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PFF Quarterback Rankings: All 32 starters ahead of the 2023 NFL season
1. PATRICK MAHOMES, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Mahomes is the standard by which all NFL quarterbacks are now measured. With Manning and Brady now names of the past, Mahomes is the new benchmark pushing the boundaries of what we have seen previously. Since coming into the league, he has 191 big-time throws including the postseason, the most in the NFL. He has also passed for 8.1 yards per attempt, a figure only quarterbacks playing for Kyle Shanahan have surpassed over the same span.
2. JOSH ALLEN, BUFFALO BILLS
If Mahomes is the obvious starting point, the next two spots are a toss-up between Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow. Each player is capable of elite play and outstanding levels, but the tiebreaker is Allen's rushing ability. It may not be a deal-breaker in every game, but there will be gotta-have-it situations where Allen is virtually unstoppable because of how many different ways he can beat a defense. Burrow can’t bring that to the table.
3. JOE BURROW, CINCINNATI BENGALS
Burrow has led the league in PFF passing grade (by fractions) in each of the past two regular seasons. He has shown that, while everybody might be chasing special athletes at the position, just putting the ball in the right place at the right time is still capable of transformative play at the position. He has a career 77.1% adjusted completion rate, and his turnover-worthy play rate has gone down in each of his NFL seasons.
4. JUSTIN HERBERT, LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
This is a big year for Herbert to justify the hype that has surrounded him since his phenomenal rookie season. We have seen glimpses of what he is capable of, but he passed for just 6.8 yards per attempt last season and finished eighth in PFF passing grade. Kellen Moore's arrival as the Chargers' offensive coordinator could be the key that fully unlocks Herbert, and if he is, this is where Herbert belongs.
5. AARON RODGERS, NEW YORK JETS
We are only a year removed from Rodgers coming off back-to-back MVP seasons, but at 39 years old any downturn in performance inevitably raises questions about whether this is the beginning of the end. The New York Jets should have a better supporting cast than Rodgers had last year in Green Bay, and he will know the offense, so I expect it to be a bounce-back season for the veteran.
6. LAMAR JACKSON, BALTIMORE RAVENS
Jackson is a former league MVP. He’s also coming off consecutive injury-marred seasons and is changing offensive systems for the first time in his NFL career. Greg Roman built a bespoke offense around Jackson, but now Jackson has to adapt his game to a more conventional offense under Todd Monken. How Jackson fares this season will go a long way toward cementing his position in rankings like these, one way or another.
7. JALEN HURTS, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Hurts was phenomenal in 2022, but the hardest part of that kind of play in the NFL is sustaining it. Lamar Jackson one spot above him is a great example of that. Hurts has taken big steps forward every season of his career, and if he has another one in the tank, then he is ranked too low at No. 7. Hurts averaged 8.0 yards per attempt last season and added almost 800 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground.
8. TREVOR LAWRENCE, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
Lawrence arrived last season. It took him half the year to get the Urban Meyer residue off, but from Week 9 onward, only Burrow and Mahomes earned a higher PFF grade. Billed as a truly generational talent when he was drafted, Lawrence showed that ability in 2022, and the Jaguars have continued to surround him with talent this offseason.
9. KIRK COUSINS, MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Cousins is probably at the top of the second tier of quarterbacks — those who you can win with but are unlikely to transform a team into a contender simply by their presence. Cousins has earned a PFF passing grade of at least 77.7 every season in Minnesota. He is an exceptionally accurate passer with plenty of big plays in his arsenal who maybe lacks that transcendent, intangible talent that every team chases at the position.
10. DAK PRESCOTT, DALLAS COWBOYS
Prescott has shown himself to be one of the most sensitive quarterbacks in the league to changes in his supporting cast. His overall PFF grade has ranged from 71.8 to 85.2 over his career, and those changes tend to go hand in hand with the level of receiving help and blocking in front of him. Prescott’s turnover-worthy play rate has been above 3.0% in each of the past four seasons, but when at his best he can lead one of the top offenses in the game.
11. TUA TAGOVAILOA, MIAMI DOLPHINS
Can Tua back up what we saw in 2022, or was his play beginning to be found out anyway when concussions became the overriding factor in his season? That’s the big question for him and Miami heading into 2023. Tua led the league with a massive 8.9 yards per attempt last season and also had one of the highest average depths of target, having been in the middle of the pack before that. He has elite potential within Mike McDaniel’s offense but now needs to repeat it.
How do you feel about PFF’s rankings?
