee injury makes 2026 one of the most fascinating seasons of his career. For the first time in years, Mahomes and Kansas City enter a season with something significant to prove.
Maybe someone eventually takes the title of best quarterback in football from him.
But I’m not giving it away.
Until somebody proves otherwise, Patrick Mahomes remains QB1.
Final Ranking
1. Patrick Mahomes — Kansas City Chiefs
2. Matthew Stafford — Los Angeles Rams
3. Josh Allen — Buffalo Bills
4. Lamar Jackson — Baltimore Ravens
5. Jalen Hurts — Philadelphia Eagles
There are plenty of quarterbacks with arguments for this list, and the next generation is coming quickly. But entering the 2026 season, these are the five quarterbacks I trust the most.
Stafford is coming off an MVP season. Allen and Lamar have already established themselves as regular-season superstars, but both still have something to prove when January arrives. Hurts gets questioned constantly, yet the man continues to win.
And at number one?
The throne still belongs to Patrick Mahomes.
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