NFL QB Rankings 2024: From Patrick Mahomes to Jarrett Stidham

Jarrett Stidham? The Denver Broncos couldn’t have possibly thought they’d be better off moving on from Russell Wilson, only to put the 27-year-old former fourth-round pick in a starting role. We’re expecting the Broncos to bring in more competition, and right now Justin Fields and Zach Wilson may be the best options available. Making a trade up the board without having a lot of draft capital will be tough to do, but the Broncos should still end up with a potential QB of the future on Day 2. Until then, the Broncos have the worst QB in the NFL.

Sam Darnold was not signed to be the next Minnesota Vikings franchise QB. However, one might argue the soon-to-be 27-year-old never got a fair shake in New York or Carolina, where his best target was D.J. Moore. Simply put, Darnold has never had a chance to start under a bright offensive mind or throw to a player as talented as Justin Jefferson. There’s some upside here, but we fully expect a rookie QB to start in Week 1, we just don’t know his name yet.

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After moving on from Derek Carr, only to downgrade to Jimmy Garoppolo, the Las Vegas Raiders are eager to take another step back by adding Gardner Minshew. While he somehow nearly helped lead the Indianapolis Colts to the playoffs, Minshew shouldn’t be relied on as a franchise QB. Expect the Raiders to get aggressive during the 2024 NFL Draft, but being behind the Vikings and Broncos could make life difficult to land their top target.

Sam Howell did his best to show why he deserves to be the Commanders’ starting QB, yet he also gave them reason to consider other options. Howell turned the ball over at a concerning rate, especially considering he was on pace to be sacked more than any other QB in NFL history for much of the year. Howell led the NFL in interceptions, and the Commanders couldn’t stand watching him throw games away anymore, pulling the plug for Brissett. Now the Commanders seem locked in on selecting either Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels, and Howell’s trade to Seattle guarantees it.

Just when the fans started losing hope with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, Bryce Young put forth his greatest performance yet. However, it also came against a woeful Packers defense. He took a few too many sacks (3.9 per game), but the Panthers had one of the worst offensive lines in football. While it’s hard to watch C.J. Stroud’s success and wonder what’s going on in Carolina, remember that Young is still just 22. He has plenty of time to figure it out, and the Panthers haven’t given him enough help. Now after breaking the bank in free agency to add two new starting guards plus Diontae Johnson via trade, Young should be able to have a much better second season, but more help at receiver is needed.

Even if they lack a true No. 1, the cast of receivers has improved in New England, so if Mac Jones was the real deal, we should have seen it last season. The Patriots weren’t asking him to do much, opting for a lot of screens, which should tell you all you need to know about how much they trust their former first-round QB. The Patriots finally tried something else in Week 13, turning to Bailey Zappe, but it led to their second shutout of the season. Now Jacoby Brissett comes in, but he’ll be backing up either Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels. However, if Brissett is forced into action, he can produce better than Jones or Zappe did a year ago.

The 24-year-old rookie performed admirably in his NFL debut, tossing four touchdowns in a gutsy win over Atlanta. Will Levis continued making impressive throws in primetime against Pittsburgh, but it became evident that the Titans didn’t quite trust him yet. On the final drive, Levis showed why the coaching staff was right to be nervous when the rookie threw a game-sealing interception. Those fears continued into Week 10, where Levis completed just 48 percent of his passes for an average of just 5.1 yards per completion. The story was much different in Week 11, where he completed 76 percent of his passes while averaging 9.3 YPA, yet the Titans lost by 20.

Then, in Week 14, Levis managed to move past some bad mistakes, including a mind-boggling interception right into the hands of Zach Sieler, a defensive lineman. Yet, Levis stayed calm and led the Titans on two scoring drives late in the fourth quarter to steal a win in Miami. Levis still makes more mental errors than you’d like, but he was also a rookie, and the ball flies out of his hand. He looks like the future in Tennessee, and new coach Brian Callahan should be able to help Levis reach his full potential.

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The Bears didn’t ask Justin Fields to run as much last year, perhaps in an effort to help him grow more as a passer. Still, it makes no sense not to take advantage of possibly the best rushing QB in football’s skillset, but this is why the Bears had a losing record. Fields has shown promise, but the Bears don’t ask him to make a lot of throws downfield, and he’s still fumbling a bit too much when he does take off. Say what you want about Fields, but he improved in 2023, and we’d be curious to see him in an offense with a better supporting cast.

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The Colts finished with a 9-8 record, and in an ideal world, Anthony Richardson would have been under center for most of the year. Yet, the brief glimpse we saw of the Colts’ franchise quarterback showed he can be an impact player once he gains more experience and gets more talent around him. Richardson has the potential to be a top-five QB when factoring in his dual-threat ability, but first, he has to prove it.

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Kyler Murray missed 335 days of action, which meant he should have been a bit rusty coming off a torn ACL. Yet, Murray quickly led one of the most inspired efforts we saw from the Cardinals QBs last season. Murray had his best game of the season against a struggling Eagles defense, accounting for 256 yards, three scores, and a bad interception on what had to be a miscommunication, but he also ended the year on a high note against Seattle, with his most efficient game of the year, completing 73% of his passes. We’re curious to see how the Cardinals build around their franchise QB this offseason, but Marvin Harrison Jr. sure would look good in Arizona.

