Execs, coaches, scouts rank top NFL quarterbacks for 2026

[GINeric]

I'm sorry, what's Josh's playoff record? And how good were the Bills before he got there?

Josh Allen has never led his teams to Superbowls the way Rex Grossman, Colin Kaepernick and Trent Dilfer has. So their playoff records are more meaningful than Josh Allen's.

All this supposedly falls under the "quarterback playoff record" logic as if they're responsible for TEAM wins and losses. So with that said, I didn't create the narrative, im just respectfully abiding by it.

Unfortunately that means Allen hasn't shown that he is better at leading his team in the most important moments in the post season like Dilfer, Grossman and Kaepernick has.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

What does his mental toughness have to do with him losing them? I feel bad for his losses but I don't see how that's a virtue for him.

It’s a lot to mentally overcome. Some people can’t. I’m just of the belief if you can overcome depression or death you are mentally tested IMO.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Comparing Dak to Sam Darnold and Nick Foles is actually making my argument for me. Those guys aren’t eating up $60 million of the salary cap. When you’re the highest-paid player on the team, “he just wasn’t good enough that day” isn’t a defense; it’s an indictment.

Who’s defending Dak? I verbatim said I’m not using excuses. You’re defending him more than I am resorting to his “mental makeup” as to why he’s 2-5. It’s an excuse.

Your argument was never about salary or how much his contract is eating up. The whole conversation was about his mental makeup. You’re doing mental gymnastics lol.

If your argument is his 14 percent hit against the salary cap is too much to overcome? Fair. That’s a completely different argument.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

I'm sorry, what's Josh's playoff record? And how good were the Bills before he got there?

Well before Dak got to Dallas they won 4 games….kind of a silly argument.

 

[DarkVader33]

With all the talent surrounding Dak, he should be higher. Has 2 #1 receivers, a good offensive line, and a running game. I think his playoff failures attribute to the lower ranking

I’m pretty sure you’re one of the ones, like most of us, that think the OTs are one of the biggest issues we’ve had and have. How does that make it a good offensive line? Especially in pass protection?

 

[GINeric]

You were at 64 just a short time ago. Found a way to move the goalposts out to 70+?

Can't make this stuff up.

There are 32 starting QB jobs in the NFL. Period.

I never said just 64, I've always said 64+ because some teams carry 3 quarterbacks. It is 64 if every team carries just 2, but if just 6 more teams in the NFL carries 3 quarterbacks, what does that equal? Exactly....

Ok, now lets allow real life facts to kick in. Every team in the NFL carries 2 quarterbacks.

The Eagles carried 3, Hurts, McKee and Howell.
The Colts carried 4, Jones, Rivers, Richardson and Leonard.
The the Commanders fluctuated between carrying 4, 5. Daniels, Mariota, Johnson, Driskel and Hartman.

The Dolphins carried 4, Tua, Miller, Ewers and Wilson.
The Falcons carried 3, Penix, Cousins and Stick.
The 49ers carried 3, Purdy, Jones and Rourke.

The Giants carried 3, Wilson, Dart and Winston.
The Jets carried 3, Fields, Taylor and Cook.
The Packers carried 3, Love, Willis and Ridder.

The Patriots carried 3, Maye, DeVito and Dobbs.
The Raiders carried 3, Smith, O'Connell and Pickett.
The Rams carried 3, Stafford, Garoppolo and Bennett.

The Ravens carried 3, Jackson, Huntley and Rush
The Seahawks carried 3, Darnold, Lock and Milroe
The Steelers carried 4, Rodgers, Howard, Rudolph and Thompson.

The Texans carried 3, Stroud, Mills and Mertz.
The Titans carried 3, Ward, Levis and B. Allen.
The Vikings carried 5, McCarthy, Wentz, Wolford, Brosmer and Rypien.

The Bears carried 3, Williams, Keenum and Bagent.
The Bengals carried 3, Burrow, Flacco and Browning.
The Broncos carried 3, Nix, Stidham, and Ehlinger.

