PFF QB rankings: 32 starters 2026

[gtb1943]

Dak’s contract hasn’t stopped them from doing anything

Over the last five years, the Cowboys have left an average of $10m each year on the table. $22.5m in 2025.

They’re dumb and they’re cheap.

ugly, too

 

[Redsfan_83]

Dak is top 5

Here's why.

If Goff is taking one of his spots...its clear and obvious hes not better. Don't think he's as consistent as Dak when his team is bad... he looks awful. Last year his defense was not nearly as bad as Daks....he just wasnt good in crunch situations. In regular situations? Hes pretty good. In crunch? Not so good.

Daks defense was the worst in the league so he doesn't even get to crunch time situations. Game is already lost at halftime. Goff also had that period with the late Rams/early Lions where he was traded, and he was ranked 18th-22nd. Dak is pretty good even when his team is bad.

Dak > Lamar. Lamar is more consistent and has higher regular season peaks but he underperforms more. Given his team and organization is superior. Cowboys are full of name players but are fundamentally flawed each of those years in the early 20s window. Lamars team isn't really flawed. Name players should not disguise a team that has offensive line, defensive line, and secondary issues when they get to January. Lamar just doesn't do enough offensively in the playoffs where his defense keeps him in it. Cowboys defense usually doesn't keep the Quarterback in the game and by halftime defense has already been beat up pretty badly.

Drake Maye is a wait and see, but I think his case is premature. Patriots fans and the Boston sports complex think he's top 5, but he seems underwhelming when his defense isn't awesome. Let's see when he gets a schedule with at least 3 above .500 teams.

They literally said Dak was 1 in clutch situations last year, did they not? So what are you talking about? Again, you fail to read the article title; it clearly states coming into 2026....not who will be in 2028. PFF clearly notes what their ranks are based upon, so they cannot argue with how they have laid it out. Try to put your worship aside and understand the context of the article you are reading, because I don't think many disagree with you that Lamar is overrated, but that's not the discussion point.

Do this, and you may gain a bit more credibiliit in here by friend

 

[Rockport]

Soon as I see a post about Dak and stats, I immediately grow another grey hair

Same thing happens when I read one of your posts.

 

[Redsfan_83]

Same thing happens when I read one of your posts.

Beats hitting the bottle when we read yours...to be such a misery in life

 

[Rockport]

Say what you want but Dak has ranked in the top ten most of his 10-year career



Rank8—

Dak Prescott​

Dallas Cowboys · QB

Prescott quietly put together one of the NFL's most complete passing seasons in 2025. His 85.4 PFF passing grade ranked fourth among qualified quarterbacks, while his 3.39 Wins Above Replacement and 0.180 EPA per dropback ranked second and fourth, respectively. He paired a 4.8% big-time throw rate with a 2.7% turnover-worthy play rate, earned an 86.5 passing grade from a clean pocket and remained one of the league's best under pressure, ranking second with a 73.7 passing grade.

The Cowboys quarterback earned passing grades above 80.0 both with and without play action and against both the blitz and standard four-man rushes. He also led all qualified quarterbacks in passing grade in clutch situations (87.8) across 145 high-leverage dropbacks.

Dak should be 5th or 6th.

 

[Redsfan_83]

Dak should be 5th or 6th.

The rankings are built around three seasons of performance, with PFF passing grade, Wins Above Replacement (WAR) and EPA per dropback forming the foundation. The 2026 PFF QB Annual provided additional context through advanced passing splits, accuracy metrics, clutch performance and other proprietary data that helped finalize each placement.

 

[jterrell]

Exactly.

If Dak wasn’t such a POS and didn’t demand record breaking pay, we might could actually put more of a well-balanced team around him that could compete for a championship.

Alas, he did it “for the brotherhood”.
Not what was best for us fans.

Let us know when you go in and take a pay cut.

 

[jterrell]

Dak has been 6th-9th as a QB for a decade.
His health and pay do knock him down a slot or 3 depending upon the season.
8 is slightly harsh but not unfair given his production(4th) and cost(1st).

Dallas fell apart because of draft failures more so than cap woes.

 

[gtb1943]

Dak has been 6th-9th as a QB for a decade.
His health and pay do knock him down a slot or 3 depending upon the season.
8 is slightly harsh but not unfair given his production(4th) and cost(1st).

