Quarterback play in the NFL is the difference between success and failure, but no single player can carry an entire offensive roster. That has been made clear so far in 2023, as the Kansas City Chiefs aren’t quite as potent as usual with their make-shift weaponry.
These rankings are based a bit on perceived physical and mental talent, with production making a greater impact at this moment than any physical skill set. In short, some very talented quarterbacks rank very low right now. That is not indicative of their abilities but of their poor production at the moment.
TL;DR: The list is fluid, so let’s have some fun with it.
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2023 QB Power Rankings
32) Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers
The offense is horrific almost all around, but Kenny Pickett is as culpable as anyone else. He consistently creates his own pressure. He’ll see ghosts in the pocket and flee from a clean area, abandoning the progression in front of him in favor of creation.
It’s clear that he has no confidence in the offensive coordinator or the offensive line when he drops back to pass. A knee injury will likely sideline Pickett for a short while, and it will be fascinating to see if he has a change of mentality upon his return.
31) Zach Wilson, New York Jets
Zach Wilson played well enough to get him off the bottom of the list, but his track record is lengthy enough to know not to expect a whole lot over the next few weeks simply because he had a good week, even if it was against a talented team.
30) Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers’ QB looks entirely overwhelmed on the football field right now. The NFL game is moving faster than Bryce Young’s used to, and it has made for a lot of indecision and poor decisions by the rookie in his three games as the Panthers’ starter.
And the worst part about all of this is he still feels obligated to take absolutely gruesome hits week in and week out.
29) Daniel Jones, New York Giants
OK, it’s become impossible to defend Daniel Jones. The offensive line is atrocious. The offense can not make plays downfield to save their life. And now Jones is trying to force the issue, with devastating consequences.
28) Justin Fields, Chicago Bears
Justin Fields had one of his best days as a pro against the Denver Broncos, but he was a goat in the end, throwing the game-sealing interception late.
Check out our other top positional rankings here: WR | TE | OT | G | DT | EDGE | LB | CB | S | K
The offense is bad. The offensive line is bad. But Fields still must be way better independent of all those situational issues.
27) Desmond Ridder, Atlanta Falcons
Even Desmond Ridder’s most loyal supporters are beginning to question whether or not he can right the ship. The QB was a whipsmart passer with a penchant for bad misses as a passer coming out of college. Now, his accuracy issues remain, but he’s also struggled as a decision-maker at the NFL level so far.
26) Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns
Deshaun Watson didn’t play a week ago against the Baltimore Ravens, and it showed in the team’s offensive performance.
MORE: NFL Defense Rankings 2023
There was a stark difference between Watson in Week 3 and Dorian Thompson-Robinson in Week 4. Watson’s shoulder injury has been downplayed a bit, but if it lingers, it could seriously hinder him mechanically. Which *stares at Baker Mayfield in 2021 and 2022*.
25) Sam Howell, Washington Commanders
Sam Howell might be Taylor Heinicke in a different package early in his NFL career. He is a load of fun to watch, but the mistakes can pile up for him like they do with Heinicke. The biggest difference between the two is that Howell can sling it.
24) Mac Jones, New England Patriots
The Dallas Cowboys’ defense made Mac Jones lose his mind on Sunday. In no way, shape, or form should a quarterback roll right and try to throw five-yard passes to the opposite sideline. Even the most physically gifted QBs in the league avoid doing that.
But for some reason, Jones, lacking athleticism and arm talent, thought it would be a swell idea.
23) Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
Jordan Love is flashing as a passer in Matt LaFleur’s offense, but he remains frustratingly inconsistent as a downfield passer. Despite being pressured less often than every passer in the league not named Dak Prescott, Love has to be more consistent.
22) Joshua Dobbs, Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals QB may be a veteran, but it appears he is becoming more and more comfortable under center by the week. He’s been a long-time journeyman backup who has never really been thrust into action until last season.
Now, he is commanding an offense that looks bad on paper, and he’s right in the middle of the pack in efficiency. The offense is structurally sound, and he is making good decisions with the ball while also making plays with his legs.
21) Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints
Derek Carr has been about the same player we’ve grown accustomed to seeing. He invites pressure at an alarming rate, and his decision-making tends to range from extreme conservatism to recklessness randomly.
