Top 10 Quarterbacks In The AFC
When compared to the NFC, the AFC is an oasis of great quarterback play. 4 of the top 5 quarterbacks in the NFL reside here, and 7 of the top 10. But let’s see if we can sort the wheat from the chaff, and go over the top 10 quarterbacks in the AFC.
#1 — Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (#1 Overall)
- 2022 Stats: 435/648 (67.1%), 5,250 yards, 41 TD, 12 INT; 61 att, 358 yards, 4 TD, 14–3 record
- Playoffs (3 games): 72/100 (72%), 703 yards, 7 TD, 0 INT; 12 att, 60 yards, 3–0 record
- 1st-Team All-Pro, Pro Bowl, MVP Winner, 2nd OPOTY Voting, Super Bowl LVII MVP
- Played 3 playoff games
Mahomes is unquestionably the best quarterback in the NFL right now. After winning his second MVP and second Super Bowl MVP last season — and entering just his age-28 season — Mahomes has an argument that he is already a top 10 quarterback of all time. He is an incredible weapon, and he is in the perfect situation for his skills along with Andy Reid and Travis Kelce. Even the loss of Tyreek Hill was not enough to tank Mahomes, and he turned in arguably his best season yet.
#2 — Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals (#2 Overall)
- 2022 Stats: 414/606 (68.3%), 4,475 yards, 35 TD, 12 INT; 75 att, 257 yards, 5 TD, 12–4 record
- Playoffs (3 games): 72/109 (66.1%), 721 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT; 15 att, 70 yards, 1 TD, 2–1 record
- Pro Bowl, 4th MVP Voting, 9th OPOTY Voting
- Only played 16 games due to BUF @ CIN being cancelled
Burrow may not be as physically gifted as Josh Allen, or as electric as Mahomes, but his accuracy, performance in the clutch, and processing power make him the closest thing to Peyton Manning the modern NFL has. With the weapons at his disposal and an improved offensive line, Burrow will continue to perform like one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL — not to mention one that seems to have Mahomes’ number.
#3 — Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (#4 Overall)
- 2022 Stats: 359/567 (63.3%), 4,283 yards, 35 TD, 14 INT; 124 att, 762 yards, 7 TD, 13–3
- Playoffs (2 games): 48/81 (59.3%), 616 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT; 12 att, 46 yards, 1 TD, 1–1
- Pro Bowl, 3rd MVP Voting, 8th OPOTY Voting
- Only played 16 games due to BUF @ CIN being cancelled
Allen is a physical freak, with a howitzer of an arm and phenomenal mobility. If you wanted to build a quarterback in a lab, he’d look like Allen. The only issue with Allen is that he has a little bit of Carson Wentz in him — he has every tool imaginable, but sometimes this gets him into trouble as he turns over the ball a lot (for every 2 touchdowns this year, he also had a turnover) and has a tendency to play hero ball.
#4 — Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (#5 Overall)
- 2022 Stats: 477/699 (68.2%), 4,739 yards, 25 TD, 10 INT; 54 att, 147 yards, 10–7 record
- Playoffs (1 game): 25/43 (58.1%), 273 yards, 1 TD; 3 att, 12 yards, 0–1 record
- 9th MVP Voting
Like Allen, Herbert has one of the strongest arms in the NFL, and coming out of the shadow of Joe Lombardi, Herbert will be looking to make his mark with a more aggressive offense. However, Herbert’s lack of playoff success — he’s only made the playoffs once, when the Chargers choked a 27-point lead against the Jaguars — and relative lack of consistency/clutch performances drop him below the others in the top 5. Maybe he really is the next Philip Rivers…
#5 — Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens (#6 Overall)
- 2022 Stats: 203/326 (62.3%), 2,242 yards, 17 TD, 7 INT; 112 att, 764 yards, 3 TD, 8–4 record
- Missed 5 regular season games and 1 playoff game due to injury
It might be a bit of a stretch to put Lamar Jackson here — especially considering he finished the last 2 seasons hurt — but looking at this performances when healthy, Jackson is undoubtedly one of the best quarterbacks in football. The league’s successor to Michael Vick, Jackson is constantly underrated as a passer and will be playing 2023 with the best receiving corps of his career. He hasn’t been the same guy that won MVP in 2019 — nor has he had much playoff success (just 1 win in 4 tries) — but this version of Jackson is still one of the best in the league.
