Post-Super Bowl QB Power Rankings: Who’s Number One?

While the final seconds of the clock were ticking down on Super Bowl LIX, I couldn’t help but have a flashback to the second half of the 2018 National Championship Game. As Jalen Hurts sat on the bench watching his team put the finishing touches on the ultimate prize. This time, he was relieved from duty by Kenny Pickett instead of Tua Tagovailoa, not for lackluster performance but the opposite. In that, he led his team to such a triumphant offensive performance that head coach Nick Sirianni felt comfortable resting his star quarterback. Which prompted me to ponder the different directions their careers have taken and how Hurts stacks up against some of the other elite quarterbacks in the league. So without further ado, here are the definitive NFL quarterback power rankings. For this exercise, we’re going to focus solely on the top 10 quarterbacks who are locked into starting jobs.

10. Jordan Love

We kick off our list with the latest in a long line of signal callers to grace the grass of Lambeau Field. Now, Jordan Love has not done as much as the others on this list. He has earned his spot mostly due to his own merit but also the lack of confidence with the rest of his peers. It takes a leap of faith and is certainly forward-looking. Going into next season, Love, in relatively limited opportunities, has shown more than enough to justify a little faith.

9. Justin Herbert

This past season might have been Justin Herbert’s best, even though he threw for his least amount of yards and touchdowns over a full season. What he did do well was lead the Chargers to 11 wins and have the lowest interception percentage in the league at 0.6%. He has demonstrated the ability to throw for 5,000 yards and 40 touchdowns at the NFL level. The next step was to use it in a winning manner, which he did this past season. Now, all he has to do to move higher up this list is to do it in the playoffs.

8. Jared Goff

Jared Goff came into the league with high expectations as the number one overall pick for the newly located Los Angeles Rams. This partnership initially got off to a solid start as Goff was named to two Pro Bowls and then eventually led them to the Super Bowl for the 2018 season where they came up short against the New England Patriots. Following that were a couple of years where it became clear that Goff wasn’t yet ready to lead the Rams to the next level. So, they traded him to the Detroit Lions for Matthew Stafford. Since the trade, Goff’s career arc has mirrored that of his new team. Dwelling near irrelevance then scratching and clawing their way back to importance. Three seasons in a row over 4,400 yards and a completion percentage over 72 this past year will earn you a top 10 spot on this list.

7. Baker Mayfield

Baker Mayfield is a winner. All he did was win 11 games with the Cleveland Browns, which is tied for their most since the 90s. It’s even more impressive when you consider that the year before they drafted him, they won zero games. After the Browns returned to football purgatory, so did Baker, and they went their separate ways. Now, it’s safe to say that while one is trending up, the other is trending down. All he’s done since leaving the mediocre state of Ohio is throw for two 4,000-yard passing seasons, make the Pro Bowl twice, and win his division twice in as many years in sunny southern Florida.

6. Jayden Daniels 

It feels almost blasphemous not to have him higher on the list, and that is a testament to just how good he was in his rookie season. Jayden Daniels led the Washington Commanders to an NFC Championship Game appearance this past season. In addition to that, he also swept the various Offensive Rookie of the Year Awards and made the Pro Bowl team. In very short order, he established himself as one of the elite quarterbacks in the league after bursting on the national scene last year at LSU to win the Heisman. This ranking is heavily based on the eye test and backed up by his postseason run. Next year, it could very easily be a different story as he could fall outside the top 10 or even be knocking on the door of the top three.

5. Jalen Hurts

Fresh off a Super Bowl victory with his Philadelphia Eagles, Jalen Hurts rises up the rankings to number five on the list. The primary reason he is not higher on the list is that he is asked to do relatively less in the Eagles’ offense. This limits his overall impact compared to his contemporaries. However, this is through no fault of his own as less is needed of him due to the talent that Philladphia has amassed on the offensive side of the ball.

4. Josh Allen

Now, we’ve reached the point in the list where a legitimate case can be made to rank any of these quarterbacks as the best in the league talent-wise. Going strictly off of pedigree and success not only in the NFL but in the NCAA, Josh Allen is undoubtedly the lowest of the fab four. However, despite this lack of team success, he is responsible for some of the most spectacular plays in recent memory. This, plus his tendency, has earned him the nickname Superman for good reason, but for now, the only way the man from Krypton moves up the list is to win the AFC Championship Game next season.

3. Lamar Jackson

The two-time MVP has done more than enough in the regular season to earn his spot this high up on the list. The only legitimate question that remains is that his postseason performance leaves little to be desired as he is yet to lead his Baltimore Ravens to an AFC Championship Game victory, something both the quarterbacks higher up this list have done. This past season, he silenced what little doubt remained about his ability to throw the ball. Lamar Jackson went and threw for over 4,000 yards and led the league in touchdown percentage and yards per attempt.

2.  Joe Burrow

For those of you who don’t watch too many Cincinnati Bengals games, Joe Burrow is really good. This past season, he led the league in both passing yards and touchdowns, all while having a completion percentage over 70%. For his career, he is the NFL’s all-time leader in completion percentage with 68.6%. Those numbers, combined with the eye test since he took the football world by storm with his Heisman and National Championship season at LSU, are enough to cement him near the top of this list.

1. Patrick Mahomes

Let's not overthink this one. The two-time MVP and five-time All-Pro is the most talented and the winningest quarterback since he took over for former Kansas City starter Alex Smith. All he did in his first seven years as a starter was win three Super Bowls and make it five times. As both a playoff and regular season performer, Patrick Mahomes is one of the best.