| 1 |
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| The magician is back on top. He and Josh Allen are truly 1A and 1B, and the Bills star actually has the leg up when it comes to the ground game. But Mahomes’ unfazed influence on everyone around him is so apparent in Andy Reid’s offense, allowing the Chiefs to make scoring look easy whenever and however they’d like. (+1) |
| 2 |
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| From strictly a passing perspective, he and Mahomes are eerily similar. Both QBs are completing 66.9 percent of their throws, averaging 8.2 yards per attempt, and they’ve combined for 37 TDs against just nine picks. MVP material. (-1) |
| 3 |
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| Sorry, but if you were slotting QBs onto neutral squads, A-Rod would still warrant our trust. Put him on the Bills or Chiefs, and he’s in the MVP conversation right now. The arm and touch are intact; the help from Green Bay is not. |
| 4 |
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| All of a sudden another title bid from Cincinnati doesn’t feel out of the question, mainly because Burrow has really found his groove as the elite ball-handler he is. Watching him place passes to his stud receivers is a work of art. (+1) |
| 5 |
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| Like Rodgers, we’d still take TB12 in a heartbeat if he were operating in a functional offense. Only Mahomes comes close to matching his crunch-time wiring. And yet, with elite skill and talent at his disposal, he is increasingly falling victim to poor game planning. (-1) |
| 6 |
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| As always, it comes down to his sheer playmaking ability: no one moves like he does at this position, and more often than not, it makes up for whatever inconsistencies there are in his aerial attack. (+1) |
| 7 |
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| It’s officially time to peg him a notch or two below Burrow, his fellow AFC up-and-comer. The Chargers are partially to blame, what with their injury-riddled supporting cast and wonky play-calling/decision-making. You love the laser arm, but you expect a bit more to come from it. (-1) |
| 8 |
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| Unflappable as they come, Hurts has a real chance to cement himself as the face of the franchise over the second half of the year, when he must prove his growth as a passer is as sustainable as his hard-fought rushing ability. |
| 9 |
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| His return to the lineup against Detroit was predictably rusty, but Dak does too many little things well over the long haul to prefer many of his fellow upper-middle-tier starters. |
| 10 |
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| Give him shoddy protection, and his penchant for untimely gambles will worsen. Give him something even close to the setup the Rams enjoyed in 2021, and his arm will keep Los Angeles in the hunt division. |
| 11 |
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| You can see a common thread with most of these guys after, oh, the top eight or so QBs on this list: an increasing dependence on surroundings. Cousins is the prototype — perfectly efficient enough to win games, but not necessarily on his own. |
| 12 |
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| We’ve now had enough of a sample size to see that Geno is, in fact, a different QB from the one who stumbled around a bad Jets team years ago. Whatever his long-term prospects are, he’s throwing everywhere — off-base, from the pocket, on the run — with such precision and confidence that, right now, he can’t be ignored. (+6) |
| 13 |
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| Every snap in Arizona feels like a bomb waiting to go off, for better or worse. Murray and Kliff Kingsbury are a dynamite bunch in that one second they’re screaming at each other for absent-minded strategy, and the next they’re celebrating a highlight-reel scramble. Exciting, but volatile. (-1) |
| 14 |
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| The Raiders are improving by becoming Josh Jacobs’ show, which is bittersweet in its revelation about Carr: forever capable of elite streaks and late-game comeback efforts, he’s inconsistent on the whole. |
| 15 |
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| Is he broken, or are the Broncos? Or are they working in tandem to fall apart? No answer is a good one. It’s hard to imagine Russ looking so erratic if he happened to play for, say, Brian Daboll’s Giants, but his health and confidence are worth monitoring. (-2) |
| 16 |
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| The 49ers’ loss to the Chiefs showcased the full Jimmy G experience: hot start early, leaning on the run, but once the game script required him to throw his way into a battle with Mahomes, the ill-advised heaves into traffic quickly emerged. (-1) |
| 17 |
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| He’ll tough it out in an effort to stay on the field after hurting his ankle in Week 7, but you wonder what the Titans offense might look like with Malik Willis, a real threat to take off, as Derrick Henry’s complement. (-1) |
| 18 |
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| The biggest concern is whether he can protect himself after such a scary string of injuries. Nearly as big: whether he can correct timing issues that nearly robbed the Dolphins of a prime-time win against the Steelers. |
| 19 |
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| So much for the Jags stealing the AFC South. All in all, Lawrence is more comfortable slinging it out there. But he still feels another year away from fully coming into his own as a decision-maker. |
| 20 |
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| Every week, he gets a little closer to earning another shot as Brian Daboll’s QB beyond 2022. You wonder if/when he’ll be tasked with winning a game through the air, but for now, the athleticism and ball control has been inspiring. (+2) |
| 21 |
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| Who knew that the Bears could actually move the ball by leaning on Fields’ best attribute: his mobility? The QB still has room to grow his shooting downfield, but a better WR corps would help there. He had the best night of his career upsetting the Patriots in Foxborough, so the future is suddenly much brighter. (+6) |
| 22 |
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| Believe it or not, there’s some Carson Wentz in his game: a never-say-die hunger for the big play. The difference is, he brings more on the margins, extending plays with his legs and dumping it off when he has to. (+2) |
| 23 |
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| The results weren’t there for the rookie against the Dolphins, but as always, the belief was there. He should keep getting better as a decision-maker. His tools, especially when it comes to navigating the pocket, are promising. (-3) |
| 24 |
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| Who knows what Bill Belichick will do here after Bailey Zappe’s energetic but ultimately deflating relief appearance on Monday night? Jones is such a tough evaluation right now: his comfort looks sapped amid their setup, but he’s still capable of precision strikes when given time. |
| 25 |
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| Remember when he was lighting up the stat sheet as the Lions played catch-up earlier this year? Good times. Now, Detroit suddenly and increasingly looks like one of the top candidates to pursue a true face of the franchise come 2023. |
| 26 |
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| At this point, it’s a major, major victory for the Browns if Brissett just doesn’t turn the ball over in a close game. He’s got an accurate streak in him, but again, when you ask him to shoulder an offense for months at a time, the limitations are clear. (+4) |
| 27 |
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| Do not, under any circumstances, ask him to throw it to win a game. That’s what the Falcons seem to think, anyway. At least he’s always got juice on the move. (+1) |
| 28 |
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| An erratic turnover magnet in his previous emergency action, Walker looked like a new man against the Bucs, of all teams, throwing loosely and accurately to enliven Carolina’s offense. He should remain under center indefinitely. (+4) |
| 29 |
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| What, exactly, is the former first-rounder bringing to the Jets offense except the mere threat of an athletic scramble? How New York approaches this position if the wins keep piling up but he keeps remaining a background piece will be fascinating. (-3) |
| 30 |
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| He brought some of his best stuff in the Texans’ Week 7 loss to the Raiders. Now, will Houston keep his supporting cast intact even as the trade deadline approaches? (+1) |
| 31 |
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| The Colts are throwing caution to the wind by benching Matt Ryan in favor of unproven athletic upside here, but maybe he’s got some Taylor Heinicke spunk to save Indy’s rushing attack. |
| 32 |
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| Jameis Winston may be ready to return, in which case Dennis Allen will have to decide between one injury- and turnover-riddled veteran and another. (-3) |
