The need is urgent for the Raiders and Jets: Luckily for the Raiders, a consensus is beginning to form around Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza as a prospect worthy of the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Since moving on from Derek Carr after the 2022 season, Las Vegas has struggled to find stability at the position, cycling through Jimmy Garoppolo, Aidan O’Connell, Gardner Minshew and Geno Smith. Smith can still function in the right environment, but the Raiders ultimately need a young, franchise-caliber quarterback to inject long-term direction and elevate what should be a talented offense.
The Cardinals could use an upgrade: A new coaching staff could bring a different approach for Kyler Murray, but all signs suggest the Cardinals are at least exploring a path forward without the former No. 1 overall pick. That path isn’t an easy one. Cutting Murray would leave Arizona with $54.7 million in dead cap, effectively locking the team into at least one more season with him on the roster. In what appears to be a one-quarterback draft class, there’s also no clear avenue to upgrade the position in 2026.
The most consequential conversations in the NFL always circle back to the quarterback position. Every offseason, the same questions shape the league’s direction: Who has their guy? Who’s still searching? And who’s one bad season away from joining that search?
Here, we rank all 32 NFL teams by their level of quarterback need entering the 2026 offseason. These rankings are informed by on-field performance, with free agency and the draft serving as realistic solutions throughout.
For a deeper look at available veteran options, be sure to check out PFF’s 2026 NFL Free Agency Rankings. And if the draft is the preferred path, you can explore every prospect using the PFF Mock Draft Simulator and build your own evaluations with the Big Board Builder.
NOTHING ELSE MATTERS
Luckily for the Raiders, a consensus is beginning to form around Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza as a prospect worthy of the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Since moving on from Derek Carr after the 2022 season, Las Vegas has struggled to find stability at the position, cycling through Jimmy Garoppolo, Aidan O’Connell, Gardner Minshew and Geno Smith. Smith can still function in the right environment, but the Raiders ultimately need a young, franchise-caliber quarterback to inject long-term direction and elevate what should be a talented offense.
The Jets have been here before. After selecting Zach Wilson second overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, only to watch that gamble fail, they swung again by acquiring Aaron Rodgers and later turning to Justin Fields for 2025. Neither move provided long-term stability. Now, after gutting the roster to stockpile draft capital, New York once again finds itself without a clear answer at quarterback. With Fields expected to depart this offseason and no obvious solution in the 2026 draft class beyond Fernando Mendoza, the Jets are staring down yet another reset at the most important position in the sport.
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COULD USE AN UPGRADE
A new coaching staff could bring a different approach for Kyler Murray, but all signs suggest the Cardinals are at least exploring a path forward without the former No. 1 overall pick. That path isn’t an easy one. Cutting Murray would leave Arizona with $54.7 million in dead cap, effectively locking the team into at least one more season with him on the roster. In what appears to be a one-quarterback draft class, there’s also no clear avenue to upgrade the position in 2026.
Murray remains a talented passer capable of thriving in the right offense, but the production hasn’t matched the investment. Over the past three seasons, his passing grade ranks 23rd among quarterbacks with at least 900 dropbacks — a middling mark for a player who can no longer consistently lean on his legs to separate himself from the pack.
The Browns’ quarterback situation sits in a difficult middle ground. After the disastrous Deshaun Watson trade depleted both cap flexibility and offensive talent, Cleveland finally found some life late in the 2025 season through its rookie class. Shedeur Sanders flashed enough to help spark three wins down the stretch, but he finished the year leading the NFL in turnover-worthy play rate.
Cleveland fielded the league’s worst offensive line and wide receiver group, leaving even competent quarterback play hard to sustain. The Browns need to infuse the roster with talent, regardless of position.
What new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley decide to do with Tua Tagovailoa and his remaining contract is unknown at the time of this writing. However, it would not be surprising if the Dolphins look to move on this offseason, most likely via trade, considering Tagovailoa would carry a $99.2 million dead-cap hit if released.
While Tagovailoa has graded extremely well at times over the past four seasons, his limitations are clear. He can struggle when the play call fails to stay ahead of the defensive scheme, and he has yet to consistently elevate the offense on his own. Paired with the right talent and system, Tagovailoa can still be a productive quarterback, but to this point, he hasn’t shown the ability to lift a team beyond its structure.
