Every year, the weeks before the regular season turn into a referendum on quarterbacks. Not just who is best overall, but who can do the little, ugly, brilliant things that separate a good passer from a truly frightening one. That is exactly what Dan Orlovsky has leaned into again for the 2026 NFL season, releasing the third edition of his annual ranking of the NFL's best quarterbacks by specific skills.
The appeal is obvious. Trait-by-trait rankings are a cleaner, sharper way of judging the position than the usual all-purpose argument about who is No. 1. They force the conversation away from reputation and toward execution. And in Orlovsky's latest top 10, the most striking theme is simple enough: Josh Allen and Matthew Stafford keep showing up at the top because they keep doing the hardest things well.
A ranking built on specific quarterback weapons
This is not a list about total value. It is about individual traits, which is why it matters. Orlovsky's 2026 exercise breaks quarterbacks into seven different traits, with a No. 1 in each category and a top 10 around them. That makes it a useful snapshot of how the league's elite passers are being viewed before the 2026 NFL season begins on Sept. 6, when the Patriots meet the reigning champion Seattle Seahawks in a Super Bowl LX rematch.
That kind of opening-week stage only adds to the weight of the debate. When the season is that close, these rankings are not empty offseason noise. They are a reminder of who is being trusted to carry the biggest moments.
Josh Allen and Matthew Stafford keep setting the standard
Allen's presence at No. 1 in multiple categories is hardly a shock, because his profile has always been built on power, creativity and the ability to make broken plays look routine. Orlovsky's praise of Stafford, though, is the more revealing part of the story. The Los Angeles Rams quarterback was the 2025 NFL MVP, and this ranking reinforces why he still draws such respect from people who study the position closely.
Orlovsky highlighted Stafford's ability to generate zip from uncomfortable positions, saying he can flick his wrist and drive the ball to a receiver “on a rope.” He also pointed to the repeatable nature of Stafford's throwing motion, stressing that defenses do not know what is coming because every throw looks the same until the release. That consistency, and the tight connection between his upper and lower body, is what allows him to pull off the no-look throws that still make defenders look helpless.
That is the important distinction here. Stafford is not being rewarded for aesthetics. He is being rewarded for precision under pressure, and for making difficult mechanics look almost boringly reliable. In a league obsessed with arm talent, that remains elite quarterbacking.
What the rankings really say about the league
The broader message is that the conversation around quarterbacks is becoming more nuanced, not less. Joe Burrow, Drake Maye and Lamar Jackson all belong in the orbit of these discussions because Orlovsky's framework is built to separate distinct strengths rather than flatten everyone into one generic pecking order. That is the point. Different quarterbacks dominate different parts of the game, and pretending otherwise is how analysis gets lazy.
There is also something refreshing about the honesty of the exercise. It does not care whether a name is fashionable. It asks who is best at specific tasks. That means the league's biggest stars still have to prove themselves in the details, and that is where Allen and Stafford keep separating from the pack.
So yes, this is a preseason ranking. But it is one with real value because it captures the truth about quarterback evaluation right now: the best passers are not just the ones with the loudest reputation. They are the ones who can make the impossible look repeatable. On that score, Josh Allen and Matthew Stafford remain very much in the conversation — and in several cases, right at the top of it.