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While the Tommy DeVito phase was fun, Daniel Jones is the best QB on the Giants’ roster by far. The unquestioned franchise QB, Jones has never been given a respectable receiving corps, and the Giants have failed to protect him too. With Saquon Barkley departing, the Giants will have a very tough time leading a high-powered offense unless they add a top-flight receiver.

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Who is the most accurate QB in the NFL? In 2022, it was Geno Smith, in one of the biggest surprises of the season. Smith was back operating the Seahawks offense, but not quite with the same efficiency when he completed 69.8% of his passes. Still, his pocket awareness and ability to evade defenders while stepping up to make accurate throws is what helps him maintain his status as an above-average QB who often shows flashes of becoming a consistent Pro Bowler.

You never know what to expect from Derek Carr. Now that he’s in New Orleans instead of Las Vegas, the same remains true, where Carr often flashes the arm talent capable of leading a high-powered offense but also otherwise posts the occasional dud. While he got off to a rocky start while learning his new teammates, Carr had a much stronger second half of his season, completing 72% of his passes in his last ten starts while having a TD-to-INT ratio of 19:4.

If Deshaun Watson can return to the near-MVP form we saw during his time with the Houston Texans, he’d have no trouble returning to the top ten of our NFL QB rankings. Yet, we haven’t seen Watson at his best since he arrived in Cleveland. Until he shows he can be consistently elite again, this is where he fits.

Baker Mayfield’s play has shown the former No. 1 overall pick can be good enough to lead a team with elite offensive weapons to victory, even in the playoffs. Mayfield’s performance has earned him his first massive payday since playing out his rookie contract, and he should have no trouble maintaining his excellent play in 2024.

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Russell Wilson’s second year in Denver was going much better, having topped last season’s touchdown total and improving his completion rate by six percent. But his last four starts didn’t go smoothly, where Wilson committed five turnovers. Now, Wilson’s headed to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are getting a very motivated player eager to show he can lead a high-powered offense.

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Trevor Lawrence is on the brink of becoming great, and if he can become more consistent, he might earn that elite label for good. We would have liked to see him put up a better fight in Jacksonville’s finale with the season on the line. Lawrence was playing well enough to put the Jaguars in position for the top seed in the AFC, but five consecutive losses while dealing with an injury brought him back down to earth. We expect him to take another step forward in his fourth season.

Jalen Hurts went from a quarterback who needed to prove he could hold down the gig to establishing himself as an MVP candidate in his second full season as a starter. Then, in his fourth season, Hurts took a step back as a passer, throwing a new career-high in interceptions. He also wasn’t quite running as much, especially after suffering a knee injury. Perhaps it was the knee, but Hurts wasn’t the same in 2023.

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Brock Purdy has enjoyed a meteoric climb in Sportsnaut’s NFL quarterback rankings, becoming the first Mr. Irrelevant to start in a Super Bowl. No one can deny the success he’s had under Kyle Shanahan so far, even if he’s benefited from having one of the most QB-friendly schemes, surrounded by some of the game’s best playmakers. Yet, despite his stellar numbers and even reaching a Super Bowl, Purdy isn’t one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.

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The game may have been a bit too fast for the 22-year-old rookie early on, where he took six sacks in Week 2’s loss, but he took just 32 in 15 regular season starts since, showing his ability to process information improved drastically. While his completion rate ranked 11th-worst in the NFL, he’d also been subject to 24 dropped passes. Without those drops, he would have had a respectable completion percentage of 68.7. C.J. Stroud had perhaps the best season by a rookie QB in NFL history, and he only improved his reputation after an incredible Wild Card win where he finished with the second-highest completion rate of his young career.

It’s time to give credit where it’s due. While Jordan Love had several rocky moments early on, the former first-round pick showed the ability to play at a very high level. From Weeks 11-13, Love completed 68 percent of his passes for 285 YPG yards and eight touchdowns. But much of that spike in production was simply the product of his receivers finally holding up their end of the bargain too. Love finished the regular season on a very high note and nearly had a perfect passer rating in his first career playoff appearance. The Packers’ ceiling is limitless next season with Love playing like this.

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Jared Goff has had a career like no other. The former No. 1 overall pick reached the Super Bowl in just his third season. Then his value tanked to the point where his team had to pay the Lions just to take his contract. Now Goff’s returned to fame by helping restore the roar for the Lions. Goff can make all the throws, yet there are also a few lapses where he misses the read or makes inexplicable decisions, like his three-INT day against Chicago or his three-turnover day in his second matchup with the Bears. Still, after powering the Lions to their first NFC Championship appearance since 1991, it’s hard not to love what Goff has done in Detroit.