Do you think Tua should be ranked higher, lower, or is he where he should be at?
1. PATRICK MAHOMES, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Mahomes is the standard by which all NFL quarterbacks are now measured. With Manning and Brady now names of the past, Mahomes is the new benchmark pushing the boundaries of what we have seen previously. Since coming into the league, he has 191 big-time throws including the postseason, the most in the NFL. He has also passed for 8.1 yards per attempt, a figure only quarterbacks playing for Kyle Shanahan have surpassed over the same span.
2. JOSH ALLEN, BUFFALO BILLS
If Mahomes is the obvious starting point, the next two spots are a toss-up between Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow. Each player is capable of elite play and outstanding levels, but the tiebreaker is Allen's rushing ability. It may not be a deal-breaker in every game, but there will be gotta-have-it situations where Allen is virtually unstoppable because of how many different ways he can beat a defense. Burrow can’t bring that to the table.
3. JOE BURROW, CINCINNATI BENGALS
Burrow has led the league in PFF passing grade (by fractions) in each of the past two regular seasons. He has shown that, while everybody might be chasing special athletes at the position, just putting the ball in the right place at the right time is still capable of transformative play at the position. He has a career 77.1% adjusted completion rate, and his turnover-worthy play rate has gone down in each of his NFL seasons.
4. JUSTIN HERBERT, LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
This is a big year for Herbert to justify the hype that has surrounded him since his phenomenal rookie season. We have seen glimpses of what he is capable of, but he passed for just 6.8 yards per attempt last season and finished eighth in PFF passing grade. Kellen Moore's arrival as the Chargers' offensive coordinator could be the key that fully unlocks Herbert, and if he is, this is where Herbert belongs.
5. AARON RODGERS, NEW YORK JETS
We are only a year removed from Rodgers coming off back-to-back MVP seasons, but at 39 years old any downturn in performance inevitably raises questions about whether this is the beginning of the end. The New York Jets should have a better supporting cast than Rodgers had last year in Green Bay, and he will know the offense, so I expect it to be a bounce-back season for the veteran.
6. LAMAR JACKSON, BALTIMORE RAVENS
Jackson is a former league MVP. He’s also coming off consecutive injury-marred seasons and is changing offensive systems for the first time in his NFL career. Greg Roman built a bespoke offense around Jackson, but now Jackson has to adapt his game to a more conventional offense under Todd Monken. How Jackson fares this season will go a long way toward cementing his position in rankings like these, one way or another.
7. JALEN HURTS, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Hurts was phenomenal in 2022, but the hardest part of that kind of play in the NFL is sustaining it. Lamar Jackson one spot above him is a great example of that. Hurts has taken big steps forward every season of his career, and if he has another one in the tank, then he is ranked too low at No. 7. Hurts averaged 8.0 yards per attempt last season and added almost 800 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground.
8. TREVOR LAWRENCE, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
Lawrence arrived last season. It took him half the year to get the Urban Meyer residue off, but from Week 9 onward, only Burrow and Mahomes earned a higher PFF grade. Billed as a truly generational talent when he was drafted, Lawrence showed that ability in 2022, and the Jaguars have continued to surround him with talent this offseason.
9. KIRK COUSINS, MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Cousins is probably at the top of the second tier of quarterbacks — those who you can win with but are unlikely to transform a team into a contender simply by their presence. Cousins has earned a PFF passing grade of at least 77.7 every season in Minnesota. He is an exceptionally accurate passer with plenty of big plays in his arsenal who maybe lacks that transcendent, intangible talent that every team chases at the position.
10. DAK PRESCOTT, DALLAS COWBOYS
Prescott has shown himself to be one of the most sensitive quarterbacks in the league to changes in his supporting cast. His overall PFF grade has ranged from 71.8 to 85.2 over his career, and those changes tend to go hand in hand with the level of receiving help and blocking in front of him. Prescott’s turnover-worthy play rate has been above 3.0% in each of the past four seasons, but when at his best he can lead one of the top offenses in the game.
11. TUA TAGOVAILOA, MIAMI DOLPHINS
Can Tua back up what we saw in 2022, or was his play beginning to be found out anyway when concussions became the overriding factor in his season? That’s the big question for him and Miami heading into 2023. Tua led the league with a massive 8.9 yards per attempt last season and also had one of the highest average depths of target, having been in the middle of the pack before that. He has elite potential within Mike McDaniel’s offense but now needs to repeat it.
How do you feel about PFF’s rankings?
Do you think Tua should be ranked higher, lower, or is he where he should be at?
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