YOUNG QB UNDER EVALUATION
Talk to any Titans fan, and they’ll tell you Cam Ward is poised for a second-year leap similar to what Bears fans just saw from Caleb Williams. While there are some similarities between the two quarterbacks, Ward still has a long way to go before playoff expectations are realistic. Tennessee needs a significant infusion of receiving and offensive line talent, along with an offensive coordinator who can better lean into Ward’s strengths. There were flashes of high-end play in 2025, but his down-to-down consistency, accuracy and decision-making all need to take a major step forward.
Jaxson Dart may have already won the 2026 offseason with the Giants’ hire of new head coach John Harbaugh. Dart showed exactly why he was selected in the first round of the 2025 draft — and why evaluations on him were mixed. He led all rookie quarterbacks in big-time throw rate, but also in scramble-plus-sack rate. Dart will need to improve at diagnosing NFL defenses and protecting himself when plays break down, but overall, the Giants have plenty to like from what he showed in his rookie season.
One of the biggest surprises of the 2025 season was the emergence of Tyler Shough as a legitimate NFL quarterback. His 73.1 PFF passing grade led all rookies, and he protected the ball at an elite level, posting just a 2.0% turnover-worthy play rate. That performance gives the Saints flexibility this offseason as they continue to evaluate whether Shough is their long-term answer. If he can build on his rookie year with improved accuracy — he ranked fourth among rookies in accurate throw rate — and better sack avoidance, New Orleans may have uncovered a second-round steal.
While the 2025 season didn’t go to plan for the Falcons — culminating in changes at both head coach and general manager — quarterback Michael Penix Jr. still hasn’t logged enough NFL action to warrant a firm verdict. He has just 445 dropbacks across his first two seasons, hardly a meaningful sample size.
Penix owns a 69.0 career passing grade, which ranks fifth in his draft class and sits just 0.4 points behind Caleb Williams. His injury history remains the biggest red flag and could ultimately be the deciding factor, but he has flashed enough in limited action to merit another year as Atlanta evaluates whether he can be the franchise quarterback.
If the sample size for Penix is small, it’s even smaller for J.J. McCarthy, who has just 310 career dropbacks. While no quarterback was memed more in 2025, only one passer — Matthew Stafford — posted a higher big-time throw rate than McCarthy. Early returns suggest a Jameis Winston–type profile, but with McCarthy essentially entering his second season as a rookie, the Vikings simply need to see more before making any long-term decision.
NEEDS TO PROVE IT
The Buccaneers find themselves at a crossroads as they enter the 2026 offseason. Baker Mayfield turns 31 this year and is entering the final season of his three-year, $100 million contract. After leading Tampa Bay to the playoffs in each of his first two seasons with the team, Mayfield struggled down the stretch in 2025 and failed to reach the postseason in a weak NFC South.
From Week 6 through the end of the season, his 57.1 PFF passing grade ranked second-worst among NFL quarterbacks.
After starting the season 8–2 and sitting atop the AFC, the Colts went all in on the 2025 campaign, trading two first-round picks for a cornerback — albeit the best cornerback in the NFL — despite quarterback Daniel Jones carrying a 69.1 passing grade with just nine big-time throws against 16 turnover-worthy plays.
Everything unraveled from there. Indianapolis did not win another game the rest of the season, Jones played only 10 more quarters before suffering a season-ending injury, and the team even turned to 45-year-old Philip Rivers in a last-ditch effort to salvage a playoff berth. The Colts could easily fall into a “nothing else matters” tier at quarterback, but the aggressive decisions made in 2025 have left them largely stuck heading into 2026.
While Panthers fans came out of 2025 feeling optimistic after hosting a wild-card playoff game and coming one possession away from knocking off arguably the best team in the NFL, the broader reality is less rosy. Carolina still finished with a losing record and emerged from a three-way tie in a weak NFC South with a quarterback whose performance swung wildly from week to week.
From Week 9 on, Bryce Young posted passing grades of 37.6, 34.3, 90.4, 86.2 and everything in between. Young has clearly flashed high-end ability, but the lack of consistency remains the defining issue — and it’s something he must prove he can overcome in 2026.
14. Houston Texans
The Texans find themselves in a similar position to the Panthers, as quarterback C.J. Stroud has flashed excellence but struggled to deliver in the biggest moments. After earning an 83.7 PFF overall grade as a rookie, Stroud followed it up with an 80.6 mark in his second season. A year ago, he went throw-for-throw with Patrick Mahomes in the divisional round, as both quarterbacks produced three big-time throws. However, Stroud also took eight sacks, contributing to another playoff defeat.