Add in a shoulder injury, and, well, we saw what we saw in Week 4.
20) Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans’ passing attack is not good, and some of that comes down to Ryan Tannehill’s inability to be a weapon in the traditional dropback passing attack.
But when they’re able to play in a neutral game script and run play-action passes, the Tennessee passing attack can be a problem for defenses, as it was against the Bengals in Week 4.
19) Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Baker Mayfield is currently producing like a top-five quarterback from an efficiency standpoint. He’s currently seventh in adjusted EPA. Although he’s only 14th in success rate, his third-down play makes up for everything else. He’s blitzing the rest of the field, including legendary money-down passer Patrick Mahomes.
He has an adjusted EPA of .532 (first), a success rate of 54.9% (first), and a CPOE of 20.3 (first) on third and fourth downs in 2023. And he’s brought Mike Evans back to his pre-Tom Brady version of himself.
18) Jimmy Garoppolo, Las Vegas Raiders
Jimmy Garoppolo continues to find success as a passer (50.4% success rate) despite being in markedly worse conditions than he found himself in while with the 49ers. That success rate ranks seventh in the league.
However, Garoppolo has also shown the dark side of his game so far in 2023. He’s always had bouts of “losing linebackers and safeties in coverage” syndrome, and it’s caused six interceptions in only three starts.
It also doesn’t help himself or the franchises he plays for that he can’t seem to remain on the field.
17) Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos
It’s becoming more and more difficult by the week to keep Russell Wilson down this low in the rankings. He currently ranks fourth in EPA+CPOE composite, fifth in adjusted EPA, sixth in success rate, second in CPOE, and 13th in average intended air yards.
The big test comes this week against the New York Jets. The Las Vegas Raiders defense is bad; the Washington Commanders give up big plays downfield at an alarming rate; the Miami Dolphins just looked like the Broncos’ defense against the Bills; and the Chicago Bears are an embarrassment. The Jets defense has made Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen look like mortals.
16) Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts
Anthony Richardson is already arguably the most exciting player in the NFL already. Every single time he drops back to pass, something incredible could happen in a way that it does not for any other QBs. His rushing ability is incredible, and his ability to push the ball downfield makes the Indianapolis Colts offense dangerous.
15) Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Among QBs with 100 gradable plays, none have a worse EPA+CPOE composite than Joe Burrow. The only reason he remains in the top half of the league right now is the acknowledgment that he’s playing injured and that we absolutely know that he’s one of the most talented passers in the NFL.
MORE: Should the Struggling Cincinnati Bengals Consider Sitting Joe Burrow?
Still, things continue to be ugly for him and the Cincinnati Bengals offense. If that doesn’t stop, we’ll be forced to keep pushing him down the list.
14) Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings
Kirk Cousins has jumped from one yard to another constantly in 2023. One minute he’s producing out of his mind and the next he’s throwing incredibly poor passes in the red zone that end up going back 99 yards for a touchdown. And he’s getting annihilated in the process by a blocker.
He has multiple red zone interceptions in 2023, which is concerning because that hasn’t been a particularly big issue for him in the past.
13) C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
C.J. Stroud has been outrageous so far as a rookie. The anticipation he throws with has been a show-stopper. But the biggest thing we’ve seen from him at the NFL level that we missed from him at times in college is the use of his legs.
12) Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Matthew Stafford has always been a special talent. And while things looked grim a season ago and retirement was rumored, the sidearm, no-look, tight-window darts are back for 2023. Puka Nacua is an outstanding talent on the outside, and he has become Stafford’s newest best friend (Cooper Kupp and Calvin Johnson before him.)
this is insane quarterbacking by matthew stafford on fourth down pic.twitter.com/Vw90ZmEr6I
— Steven Ruiz (@theStevenRuiz) October 2, 2023
The thing that has always kept Stafford from truly elevating his game to the S-tier level is consistency — because the talent is ridiculous.
11) Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
Much like Brock Purdy and Garoppolo before him, Jared Goff is someone who, under the right conditions, is a very good passer. He struggles against pressure and doesn’t really have the facilities to create outside of the offensive structure.
But Goff can be an assassin over the middle. And between Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta, there are more than enough weapons to attack that area of the field. Add in a dominant offensive line and a good OC, and Goff is looking like his 2018 self again.
10) Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles passing attack seemed to get back on track against the Commanders. However, that may have had more to do with Washington’s inability to communicate and pass off routes downfield, which led to big plays versus open receivers.
9) Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence still looks fantastic on tape, even if the production has not been up to snuff. They’ve suffered some wacky turnovers, and the team continues to find creative ways to shoot themselves in the foot.
The offensive line is flat-out bad, which has limited what the Jacksonville Jaguars are able to do schematically. But Lawrence has been outstanding at avoiding sacks and creating outside of structure.
8) Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
Geno Smith ranks fifth in success rate and ninth in CPOE. The only problem is the same as it was a season ago. The Seattle Seahawks offense lacks explosion in a way an offense with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett shouldn’t. They rank just 15th in EPA.
But Smith has been outstanding. He survived an injury scare in Week 5 against the New York Giants, and he performed admirably despite being pressured on nearly half of his dropbacks.
7) Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
Were we basing these rankings on production alone, Purdy would be at the very top of the list. But we’ve seen this story before. From 2018-2022, only Drew Brees and Patrick Mahomes posted better EPA results than Jimmy Garoppolo.
And nobody believes Garoppolo is a top-10 QB.
So what makes Purdy different? Garoppolo was never particularly good when facing pressure. Purdy isn’t the best in that regard, but he has the creation capacity to escape, and he generally avoids making horrific decisions.
But the biggest difference is that Purdy is a doubles hitter while Garoppolo slapped the ball around the yard for singles.
6) Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Prescott and the Cowboys offense looks a lot different in 2023 than it has in the past. Prescott has been outstanding at avoiding sacks, but the Cowboys offense this year is doing a much better job of finding answers quickly.
The Cowboys’ offensive line is banged up, which used to be the offense’s proverbial death wish. Now, Prescott is getting rid of the ball faster than almost every quarterback in the NFL.
But against the New England Patriots, he also showed off the same old aggressiveness we got used to seeing from him over the past few seasons. However, the tight-window seam throw to rookie Luke Schoonmaker was dropped.
5) Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
If being a 6’6″, 240-pound QB with the ability to go 40 of 47 for 405 yards and 3 TDs wasn’t enough, his Week 4 performance should suffice in the argument for him being inside of the top five. No, it wasn’t his on-field performance that sealed the deal. It was his post-game presser.
he’s a 10 but only speaks in movie quotes pic.twitter.com/KuUAf2SD21
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 2, 2023
Anybody willing to quote Monty Python and the Holy Grail after having their finger broken, their nose bloodied, and their nail gorily torn apart, is a gentleman and a scholar. His performance against a bad Raiders defense wasn’t up to his normal standard, but he doesn’t deserve to tumble in the rankings yet.
4) Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
A 54.2% success rate would suggest that Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens have turned a corner. The tape would insist that he and the Ravens’ passing attack has, indeed, taken a giant leap forward. He looks comfortable in the dropback game, particularly when he is well-protected.
He’s also been incredibly accurate. His 8.1 CPOE is the third-best mark in the NFL through four weeks.
3) Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen continues to play MVP-level football after his pathetic outing in Week 1 against a Jets defense that even made Mahomes appear mortal.
MORE: NFL Offense Rankings 2023
Allen is as unfair to defend against as anyone. He has one of the best arms in the game, and his frame and athleticism allow him to create with the best of them.
The Dolphins game, and his two previous outings, are proof of the insane ceiling he possesses. When he’s not actively sabotaging himself with poor decisions, Allen is as unstoppable as any player in the league.
2) Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
Tua Tagovailoa could put up 100 points, and he still wouldn’t usurp Mahomes. But that doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate what we’ve seen from the Dolphins’ passer. His accuracy and anticipation are his calling card, and the confidence he shows in his playmakers allows him to pull the trigger immediately in a progression.
While the deep ball may flutter and die at times, his anticipation on downfield throws can make up for the lack of high-end juice in his arm. Despite not possessing an Allen-level cannon, Tagovailoa remains as aggressive as anyone downfield.
1) Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Mahomes did not look like himself against the New York Jets. His ankle is very obviously not 100%, and that showed as he struggled to push off of his back foot as a passer. But even with an underwhelming performance against a good defense, Mahomes remains the top passer in the league, where he will remain as long as he’s in good health.