Undeniably, the quarterback position is the most important in the NFL. It’s the player that can transform a good team into a great one (five of the last six Super Bowl MVPs have been quarterbacks), and it’s the position teams hoping to rebuild will covet the most (seven of the previous eight No.1 overall NFL Draft Picks have been quarterbacks).
By a distance, it is also the most scrutinized by fans: The first position you look for when making your fantasy picks or NFL player props for betting. If it’s enough to say it’s the key position, can we say we are in a golden era of the quarterback position? Perhaps you would argue that it has not hit the heights of the Brady-Manning-Rodgers-Brees era, but there is arguably more depth across the league. But who are the elite performers in that position heading into the new season? Below, we highlight some obvious ones and not-so-obvious ones:
- Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens)
Jackson lost out to Josh Allen for the regular-season MVP award. There was a sense that Jackson and the Ravens got hot too late in the season, and if it were just a little longer, things might have been different. He did manage to get the Football Writers’ Award, though. Nonetheless, he is the favorite for the award this season (it would be his 3rd), and he leads a Ravens organization that is also the favorite for the Super Bowl.
- Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills)
Allen has a similar mandate to Jackson: to deliver a championship for his team. He is the linchpin of a Buffalo Bills team that, while one of the best performers in recent seasons, has ultimately come up short when it mattered. Allen shares a co-favorite status with Jackson through many sportsbooks. The Bills, too, are tipped to be contenders, but the question of taking the final step remains.
- Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals)
Burrow is the first name on this list not to be part of an elite team (although nobody is suggesting the Bengals lack quality), which will probably hurt his chances of an MVP award. Nonetheless, Burrow has mainly been excellent since joining the Bengals, and it feels somewhat unfair that he got overshadowed by Jackson and Allen last season. The Bengals have an outside chance of making Super Bowl LX, and it’s almost sure that Burrow will be the catalyst to take them there.
- Jayden Daniels
Last season’s Offensive Rookie of the Year took the league by storm, leading the unfancied Washington Commanders to the Playoffs. In the 2025/26 season, a different kind of pressure awaits Daniels and his team. Plenty of rookies have had second-season syndrome, but Daniels seems to be the type to shrug off the weight of expectation. His breakout performances and the Commanders’ prediction-busting form make both he and Washington ones to watch this upcoming season.
- Patrick Mahomes
Mahomes could easily be on the top of this list, and it’s worth remembering that the two-time MVP (and three-time Super Bowl MVP) is still in his twenties. Yet, the Chiefs, despite making the Super Bowl, looked lethargic at many points last season, winning games with nous and experience rather than bulldozing teams. Mahomes was at the heart of that – his knack of knowing how to win ugly is unsurpassed. However, the Chiefs have issues to work out this season, and it will be interesting to see how Mahomes reacts.
- Jalen Hurts
There’s a massive gap between Hurts and the top five on this list in the regular season MVP betting odds. Still, it was only six months ago that a fantastic Hurts was leading the Eagles to the Super Bowl, winning the SB MVP award. Significant changes have occurred in the champions’ roster, although the offense remains largely intact. Again, it will be interesting to see whether Hurts can pick up from where he left off, but if the Eagles fire again, he might be the value bet.