#6 — Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars (#7 Overall)
- 2022 Stats: 387/584 (66.3%), 4,113 yards, 25 TD, 8 INT; 62 att, 291 yards, 5 TD, 9–8 record
- Playoffs (2 games): 52/86 (60.5%), 505 yards, 5 TD, 5 INT; 4 att, 34 yards, 1–1 record
- Pro Bowl, 7th MVP Voting, 12th CPOTY Voting
Lawrence entered the league as a generational prospect out of Clemson, being compared to guys like Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning. His rookie year — marred by a physically and verbally abusive head coach in Urban Meyer — was a disappointment, but Lawrence found his way in 2022 under Doug Pederson, leading the Jaguars to a division title and a 27-point comeback win against the Chargers in the Wild Card round.
#7 — Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets (#8 Overall)
- 2022 Stats (with Packers): 350/542 (64.6%), 3,695 yards, 26 TD, 12 INT; 34 att, 94 yards, 1 TD, 8–9 record
Rodgers is a sure-fire Hall of Famer, and after spending his entire career with the Packers, he is following in the footsteps of Brett Favre by going to play for the New York Jets. While he had a poor 2022 season, he enters a Jets team with a phenomenal defense and a revamped receiveing corps, and the 4-time league MVP will have a legitimate opportunity to bring the Jets to their first playoff appearance for the first time in a decade.
#8 — Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins (#10 Overall)
- 2022 Stats: 259/400 (64.8%), 3,548 yards, 25 TD, 8 INT; 23 att, 70 yards, 8–5
- 9th MVP Voting
- Missed 4 regular season games and 1 playoff game due to injury
I wasn’t exactly sure where to put Tua Tagovailoa, for the simple reason that I don’t know if it’s the best idea for him to play football. He has had serious head injuries over the last few years, and said he considered retirement last season. However, on the field, Tua was phenomenal last season, and was in the thick of the MVP race before cooling off a bit down the stretch, culminating in his second (maybe third, maybe fourth?) concussion of the year.
#9 — Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns
- 2022 Stats: 99/170 (58.2%), 1,102 yards, 7 TD, 5 INT; 36 att, 175 yards, 1 TD, 3–3 record
- Missed 11 regular season games due to being suspended after dozens of lawsuits alleging Watson committed sexual assault and harassment
Watson is a (alleged) rapist piece of crap who shouldn’t be playing in the NFL. Fuck him, and fuck the Browns for trading for him. Watson was downright bad last season after returning from suspension, but that is to be expected of a guy who hadn’t played a down of regular season football since 2020. If he can be who he was on the field in 2020 — when he was arguably a top 5 quarterback — he’ll be higher on this list, but there is no guarantee that he will be able to regain that form.
#10 — Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers
- 2022 Stats: 245/389 (63%), 2,404 yards, 7 TD, 9 INT; 55 att, 237 yards, 3 TD, 7–5 record
- 6th OROTY Voting
- Missed 4 regular season games as backup to Mitchell Trubisky and 1 regular season game due to injury
This is a little bit of a projection, but I thought Pickett had a really solid rookie season. He may have thrown more interceptions than touchdowns, but he improved dramatically down the stretch and got the Steelers to the brink of a playoff berth. He may never be an elite quarterback, but I think he can be a really solid starter in the NFL.
THE REST
#11 — Jimmy Garoppolo, Las Vegas Raiders
#12— Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts
#13 — C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
#14 — Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans
#15 — Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos
#16 — Mac Jones, New England Patriots