The Browns carried 3, Watson, Sanders and Gabriel.
The Bucs carried 3, Mayfield, Bridgewater and Bazelak.
The Cardinals carried 3, Murray, Brissett and Slovis.
The Chiefs carried 3, Mahomes, Minshew and Oladokun

Thats 79 quarterbacks right there and I didn't even name all of the NFL teams. You're right, you definitely can't make this stuff up because you've actually helped me prove my point. Dak has been top 10 out of 80 PLUS NFL quarterbacks. Tell me how that isn't pretty good?

Men lie, women lie, numbers don't.
#FactsOverFeelings

 

[Rockport]

These Dak threads never disappoint. I was ready to move on, get a fresh start for both us and Dak. But I can’t be vehemently upset that we have the 6th or 7th best QB in the league, and I don’t understand how others can be.

I don’t get it either.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

forgot the one he had with the bucs; oh well
point still stands

Point never stood...there is no still..

That's the point!

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

Brady bots are fun to torment

Brady bots!! Really! That's your comeback!!

At this point its painfully obvious you are just looking to argue and purely a troll.

Or a really grumpy old man

 

[TheSport78]

Who’s defending Dak? I verbatim said I’m not using excuses. You’re defending him more than I am resorting to his “mental makeup” as to why he’s 2-5. It’s an excuse.

Your argument was never about salary or how much his contract is eating up. The whole conversation was about his mental makeup. You’re doing mental gymnastics lol.

If your argument is his 14 percent hit against the salary cap is too much to overcome? Fair. That’s a completely different argument.

You're the one who changed the argument.

You brought up Nick Foles and Sam Darnold as examples of quarterbacks who made deep playoff runs or won a Super Bowl despite not being elite. My response was simple: they weren't making $60 million a year. That's relevant because when your quarterback takes up that much of the salary cap, the expectations are different.

You can't compare a backup or low-cost QB to the highest-paid player in football and then act like salary is suddenly "a completely different argument." You introduced the comparison. I pointed out why it isn't an apples-to-apples comparison.

And yes, I think Dak's mental makeup plays a role. That's my opinion based on watching his career. I don't think he's mentally tough enough to consistently push through the biggest moments. You don't have to agree, but calling it an "excuse" doesn't make it one. It's simply my assessment of why he's 2-5 in the playoffs.

So no, I'm not moving the goalposts. You brought up Foles and Darnold, and I explained why those comparisons don't hold up when one guy is making $60 million a year and the others weren't anywhere close.

 

[Vtwin]

I never said just 64, I've always said 64+ because some teams carry 3 quarterbacks. It is 64 if every team carries just 2, but if just 6 more teams in the NFL carries 3 quarterbacks, what does that equal? Exactly....

Ok, now lets allow real life facts to kick in. Every team in the NFL carries 2 quarterbacks.

The Eagles carried 3, Hurts, McKee and Howell.
The Colts carried 4, Jones, Rivers, Richardson and Leonard.
The the Commanders fluctuated between carrying 4, 5. Daniels, Mariota, Johnson, Driskel and Hartman.

The Dolphins carried 4, Tua, Miller, Ewers and Wilson.
The Falcons carried 3, Penix, Cousins and Stick.
The 49ers carried 3, Purdy, Jones and Rourke.

The Giants carried 3, Wilson, Dart and Winston.
The Jets carried 3, Fields, Taylor and Cook.
The Packers carried 3, Love, Willis and Ridder.

The Patriots carried 3, Maye, DeVito and Dobbs.
The Raiders carried 3, Smith, O'Connell and Pickett.
The Rams carried 3, Stafford, Garoppolo and Bennett.

The Ravens carried 3, Jackson, Huntley and Rush
The Seahawks carried 3, Darnold, Lock and Milroe
The Steelers carried 4, Rodgers, Howard, Rudolph and Thompson.

The Texans carried 3, Stroud, Mills and Mertz.
The Titans carried 3, Ward, Levis and B. Allen.
The Vikings carried 5, McCarthy, Wentz, Wolford, Brosmer and Rypien.

The Bears carried 3, Williams, Keenum and Bagent.
The Bengals carried 3, Burrow, Flacco and Browning.
The Broncos carried 3, Nix, Stidham, and Ehlinger.

