NFL Quarterback Rankings Week 7: The Best Five And Worst Five Through Six Weeks

As we pass the one-third mark of the NFL season, stronger and stronger narratives are being formed around the league’s quarterbacks. Here are the top five and bottom five quarterbacks in the National Football League right now.

28. Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans

Season Stats: 98/158, 62.0%, 1,126 yds, 2 TD 6 INT

Veterans who have had success in the past get some leeway in these rankings to start the year, but Ryan Tannehill’s rope has run out. After taking young quarterbacks Malik Willis in the third round and Will Levis in the second round in the last two drafts, it may be time to let these guys play.

Tannehill was never elite, but he’s been an above-average starter as the Titans have been a perennial playoff team the last few years. That is no longer the case. Tannehill looks slow going through his reads, and is turning the ball over too much for a guy who doesn’t push the ball down the field a lot. He left Sunday’s uninspiring performance against the Ravens with an injury, and if I were the Titans, I’d find out what I have in the two youngsters.

29. Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers

Season Stats: 95/159, 59.5%, 1,027 yds, 5 TD 4 INT

Pickett and the Steelers were on bye in week 6, and the last we saw him he led a game-winning drive against the Baltimore Ravens. But, That doesn’t excuse his play as a whole, which has been among the worst in the league. Pittsburgh is hoping he starts playing better soon, or else it may once again waste one of the league’s best defenses.

30. Desmond Ridder, Atlanta Falcons

Season Stats: 130/203, 64.0%, 1,380 yds, 6 TD 6 INT

Desmond Ridder was never going to be anywhere close to the top of this list. But, early in the season, he was managing the game and not making huge mistakes as the Falcons were 3-1 to start. But, as he’s been asked to do more in the offense, it’s become quite clear that he’s not a guy you can build around long-term, especially given how much they’ve invested in their skill positions there.

That was on display in the team’s 24-16 loss to the Washington Commanders over the weekend. Ridder actually did a better job of moving the ball through the air with 307 passing yards. The problem is, he simply cannot be trusted to do that, as he had three interceptions as well. He’s going to be in the NFL for a long time as a fringe starter and good backup, but that’s all I think he will ever be.

31. Mac Jones, New England Patriots

Season Stats: 129/201, 64.2%, 1,208 yds, 5 TD 7 INT

It wasn’t a complete disaster for Mac Jones, which it had been in weeks 4 and 5. But, he didn’t do enough, even accounting for the wonderful deep ball he threw to DeVante Parker late in the game that was dropped, to move himself off the bottom five.

When you throw interceptions into quadruple coverage on a ten-yard route, that’s going to hurt you when it comes to grading time. And, after the Parker drop, he immediately took a safety which all-but ended the game on a play where he has to show more pocket awareness than what he did. He’s a limited player physically, so he’s got to win with his decision-making and instincts. He’s simply not doing that so far this year.

32. Daniel Jones, New York Giants

Season Stats: 104/151, 68.9%, 884 yds, 2 TD 6 INT

Daniel Jones missed Sunday’s game against the Bills due to injury, but he still found a way to look bad.

That’s because, with backup Tyrod Taylor starting, the Giants’ atrocious offensive line suddenly looked not-so-bad. They were up against the league’s leaders in team sacks, but Taylor was sacked just three times. Jones had been sacked at least three times in each contest so far, with four of the five having been well over three sacks. Sacks are every bit of a quarterback stat as an offensive line stat, and Tyrod Taylor seemed much more adept at getting through his reads quickly and identifying pressure pre-snap and post-snap than Jones has been.

5. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

Season Stats: 125/182, 68.6%, 1,333 yds, 9 TD 2 INT

Justin Herbert had a golden opportunity on Monday Night Football to leap higher in these rankings, but he missed some pretty important throws at some important times. If it wasn’t for the weak play this week of some other top-five contenders, he would have slipped out.

Herbert missed Keenan Allen on a double-move where Allen’s defender slipped. An on-target throw is likely a walk-in touchdown for Keenan Allen, but Herbert overthrew him. And, on a crucial third and goal play, a layup throw to Austin Ekeler was thrown well behind the running back, allowing him to be tackled short of the goal line. He would find a wide open Gerald Everett on the next play, but those were both bad misses. And, he threw an interception to end the game, as the Chargers dropped to 2-3.

But, his body of work this year has been incredibly strong. Watching him play, he absolutely feels like one of the few elite quarterbacks in the league. And, his performance against Dallas was not a complete disaster. It just wasn’t necessarily up to his standards.

4. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills

Season Stats: 147/205, 71.7%, 1,576 yds, 13 TD 6 INT

Sunday night’s 14-9 win over the New York Giants was far from pretty for Josh Allen, but most of it is not his fault.

At this point, the Bills’ game plan on offense seems to be hope that Josh Allen makes some plays out of system, because very little is schemed up for easy completions for this offense. Compare the easy completions available for guys like Brock Purdy in San Francisco and Tua Tagovailoa in Miami, and you will understand what I mean.

That makes what Allen is doing this year even more impressive. He’s rebounded from an up-and-down end to the season last year to re-establish himself as one of the league’s best.

3. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions

Season Stats: 141/203, 69.5%, 1,618 yds, 11 TD 3 INT

Jared Goff was more-or-less thrown into the Rams’ trade with the Lions to acquire Matthew Stafford prior to the 2021 season as salary cap filler. Despite having a great season in 2018, and leading Los Angeles to the Super Bowl in the 2019 season, a lackluster 2020 made Sean McVay want to go in another direction.

The Rams certainly don’t regret that move, as Stafford led them to Super Bowl glory. But, the Lions are loving it too, as Goff appears to be more than a stopgap in Detroit and is looking like the long-term solution.

Goff has been above-average for nearly all of his tenure in Detroit. Now, he’s among the league’s best. Once an interception-prone quarterback, he’s got one of the lowest interception rates in the league in back-to-back season. And, if he’s not turning it over, he’s one of the best pure pocket passers in the league. They traded away one of his top weapons in TJ Hockenson last year, and he hasn’t missed a beat. His connection with Amon-Ra St. Brown is fantastic, and he will finally get 2022 12th overall pick Jameson Williams in the lineup consistently after missing most of last season with a torn ACL suffered in college and the beginning of this year with a gambling suspension.

Jared Goff could lead the 5-1 Lions to a Super Bowl title. Read that sentence again.

2. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

Season Stats: 153/224, 68.3%, 1,593 yds, 11 TD 5 INT

Plenty of people will think Patrick Mahomes is ranked too high. But, this is still the best quarterback on the planet, even if the player ahead of him is playing a little better right now.

The stats are impressive, as always. And, the team is undefeated with Travis Kelce in the lineup. Mahomes is making it work with, frankly, one of the worst wide receiver groups in the NFL, and he’s frequently making some very average players look very good in that offense.

The offense is only going to get better and better, and I think they will get him a legitimate weapon at wide receiver before the trade deadline. But, right now, there’s nothing there to knock down the best football player on the planet any lower than this.

1. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins

Season Stats: 140/197, 71.1%, 1,876 yds, 14 TD, 5 INT

Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback on the planet, but no one is playing better than Tua Tagovailoa is right now. And, he finds himself back in the top spot following another surgical performance against the Carolina Panthers.

Tua was 21/31 for 262 yards, with three touchdowns in a turnover-free performance. He’s going to have much bigger games than that statistically this year. But, he was so precise, so in control of the offense, that it was the best any quarterback played this week, in my opinion.

Watching the Dolphins offense is an absolute joy, and Tua Tagovailoa playing at an MVP level is the biggest reason why.