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He may not get the respect of his peers, but Kirk Cousins is one of the best pure passers in the NFL. It obviously helps to have the game’s greatest receiver on his side, but Cousins has shown he can lead a high-powered offense even without Justin Jefferson. Somehow, Cousins has found a way to continue improving each year, and even though he’s now changing teams and coordinators again, we don’t expect his Achilles injury to leave any lasting effects for a QB who was never mobile to begin with. While there’s no Justin Jefferson-level talent in Atlanta, the Falcons are set to have one of the NFL’s best offenses with Drake London, Kyle Pitts, Darnell Mooney, Bijan Robinson, and a good offensive line.

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Thanks to coach Mike McDaniel and two 1,000-yard receivers, Tua Tagovailoa led the NFL’s best offense. He was a top-ranked NFL QB all year long. Delivering with elite accuracy while being the most explosive offense in football, Tagovailoa was clearly one of the best NFL QBs in 2023, but he also has some of the most dangerous weapons in the league at his disposal. Sure, Tagovailoa fell flat in the Wild Card playoffs in ridiculously cold weather, but that doesn’t erase the work he did all season. But is he an elevator? No. Yet, like Brock Purdy, he’s able to manage the game at a high level when placed in a great scheme surrounded by talent.

Matthew Stafford’s elbow must be feeling better, as he was back to averaging 34.7 pass attempts per game during the regular season. A rough start without Cooper Kupp by his side would have been understandable, but Stafford made it look like it doesn’t matter who the Rams start at receiver in Coach McVay’s offense. Still one of the strongest arms in the NFL, even at 35 years old, the Rams felt like a team that can hang with anyone when Stafford’s on fire. He ended the year on a heater, completing 63% of his passes with a TD: INT ratio of 15:3 while leading the Rams to five wins in six games. Yet, when it came to heading into his old digs at Ford Field, he didn’t quite have enough help to take down his former team. Still, Stafford showed why he’s one of the best QBs alive.

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Justin Herbert’s inconsistent season came to an end after suffering a broken finger on his throwing hand in Week 14. But with Jim Harbaugh taking over coaching duties, we’re expecting Herbert to return to being the young, elite quarterback we saw during his first three seasons.

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When healthy, Aaron Rodgers has proven to be one of the best QBs in the NFL. We know he’ll be 40 next season, but until he shows otherwise, we still believe Rodgers is elite. Ideally, the Jets will provide better protection and more depth at the receiver position; if so, Rodgers should return to top form in 2024.

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From Weeks 8-14, Dak Prescott completed 69 percent of his passes while leading the Cowboys to a 6-1 record. What put Prescott in the NFL MVP race was his 23 total touchdowns over that span while he averaged 310.3 passing yards per game. It was the best version of Prescott we’ve ever seen, but then he averaged just 3.9 YPA while accounting for zero touchdowns and a turnover in an embarrassing blowout in Buffalo. Prescott came back to life against Miami, but a lost fumble on the opening drive may have cost his team the chance to win the NFC East.

Then, Prescott thrust himself back into the MVP conversation with a phenomenal 345-yard day against Detroit. He maintained that effort while securing the No. 2 seed by adding four more touchdowns to his total while finishing with just five incompletions in Week 18.

But what happened against Green Bay? Prescott had fewer than 100 passing yards, with two interceptions by the end of the first half. The game was already over when the third quarter began, but at least they scored a bit? Still, Prescott’s overall work last season earns him a top spot in Sportsnaut’s NFL QB rankings.

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There’s no question that Joe Burrow is one of the top five NFL quarterbacks today. But we didn’t see the best version of the Bengals’ franchise QB in 2023, where he was frequently battling injuries. Don’t expect that to continue next year, where he’ll be motivated to get back to the playoffs.

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The most dangerous scrambling QB in football, Lamar Jackson returned to MVP form in 2023. He was at his best taking on Miami, where the Ravens QB threw for 321 yards in a five-TD day. Jackson started the postseason strong, showing why he’s one of the best players in the NFL today before coming up short against the Chiefs, like everyone else. Previously criticized for his accuracy, Jackson has made those concerns disappear entirely while becoming one of the best in the world. Yet, some of those concerns returned in the biggest game of his life, completing just 54% of his passes while mustering just 10 points in the Ravens’ postseason loss. Still, winning two MVPs in just six seasons, this guy is special.

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While his decision-making could improve, there isn’t a better combined runner/passer in football. Josh Allen often shows why he’s one of the best NFL quarterbacks today, but his reputation has taken a slight hit due to being too reckless with the ball. Don’t get too down on Allen; he was elite last season, and there wasn’t a player in the NFL with more touchdowns than Buffalo’s QB. The biggest question is, can he cut down on his turnovers in the future?

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Who is the No. 1 quarterback in the NFL? The answer is Patrick Mahomes, but his cast of receivers let him down at times in 2023. With two MVPs and three Super Bowl trophies, there’s no question Mahomes belongs near the top of all NFL QB rankings, but let’s be honest, he had his fair share of erratic decisions and throws last year too. Mahomes finished the regular season with a career-low touchdown rate, and he also surpassed his career-high in interceptions for a season. Yet, come playoff time, Mahomes didn’t care about the frigid elements or being on the road for the first time in his playoff career, reminding us why we should never overlook the game’s greatest quarterback today.

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