The Browns carried 3, Watson, Sanders and Gabriel.
The Bucs carried 3, Mayfield, Bridgewater and Bazelak.
The Cardinals carried 3, Murray, Brissett and Slovis.
The Chiefs carried 3, Mahomes, Minshew and Oladokun

Thats 79 quarterbacks right there and I didn't even name all of the NFL teams. You're right, you definitely can't make this stuff up because you've actually helped me prove my point. Dak has been top 10 out of 80 PLUS NFL quarterbacks. Tell me how that isn't pretty good?

Men lie, women lie, numbers don't.
#FactsOverFeelings

Lol

Fact. There are 32 starting QB jobs in the NFL.

"If you have two quarterbacks you actually have none." John Madden.

 

[DarkVader33]

I think the case could be made that many here are as much experts on Prescott than the "experts" in this poll. Most of us have followed Prescott since day one and have seen every snap he's taken at least once if not multiple times.

The "experts" in this poll very likely have nowhere near that level of experience with Dak specifically as they have to be focusing on their own circus.

Like you're alluding too, though, people will trust any expert that validates what they want to believe.

So how much “experience” do you have to actually evaluate the other QBs on the list?

 

[DarkVader33]

joe shoulda been a cowboy.
one of the very best QBs i ever watched in the big moments.
say the same for brady.
the 2 greatest non-cowboys qbs to ever play.

Nope. That title goes to Dan Marino.

 

[DarkVader33]

Herbert has had a stacked team for years. He doesn’t get the excuse of weapons. As a matter of fact you can argue he has better weapons than Dak. Hampton is gonna be a stud. Have three good receivers.

Are you really forgetting about the Chargers having the worst OL in the league? The rest don’t matter if he’s constantly under duress.

 

[GINeric]

Lol

Fact. There are 32 starting QB jobs in the NFL.

"If you have two quarterbacks you actually have none." John Madden.

Great point.

But if any quarterback is top 10 out of 80 plus quarterbacks, then that is very respectable, no matter what.

Do you agree or disagree?

 

[GINeric]

Are you really forgetting about the Chargers having the worst OL in the league? The rest don’t matter if he’s constantly under duress.

Well in all fairness, the Cowboys offensive line was ranked 21st overall last season and our defense was ranked 32nd and we still managed to win 7 games somehow.

What do you believe kept us from making the playoffs last season? In your opinion, was it the offense or defense?

Let me remind you that the offense ranked top 5 despite all the other things that I've listed.....

 

[Yobwocs]

Dak is somewhere in the 5-10 zone for sure. The league's top 4 or 5 quarterbacks can beat a defense even on a perfect play, they are effectively unguardable. You can smother Josh Allen's receivers, beat his left tackle, and he'll still rush for a first down. If you cover Patrick Mahomes's receivers and pressure him, he'll roll out and hit a no looker to a late-breaking receiver with a throw that looks impossible.

Dak can execute at a very high level, but he can't beat a great defensive play. If you cover CeeDee, cover Pickens, and bring pressure, he's not going to punish you. He's either going to hit Fergy for a 5 yard catch-and-fall, or throw the ball away. That keeps him out of the MVP tier of quarterbacks.

What makes Dak so highly ranked is just how cleanly he executes the routine plays. He is a pocket quarterback par excellence. In particular, I love how well he balances risk and reward... he knows when to take the big shots and when to play it safe, and at this point he almost never puts the ball in harm's way. If Josh Allen had Dak's judgement, he probably would've won two Super Bowls by now.

It's really hard to say..... Dak can make ridiculous plays. Allen can make ridiculous plays. Mahomes can make ridiculous play. But sometimes all 3 can't make that play.

I guess..... you can argue Allen and Mahomes make more ridiculous plays when his receivers aren't there and his O-Line lets a guy through...... but such a thing is more of the moment, it can happen to the best of us, and it can happen to the worst of us. It's just not as disparate as you put it.

 

[Havic]

I’m pretty sure you’re one of the ones, like most of us, that think the OTs are one of the biggest issues we’ve had and have. How does that make it a good offensive line? Especially in pass protection?

Dak has consistently had a top 10 offensive line since he became the starter. The line is a little weaker now but it is serviceable, if Guyton turns the corner the only real weak link is Steele