I can\u2019t believe how many great starting quarterbacks there are in 2026. But what\u2019s really unbelievable? Well, that\u2019s actually how many\u00a0bad starting quarterbacks there are. There are roughly five where I genuinely wonder: Is this the best a team can do? The short answer: no. The bottom five teams on this list are not trying to play the best quarterback. They\u2019re not necessarily even trying to win. Because next year, we\u2019ll see roughly five fresh names on this list \u2014 all coming in through the highly touted 2027 draft class. And that class seems to be already influencing the NFL, with the “haves” and “have-nots” sitting far, far apart. On purpose. So let\u2019s get into the rankings. Here\u2019s how I project each starter to fare in 2026. Previous: Offseason | Preseason This should go down as one of the more agonizing seasons for a Cleveland QB, not just because Watson will be bad. Browns fans are trained sommeliers of bad QB play. No, it\u2019ll be because the Browns might\u2019ve been able to be competitive if they hadn\u2019t committed to Watson again. The Falcons were the last team to announce their QB1. What they didn\u2019t seem to know was that it doesn’t matter. All four of them are bad. Brissett is a real warrior for operating the offenses that he\u2019s been handed in his career. But it\u2019s a weird niche he\u2019s grown into: the QB who helps teams tank \u2014 sometimes unintentionally. He “won.” He\u2019s “QB1” for the Raiders. QB1*? Either way, it doesn’t really count if Fernando Mendoza never got a fair shake in the quarterback competition. Quietly, the Jets have made moves to support Smith to enjoy a surprising season. And if it were any team other than the Jets, I\u2019d feel good about it. In 2026, no quarterback will have a worse supporting case than Willis. Not one. I actually like Willis. I\u2019m just deeply disappointed he picked Miami in free agency. It\u2019s the deciding year for Young to mature. Or else the Panthers will start a new young QB. Time is a flat circle. So is CJ Stroud\u2019s development. This dink-and-dunk merchant needs to pray his playmakers \u2014 and his Achilles \u2014 hold up in 2026. This dink-and-dunk merchant also must pray his playmakers \u2014 and his Achilles \u2014 hold up in 2026. His preseason performance was so bad that it made you wonder if it\u2019s over for him. Do you know how bad you have to be in preseason to do that? I see shades of Kellen Moore\u2019s past quarterbacks (Dak Prescott, Jalen Hurts) in his latest one. That\u2019s a real testament to Shough. But also to Moore, who seems to be quietly earning a reputation as a QB whisperer. In Year 2, Dart could elevate in many (but probably not all) of the same ways that Drake Maye did last year. But above all, Dart just needs to take care of his noggin. Kevin O\u2019Connell has to be relieved he doesn’t have J.J. McCarthy under center. But that doesn\u2019t mean Murray will be the easiest talent KOC has ever corralled. He\u2019s a feisty pocket passer who thinks he can take on the world \u2014 but, in reality, cannot. So he\u2019s going to need Chris Godwin, Emeka Egbuka and Jalen McMillan to get healthy and\/or stay healthy. He might have the most underrated receiving corps in the NFL, beginning with Courtland Sutton and Jaylen Waddle. Those dudes rip \u2014 and in totally different and complementary ways. Big year coming for Nix. Seahawks OC Brian Fleury will replace Klint Kubiak, who was a sensational playcaller and designer for Darnold in 2025. Can Fleury be the stabilizing force that Darnold has seemed to need? I think Sean Mannion is about to bring back the 2024 version of Jalen Hurts. Maybe, we\u2019ll even see the 2022 version of Hurts. Daniels had arguably the best QB rookie season (including the postseason) ever. People forget that. Honestly, I\u2019ve basically forgotten that. Can the Commanders reinvigorate their young star? One of the least respected and most neglected QB talents of his generation, Goff \u2026\u00a0just needs to win a Super Bowl. That\u2019s it. No big deal. Good luck. If his offensive weapons ever get healthy \u2014 head coach included \u2014 Purdy could be due for a career year. But\u00a0the electric substation also seems to be on pace for a career year, too. I think he has arrived as an elite QB. For good. Like, there\u2019s no way I\u2019ll come to regret this. Seriously. I promise. Yup, yup, yup. Expectations are absurdly high for a QB who was, at times, shaky in 2025. But it\u2019s hard to bet against Williams\u2019 talent when he’s under the guidance of Ben Johnson. Justin Herbert and Mike McDaniel are going to be undeniably fun. But McDaniel, notoriously bad in the playoffs, doesn\u2019t really solve Herbert, notoriously bad in the playoffs. Ignore that, though. Let\u2019s just enjoy the regular-season fun while it lasts. He\u2019s still really, really, really good. But his supporting cast might still be really, really, really not good. He seems like such an obvious candidate for regression, except that the Patriots brought in A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs \u2014 and they all looked immediately excellent together in training camp. I\u2019m fully ready for\u00a0Prescott to have another MVP-calber season \u2014 and perhaps win it. He is the quarterback\u00a0efficiency GAWD. He is the quarterback\u2019s quarterback \u2014 the nerd\u2019s quarterback.\u00a0He is the most underrated QB in the NFL. The reigning MVP has hit the point where everything looks easy. He\u2019s in Tom Brady mode \u2014 Stafford has all the answers to the test. I refuse to believe that Jackson won\u2019t return to his normal self in 2026. I refuse to believe his 2025 season was anything other than a fluke. And the Ravens, who have kept largely the same offensive player personnel, seem to believe the same thing. Unlike Stafford, Allen makes everything look difficult, but that\u2019s because the Bills have made things inordinately difficult for their QB. Here\u2019s hoping Joe Brady and D.J. Moore can finally take some of the weight off him. Don\u2019t come at me with the what-has-he-done-lately takes. In 2024, he threw for 43 touchdowns. Burrow is gonna be fine. Honestly, with an easy schedule, he\u2019s gonna be sensational.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I can\u2019t believe how many great starting quarterbacks there are in 2026. But what\u2019s really unbelievable? Well, that\u2019s actually how many\u00a0bad starting quarterbacks there are. There are roughly five where I genuinely wonder: Is this the best a team can do? The short answer: no. The bottom five teams on this list are not trying<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33472"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33472\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlinebettingnewyork.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}