What followed in the postseason this year needs little explanation. Stroud’s 32.3 overall grade underscored how much he struggled to take the next step. Performances like that can derail a promising trajectory, making 2026 a critical prove-it season for Stroud to show this was merely a blip rather than a turning point.
THE AARON RODGERS TIER
The Steelers and Aaron Rodgers occupy a tier of their own. Rodgers is unlikely to return following Mike Tomlin’s departure, and few teams in the NFL are both a quarterback away from a Super Bowl and willing to bet on a 42-year-old signal-caller who is several years removed from his prime.
Pittsburgh once again won’t draft high enough to easily secure the future of the position and is simultaneously searching for its next head coach. While the Steelers still need to find their long-term quarterback, this is also an aging roster that was built to push for a Super Bowl in 2025 — and one that is likely to undergo significant turnover in 2026.
EXCITED FOR THE FUTURE
The Commanders took a big step back in 2025 after building a veteran-heavy roster around Jayden Daniels, only for injuries to derail his season. Regression was expected after Daniels’ rookie season, as defensive coordinators had an offseason to study his tape and take away what he did well. He protected the ball at a historically good rate and delivered supreme accuracy, but he doubled his turnover-worthy play rate in Year 2 and struggled to find the same success as the year prior. Regardless, if Daniels can stay healthy, he looks to be one of the bright stars and future faces of the NFL.
It’s been a roller coaster of a career for Trevor Lawrence, marked by multiple head coaching changes. But with Liam Coen now at the helm, he finally appears to have a stable situation to grow into. At just 26 years old, Lawrence is coming off the best season of his career, earning PFF grades of 84.3 overall and 80.5 as a passer. He still needs to clean up the turnover-worthy plays — surpassing 23 in each of his full seasons — but his big arm and athleticism, paired with a top-tier play-caller following a 13-win season, should have Jaguars fans optimistic about what comes next.
18. Chicago Bears
I’ve been ultra-critical of Caleb Williams through his first two NFL seasons, as he has been one of the league’s least accurate quarterbacks, but the growth he showed in 2025 can’t be ignored.
Williams struggled as a rookie, taking the most sacks in the NFL while posting a 23.2% inaccurate throw rate, the third-worst mark in the league. With new head coach Ben Johnson and a revamped offensive line, Williams dramatically improved his sack avoidance in 2025, finishing with the third-best sack rate in the NFL.
That progress didn’t extend to accuracy, however. Even with a top-three play-caller and a top-three offensive line, Williams still ranked second-worst in the league with a 23.7% inaccurate throw rate. Still, given the raw arm talent he possesses, it’s difficult not to be intrigued by what he could become if he can improve his down-to-down consistency and accuracy.
19. Denver Broncos
Bo Nix led his team to the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC and an appearance in the conference championship game, while posting the third-best overall and passing grades from the 2024 quarterback class. He avoids sacks at an elite level and owns the second-lowest turnover-worthy play rate among his classmates.
While Nix doesn’t possess the same level of raw talent as some of his peers, he consistently avoids negative plays and gives the Broncos legitimate reason for optimism about the future.
You couldn’t have scripted a better second season for Drake Maye. He earned second-team All-Pro honors and is likely to finish second in MVP voting after leading his team to 14 regular-season wins and putting them on the doorstep of a Super Bowl berth.
With Josh McDaniels calling plays and Maye’s blend of accuracy and athleticism, he’s quickly forcing his way into the league’s elite quarterback tier.
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THINGS TO LIKE
21. Dallas Cowboys
Dak Prescott is capable of dropping back 50 times in a game and still putting up gaudy numbers. Across his past two fully healthy seasons, his 90.9 PFF passing grade ranks second-best in the NFL. Of course, 2024 was a down year for him, as he played only half the season before suffering an injury. When the offensive line holds up and Prescott has weapons around him, the Cowboys’ offense is as potent as any in the league.
Over the past three seasons, Jordan Love has posted the seventh-highest PFF passing grade (89.2) while ranking second in expected points added per dropback, trailing only Josh Allen. Love is excellent on a down-to-down basis and capable of producing big-time throws from any platform.
