The most important player on any football team — no matter how much they like to focus on the running game or defense — is the quarterback. Dynasties rise and fall with the fortunes of that position, so it makes sense to get an idea of how good those quarterbacks are compared to each other.
Halfway through the NFL season, which quarterbacks have proven themselves among the league’s best, and which ones have fallen to the wayside? Let’s take a look at our QB Power Rankings, which are split into different tiers.
2022 QB Power Rankings | Tier 1: Elite
1) Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
There are few quarterbacks that have Mahomes’ arm strength, accuracy, and escapability. But none have that and his spatial awareness or situational understanding.
2) Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
At the beginning of the season, there was a bit of a gap between Allen and Mahomes, but Allen’s continued improvement has been remarkable, and he has a serious claim for the No. 1 spot.
3) Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
Hurts has proven he can play at a consistently high level. Like Lamar Jackson, he’s done an excellent job mixing in his improvements as a passer with his threat as a runner.
2022 QB Power Rankings | Tier 2: Franchise
4) Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
After a somewhat rocky return from injury, Tagovailoa is back to playing quarterback at a high level and demonstrates surprising and deadly deep-ball capability.
5) Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Burrow has figured his way out of his slow start and has been doing a better job navigating the pocket, leading to some of the most explosive offensive football in the NFL.
6) Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
Jackson is doing so much with so little, and his production is seemingly in spite of the position he’s put in. But late-game mistakes this year have prevented him from entering elite territory.
7) Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
Right now, Geno Smith is playing some fairly incredible football and not in the way many elevated backups do – he’s taking chances, navigating muddy situations, and digging the team out of trouble. And he’s doing it week after week.
2022 QB Power Rankings | Tier 3: Above Average
8) Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
It seems like Herbert was finding his rhythm at the same time Burrow was but ran into the wall of Chargers injuries along the offense. It’s a tougher task now, but his individual play has been impressive.
9) Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Prescott has now strung together multiple quarters of football where he has demonstrated the high level of play that made him so intriguing not too long ago and is now playing excellent football.
10) Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings
If Cousins had played this year with just a little more consistency, he’d be in another tier of quarterback entirely. His highs have been very high, but the lows are still worrisome. Still, he’s overcome some of his biggest criticisms, like his performance in the clutch.
11) Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It’s hard to see a legend seemingly decline — and maybe he’ll recover it later this season — but for now, Brady’s playing ineffective football and can’t trust the people around him.
12) Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
Lawrence has been playing better than his statistics, though he’s still subject to errors from hero-ball. A better supporting cast should help with more consistent play.
13) Daniel Jones, New York Giants
The Jones we saw at the start of the season and the one we’ve seen for the past several weeks are entirely different players. For now, we’ll trust the most recent results, which have been spectacular.
MORE: OL Power Rankings 2022
14) Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
Rodgers could be correct that there are too many mental errors on the Packers, but he also doesn’t seem to adjust his style of play for those around him. On a roster like this, that’s a flaw.
15) Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers
Kyle Shanahan has figured out a way to accommodate Garoppolo’s weakness in obvious passing situations and has cobbled together a dynamic passing offense. But those weaknesses are still there.
2022 QB Power Rankings | Tier 4: Useful, But Limited
16) Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans
Tannehill struggled to start off the season, but he’s settled into a rhythm and playing more efficient football – though not quite yet at the heights he’s reached earlier with the team.
17) Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders
It took a bit of time for Carr to figure out how exactly to use Davante Adams and still properly distribute the ball to the other receivers on the roster, but the offense can flow more consistently now.
18) Justin Fields, Chicago Bears
Now that Fields has strung together four excellent games of football, it might be fair to say he’s becoming a franchise quarterback. We’ll see if he stays there.
19) Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
When you squint, you can see shades of Mahomes in Murray’s style of play. The issue is that Murray doesn’t attack every area of the field or have the same spatial or situational awareness.
2022 QB Power Rankings | Tier 5: Concerning
19) Andy Dalton, New Orleans Saints
It’s been a few years since Dalton was efficient when compared to other starters, but that’s certainly what it looks like now without much of a receiving corps to throw it to.
20) Jacoby Brissett, Cleveland Browns
Brissett was doing well as a caretaker quarterback before Deshaun Watson’s return but hasn’t kept up his level of play, as more pressure has been put on him to carry the offense.
21) Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
Stafford certainly has his moments, but there should be more consistency between those moments for him to earn consideration as an effective quarterback.
22) P.J. Walker, Carolina Panthers
Now that Walker has put more reps on tape to evaluate, we can get a better sense of who he is. While that turns out to be much better than many backup quarterbacks around the NFL, it’s still not very good.
23) Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos have a top-three defense in the league and can’t win games. That’s damning on the offense and the quarterback.
24) Marcus Mariota, Atlanta Falcons
Arthur Smith has gotten everything he can out of Mariota, but there are still clearly limitations on what he can do at quarterback.
25) Mac Jones, New England Patriots
Jones wasn’t given the best opportunities this year, but he can do a bit more than Zappe, which expands the offense. He still needs to be more decisive.
26) Taylor Heinicke, Washington Commanders
Heinicke has been a fun quarterback to watch, and he can string together some incredible drives, but until he fixes his tendency to blunder at the worst moments, he won’t be a starting-quality quarterback.
28) Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
Goff doesn’t get very much credit for what he does with the Lions, and though he’s not an incredible quarterback, he’s not an afterthought either.
2022 QB Power Rankings | Tier 6: Liabilities
28) Bailey Zappe, New England Patriots
Zappe is excellent at throws under 20 yards but really struggles to push the ball. His decision-making and accuracy stand out, and he has been an excellent game manager.
29) Matt Ryan, Indianapolis Colts
Ryan didn’t look too bad in his return to the starting lineup with Parks Frazier calling the plays and Jeff Saturday as the head coach. But it’s hard to trust that this is long-term.
30) Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers
We’re beginning to see the limitations that kept Picket out of consideration for most teams, but the possibilities are intriguing. Pickett is more a product of his receivers at this point than his own talent.
31) Zach Wilson, New York Jets
The Jets are winning, but without Breece Hall in the lineup, it’s fair to ask if they can continue. Wilson has a great arm but can’t do much with it to create dynamic offense.
32) Davis Mills, Houston Texans
It was fair for Houston to wait to see what they had in Davis Mills, who seems to be much better than most backup quarterbacks. Unfortunately, that by itself is not enough to build around.
33) Baker Mayfield, Carolina Panthers
Mayfield discourse is about to start up once more after a viral headbutt, and a return to the starting lineup will make him a topic of discussion. That’s too bad because he’s not actually that good anymore.