Dallas fell apart because of draft failures more so than cap woes.

FA failures as well as draft failures

 

[ratkinson]

Say what you want but Dak has ranked in the top ten most of his 10-year career



Rank8—

Dak Prescott​

Dallas Cowboys · QB

Prescott quietly put together one of the NFL's most complete passing seasons in 2025. His 85.4 PFF passing grade ranked fourth among qualified quarterbacks, while his 3.39 Wins Above Replacement and 0.180 EPA per dropback ranked second and fourth, respectively. He paired a 4.8% big-time throw rate with a 2.7% turnover-worthy play rate, earned an 86.5 passing grade from a clean pocket and remained one of the league's best under pressure, ranking second with a 73.7 passing grade.

The Cowboys quarterback earned passing grades above 80.0 both with and without play action and against both the blitz and standard four-man rushes. He also led all qualified quarterbacks in passing grade in clutch situations (87.8) across 145 high-leverage dropbacks.

 

[fivetwos]

Dak has been 6th-9th as a QB for a decade.
His health and pay do knock him down a slot or 3 depending upon the season.
8 is slightly harsh but not unfair given his production(4th) and cost(1st).

Dallas fell apart because of draft failures more so than cap woes.

Oh my yes. Did we really need another list to know where he ranks?

I guess they have to fill the space….which I guess is now referred to as clicks.

 

[Redsfan_83]

Let us know when you go in and take a pay cut.

I wouldn't take a pay cut either; an NFL career can go just like that. But don't be fooled into thinking he and every other athlete look out for themselves, and don't care about others...Jerry was stupid enough to give him the $$$, but Dak didn't do anything for the future or current players

 

[Robbieac]

Let us know when you go in and take a pay cut.

I took a decent sized paycut a few years ago.

I have 2 other partners, and I was making much more than them. In order to keep all 3 of us in the group, I willingly took a 50% salary reduction because I wanted to be able to retain everyone together.

Life isn’t about making as much as you can all of the time.

 

[Acceptablename]

Say what you want but Dak has ranked in the top ten most of his 10-year career



Rank8—

Dak Prescott​

Dallas Cowboys · QB

Prescott quietly put together one of the NFL's most complete passing seasons in 2025. His 85.4 PFF passing grade ranked fourth among qualified quarterbacks, while his 3.39 Wins Above Replacement and 0.180 EPA per dropback ranked second and fourth, respectively. He paired a 4.8% big-time throw rate with a 2.7% turnover-worthy play rate, earned an 86.5 passing grade from a clean pocket and remained one of the league's best under pressure, ranking second with a 73.7 passing grade.

The Cowboys quarterback earned passing grades above 80.0 both with and without play action and against both the blitz and standard four-man rushes. He also led all qualified quarterbacks in passing grade in clutch situations (87.8) across 145 high-leverage dropbacks.

I approve of this ranking

 

[DallasEast]

Soon as I see a post about Dak and stats, I immediately grow another grey hair

^ Coog's hair because: 1) the sheer number of Dak Prescott posts and threads and 2) he's a WILD AND CRAZY GUY!

 

[Acceptablename]

I understand the gripe about Dak's salary but I'm not going to expect anyone to give their money away.we can't understand those economics if we've never lived in that reality.

 

[DallasEast]

I do not fault Dak Prescott or any other professional team sports athlete for their salaries. They do not pay themselves. As I grow older, though, I feel the unilateral, self-sacrificing salary reduction counterpoint as more and more disingenuous.

Financial security is not equal for all earners, regardless of the pro or con argument. Its application diminishes the closer income approaches zero. Apply a hypothetical 50% pay cut to a flat yearly compensation at various income strata:

• Person A: $50 million slashed to $25 million
• Person B: $5 million sliced to $2.5 million
• Person C: $500,000 reduced to $250,000
• Person D: $50,000 cut to $25,000

In the US, approximately 90% of earners earn at or marginally above Person D. Asking them to relate a proposed 50% pay cut to the sacrifices of Persons A, B, and C is not financially conceivable in that sense. The circumstances would be classified as hardships or economically devastating to themselves.