Many around the league hold Justin Herbert in extremely high regard — so much so that he’s often labeled as an elite quarterback. While Herbert has been one of the NFL’s best regular-season passers over the past three years, posting a 90.7 PFF passing grade that ranks fourth at the position over that span, he still needs to elevate his play in the postseason to truly cement himself in that elite tier.
There may not be another Super Bowl–winning quarterback who has faced as much scrutiny over the past year as Jalen Hurts. Now on his sixth offensive coordinator in as many NFL seasons, Hurts has still guided the Eagles to two Super Bowl appearances and played exceptionally well in both. Over the past three seasons, his 88.4 PFF overall grade ranks 12th among NFL quarterbacks.
While many argue that the 49ers’ system — driven largely by Kyle Shanahan’s playcalling and scheme — can elevate almost any quarterback, what Brock Purdy has done above and beyond previous signal-callers, most notably Jimmy Garoppolo, warrants praise. Over the past three seasons, Purdy’s 90.6 PFF overall grade is tied for eighth in the NFL alongside Patrick Mahomes. Purdy doesn’t possess Mahomes’ arm talent or off-script playmaking ability, but he wins with mastery of the system, strong accuracy and an ability to consistently limit negative plays.
26. Seattle Seahawks
Last offseason, the Seahawks traded away Geno Smith and signed Sam Darnold coming off a career year, though one that ended with struggles when the Vikings needed him most. Now, Seattle is on the verge of a Super Bowl appearance, with Darnold playing at a level similar to his peak in Minnesota.
Over the past two seasons, his 83.8 PFF passing grade ranks seventh in the NFL, and he has thrown the second-most big-time throws in that span. Darnold still needs to clean up some of the negative mistakes that surface from time to time, but at just 28 years old, he’s shown that with the right coaching staff and supporting cast, he can succeed at a high level in the NFL.
GOOD SHORT-TERM VETERAN
27. Detroit Lions
The Lions have a good quarterback in Jared Goff, as reflected by his 81.2 PFF passing grade over the past two seasons and his ability to orchestrate a high-octane offense that consistently ranks among the NFL’s best in yards and points. The limitations with Goff, however, stem from his lack of mobility and playmaking outside of structure. Over the past two years, his 2.9% big-time throw rate ranks 29th among 32 eligible quarterbacks. Detroit has a Super Bowl-caliber offense, and Goff could get hot and take them there, but at 31 years old, it’s unlikely he suddenly rediscovers the high-end off-script playmaking that surfaced earlier in his career when games demand it most.
28. Los Angeles Rams
Matthew Stafford might reside firmly in the elite tier if not for the fact that he’s about to turn 38 and continues to battle nagging offseason injuries. As long as Stafford keeps playing at this level — likely finishing as the 2025 MVP and owning the second-highest PFF passing grade over the past two seasons — the Rams will be content to keep running it back. At some point, though, Sean McVay will need to identify and develop Stafford’s successor.
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ELITE
The Chiefs just missed the playoffs for the first time since — checks notes — 2014. Patrick Mahomes remains a two-time MVP, three-time Super Bowl champion and three-time Super Bowl MVP. While the offense has shown some cracks in recent years as defenses have adjusted and Kansas City has struggled at times to surround Mahomes with top-end talent through the draft, expectations haven’t changed. The Chiefs should still expect Mahomes to be one of the best — if not the best — quarterbacks in the NFL moving forward.
Despite missing the playoffs in three straight seasons following their loss in the 2022 AFC championship game — largely due to Joe Burrow battling injuries — the Bengals’ quarterback situation couldn’t be in a better place. When healthy, Burrow consistently grades as the best quarterback in the NFL by a wide margin. Durability remains the only real concern, but when Burrow is on the field, there is arguably no better quarterback in football.
31. Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens were one of just three teams with an elite quarterback to miss the playoffs in 2025. While the organization is undergoing a change at head coach, Lamar Jackson ranks second among quarterbacks in PFF grade over the past two seasons. Jackson has dealt with his share of injuries in recent years, but when healthy, there is no one more electric at the position.
32. Buffalo Bills
The 2024 NFL MVP has reached the playoffs in every season of his career and just earned his sixth PFF overall grade of 90.0 or better. Josh Allen has proven remarkably durable while carrying a depleted roster and still pushing Buffalo to the brink of an AFC Championship appearance. Had the Bills’ head coaching position opened just two weeks earlier, it likely would have been the most attractive opening in the league — largely because of Allen’s presence under center.