Our annual quarterback ranking series is back, which can only mean one thing. The NFL season is edging ever closer.

In just over two months, the 2026 NFL season begins, as the Seattle Seahawks look to defend their Super Bowl title.

They will kick off the season against the New England Patriots in the first ever season opener to be played on a Wednesday, a result of the NFL’s first ever game in Australia.

This will be just the third time in history that a season opener will feature the two teams who played in the most recent Super Bowl.

In February, the Patriots were defeated by the Seahawks in Super Bowl 60 at Levi’s Stadium, revenge for their Super Bowl defeat 11 years earlier.

The Patriots will want to prove they are not a one season wonder, looking to avoid the ‘Schedule Merchant’ tagline that has been placed on them.

This is a division that feels very top heavy, one the Patriots will want to repeat in 2026, but how is the current landscape of quarterbacking in the AFC East?

Here is a ranking from four to one of each starting quarterback in the division.

The New York Jets are once again starting an NFL season with a new quarterback under centre.

Last year, Justin Field, Tyrod Taylor and Brady Cook shared the load. In 2024, Aaron Rodgers was just the second quarterback since 2010 to be the sole contributor in the position during a season. In 2023, as a result of the four-time MVP’s season ending injury in Week One, Zach Wilson was the starter in New Jersey, with Trevor Siemian and Tim Boyle also getting opportunities.

This year, they have given the reigns to Geno Smith, who returns to the organisation for a second spell after an eight-season absence. He goes into the 2026 season off the back of one of his worst campaigns as an NFL quarterback.

A lot has changed since Smith last played for the Jets.

In 2022, after just four starts in four seasons (and just once in his last two campaigns with the Jets before this), he beat Drew Lock to the starting role after Russell Wilson’s trade to the Denver Broncos. He subsequently won NFL Comeback Player of the Year that season.

Things soon turned stale in Seattle for Smith and he was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2025 offseason, reunited with former head coach Pete Carroll.

Whilst his replacement Sam Darnold won a Super Bowl with the team, he guided the Raiders to a two-win campaign and the first overall pick. He ended the season with 3,025 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in 15 starts.

He will be joining a team with better receivers to throw to, with Garrett Wilson one of the best wideouts in the league. Omar Cooper Jr, who helped the Indiana Hoosiers to a National Championship, was selected in this year’s NFL Draft. Despite this, there is significant question marks as to whether Smith can thrive as a Jets quarterback in his second spell. With worrying off the field reports coming out in recent weeks, there is always a possibility that he may not even get the chance to suit up in 2026.

The Miami Dolphins ended the Tua Tagovailoa experiment this offseason, suffering significant dead cap as a result. In his place is Malik Willis, who joins after impressing as a backup for the Green Bay Packers. He is reunited with new Dolphins head coach and general manager duo of Jeff Hafley and Jon-Eric Sullivan, who he worked with in Wisconsin.

Willis now gets his second chance to be an NFL starter, and a three-year $67.5 million deal suggests that the Dolphins front office have the upmost confidence in the former Liberty quarterback.

The third quarterback off the board in 2022, Willis was selected 86th overall by the Tennessee Titans. However, he played more times in the NFL as the backup to Jordan Love in Green Bay than he did for the Titans.

In only a couple of seasons in Nashville, he played in 11 games but only three were as a starter. He did not throw a single touchdown pass as a Titan, with just one rushing touchdown to account for.

Despite impressing as the Packers backup, he only has six passing touchdowns to his name throughout his four-year career. There is a concern from Dolphins fans that they may have overpaid, but the story of Darnold in Minnesota and Seattle should also give them hope.

Darnold had time to learn as the San Francisco 49ers backup, before excelling with the Minnesota Vikings and Seahawks. Baker Mayfield also saw massive improvement after working with a renowned head coach in Sean McVay during his short stint with the Los Angeles Rams.

Now that Willis has been coached by Matt LaFleur, could this be the experience he needed. Despite the strong upside, he has not done enough to be above the other two quarterbacks in the AFC East.

2025 was a standout year for Drake Maye.

Despite going 3-9 in his rookie year, he guided the Patriots to a 14-3 record in the 2025 season. They earnt the second seed in the AFC and would secure a place in Super Bowl LX.

Maye threw for 4,394 yards, 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions, whilst also showcasing his ability with his legs, rushing for four touchdowns.

His Super Bowl defeat will be a wakeup call, significantly struggling against the Seahawks defense in Santa Clara.

He will learn a lot from it, and now has a shiny new weapon to throw to in AJ Brown, who has already played and scored in two Super Bowls.

His deep ball is something to be admired, and he has a great knack for using his legs at the right time. Despite this encouraging season, he has a lot of work to do if he wants to get to that number one spot.

Not only is Josh Allen the best quarterback in the AFC East, but he is arguably the best in the entire NFL.

Allen had a difficult start to life in the NFL, but he has gone on leaps and bounds since the beginning of the 2020 season.

At time of writing, Allen has 30,102 passing yards, 220 passing touchdowns and 94 interceptions, with 4,000-yard campaigns in four of his eight seasons in the league. He has been the number one ranked QB in Fantasy Football four times, and second once.

Allen also has most rushing touchdowns for a quarterback in NFL history, his 79 edging out Cam Newton’s 75, which is very likely to be extended in 2026. He also ranks sixth all-time for rushing yards in the position (4,721), with a lot of work to do if he wants to catch up Lamar Jackson’s 6,522.

A four-time Pro Bowler, Allen has also been named MVP, going from strength to strength.

The one thing that remains to elude Allen in his NFL career is lack of postseason success. He is 8-7 in the playoffs, as opposed to his 88-39 record in the regular season. So far, he has failed to reach a Super Bowl, despite two AFC Championship appearances.

His one kryptonite is the Kansas City Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes, with a 0-4 record against him in the playoffs. This is despite a 5-1 record in regular season bouts.

The Chiefs failed to make the playoffs last season, but he could not get past the Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round. With the AFC weaker than it has been in many years, Allen may feel that the 2026 is his chance to finally reach a Super Bowl.

Nevertheless, he is easily the best quarterback in the AFC East.

Andy Davies

Ranking AFC East quarterbacks in 2026

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