On the other hand, the other 10% can better relate to the hypothetical administered amongst themselves. Even so, wealth is impacted differently as the ball gets kicked higher up that hill. Folks' financial security at the bottom of the hill would shrink far more than those above them.

Frankly, wealth is not a part of the vast majority of people's lives. Those with wealth own various levels of it. The bulk of the people being asked to sympathize equally with the "plight" of a truly wealthy individual is unfair. Most people see it from their financial stability perspective--not from having wealth.

Anyone can go after the person making the money. I prefer going after the person signing the checks. That person does have absolute control and should have the necessary budgetary acumen to comprehend the risk associated with acquiring and retaining players over both the short and long term.

In the end, it is not what Prescott should be willing or unwilling to sacrifice contractually. It all boils down to Jerry Jones doing the actual job as general manager that he gave himself. Excuse makers will say otherwise, but successfully putting a winning, Super Bowl-caliber combination of players and coaches together is his job. If Prescott or Romo or whoever is not the right cog for HIS machine, it's his fault. No one else's. He can get rid of whomever he wants, WHENEVER he wants, as easily as he can keep them.

 

[OGSixshooter]

Top 10 out of 32...is nothing to write home about...Especially since football is a zero-sum game about championships. The closer you can get your team to one...the more you are considered a "top" QB. If you are 9th or 10th on that list...you might be 4x as bad as the #3 guy.

Pet Player Pity Party

 

[StarOfGlory]

I do not fault Dak Prescott or any other professional team sports athlete for their salaries. They do not pay themselves. As I grow older, though, I feel the unilateral, self-sacrificing salary reduction counterpoint as more and more disingenuous.

Financial security is not equal for all earners, regardless of the pro or con argument. Its application diminishes the closer income approaches zero. Apply a hypothetical 50% pay cut to a flat yearly compensation at various income strata:

• Person A: $50 million slashed to $25 million
• Person B: $5 million sliced to $2.5 million
• Person C: $500,000 reduced to $250,000
• Person D: $50,000 cut to $25,000

In the US, approximately 90% of earners earn at or marginally above Person D. Asking them to relate a proposed 50% pay cut to the sacrifices of Persons A, B, and C is not financially conceivable in that sense. The circumstances would be classified as hardships or economically devastating to themselves.

On the other hand, the other 10% can better relate to the hypothetical administered amongst themselves. Even so, wealth is impacted differently as the ball gets kicked higher up that hill. Folks' financial security at the bottom of the hill would shrink far more than those above them.

Frankly, wealth is not a part of the vast majority of people's lives. Those with wealth own various levels of it. The bulk of the people being asked to sympathize equally with the "plight" of a truly wealthy individual is unfair. Most people see it from their financial stability perspective--not from having wealth.

Anyone can go after the person making the money. I prefer going after the person signing the checks. That person does have absolute control and should have the necessary budgetary acumen to comprehend the risk associated with acquiring and retaining players over both the short and long term.

In the end, it is not what Prescott should be willing or unwilling to sacrifice contractually. It all boils down to Jerry Jones doing the actual job as general manager that he gave himself. Excuse makers will say otherwise, but successfully putting a winning, Super Bowl-caliber combination of players and coaches together is his job. If Prescott or Romo or whoever is not the right cog for HIS machine, it's his fault. No one else's. He can get rid of whomever he wants, WHENEVER he wants, as easily as he can keep them.

I agree with everything except the last sentence. Unlimited wealth is not locked by a salary cap while team spending is. This means it isn’t as easy to get rid of someone as it is to keep them. If the Cowboys, for some reason, decide to cut Dak, that leaves a massive financial deficit of money not available for team use, no matter Jerry’s individual wealth.

 

[DallasEast]

I agree with everything except the last sentence. Unlimited wealth is not locked by a salary cap while team spending is. This means it isn’t as easy to get rid of someone as it is to keep them. If the Cowboys, for some reason, decide to cut Dak, that leaves a massive financial deficit of money not available for team use, no matter Jerry’s individual wealth.

Jerry Jones can voluntarily commit (let me make certain I type this exactly) salary cap team spending seppuku at any time, resulting in substantial dead money accumulation, if he believed short-term sacrifices would net him long-term gains in on-the-field accomplishment. That was the meaning of my last sentence.