“He is the most unstoppable force at the quarterback position in the NFL.” – Simms on No. 1 Josh Allen
“He’s arguably the most surgical guy in the NFL from the pocket. He has a sixth sense.” – Simms on No. 2 Joe Burrow
“He’s one of the greatest quarterbacks we’ve ever seen.” – Simms on No. 3 Lamar Jackson
“He’s going to the Hall of Fame. If he wins another Super Bowl, he might be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.” – Simms on No. 5 Matthew Stafford
“If this was a different exercise and you told me I could draft one quarterback to start a franchise with right now, I’d probably pick Caleb Williams.” – Simms on No. 6 Caleb Williams
STAMFORD, Conn. – June 4, 2026 – NBC Sports’ Chris Simms concludes his countdown of the top quarterbacks in the NFL on the Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast and on “PFT Live” this week, naming 2024 NFL MVP Josh Allen of the Bills as his top quarterback in the NFL. Joe Burrow of the Bengals, two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson of the Ravens, three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs, and reigning NFL MVP Matthew Stafford of the Rams, the 2025 passing yards and passing touchdowns leader, join Allen in Simms’ top five.
CHRIS SIMMS’ NFL QUARTERBACK COUNTDOWN
| Ranking | Name | Team |
| #1 | Josh Allen | Buffalo Bills |
| #2 | Joe Burrow | Cincinnati Bengals |
| #3 | Lamar Jackson | Baltimore Ravens |
| #4 | Patrick Mahomes | Kansas City Chiefs |
| #5 | Matthew Stafford | Los Angeles Rams |
| #6 | Caleb Williams | Chicago Bears |
| #7 | Justin Herbert | Los Angeles Chargers |
| #8 | Drake Maye | New England Patriots |
| #9 | Jayden Daniels | Washington Commanders |
| #10 | Baker Mayfield | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| #11 | Dak Prescott | Dallas Cowboys |
| #12 | Trevor Lawrence | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| #13 | Jared Goff | Detroit Lions |
| #14 | Sam Darnold | Seattle Seahawks |
| #15 | Jordan Love | Green Bay Packers |
| #16 | Bo Nix | Denver Broncos |
| #17 | Brock Purdy | San Francisco 49ers |
| #18 | Daniel Jones | Indianapolis Colts |
| #19 | Malik Willis | Miami Dolphins |
| #20 | C.J. Stroud | Houston Texans |
| #21 | Jalen Hurts | Philadelphia Eagles |
| #22 | Jaxson Dart | New York Giants |
| #23 | Cam Ward | Tennessee Titans |
| #24 | Geno Smith | New York Jets |
| #25 | Jacoby Brissett | Arizona Cardinals |
| #26 | Aaron Rodgers | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| #27 | Joe Flacco | Cincinnati Bengals |
| #28 | Tyler Shough | New Orleans Saints |
| #29 | Mac Jones | San Francisco 49ers |
| #30 | Kyler Murray | Minnesota Vikings |
| #31 | Bryce Young | Carolina Panthers |
| #32 | Michael Penix | Atlanta Falcons |
| #33 | Fernando Mendoza | Las Vegas Raiders |
| #34 | Kirk Cousins | Las Vegas Raiders |
| #35 | Marcus Mariota | Washington Commanders |
| #36 | Tua Tagovailoa | Atlanta Falcons |
| #37 | J.J. McCarthy | Minnesota Vikings |
| #38 | Davis Mills | Houston Texans |
| #39 | Deshaun Watson | Cleveland Browns |
| #40 | Jarrett Stidham | Denver Broncos |
| #41 | Shedeur Sanders | Cleveland Browns |
| #42 | Ty Simpson | Los Angeles Rams |
| #43 | Carson Beck | Arizona Cardinals |
Simms, a third-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2003 NFL Draft who played eight NFL seasons, will also offer in-depth player breakdowns and rankings explanations throughout each week on Chris Simms Unbuttoned.
Simms has had success in projecting college quarterbacks – including naming Giants’ Jaxson Dart, who was fourth in the AP’s 2025 Offensive Rookie of the Year vote, as his No. 3 QB prospect in 2025, Jayden Daniels, who was named AP’s 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year after leading the Washington Commanders to the NFC Championship Game, as his No. 2 QB prospect in 2024 (Bears’ Caleb Williams as No. 1 and Broncos’ Bo Nix as No. 3). Additionally, Simms named C.J. Stroud, who was named AP’s 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year, as his top QB prospect in 2023, Patrick Mahomes as his most exciting prospect in 2017, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen as his top-two QBs in 2018, and Justin Herbert as his No. 2 QB in 2020.
Following are highlights from this week’s edition of Chris Simms Unbuttoned:
Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (#1)
“Josh Allen is an unstoppable force. When you watch the film and you watch him back, you just go, ‘First off, he does everything awesome.’ They play and do everything through him…The whole team, everything they play is through Josh Allen…[he] just has everything right now. He’s at peak Josh Allen.”
“He is just the ultimate weapon, the ultimate quarterback right now. There’s no negatives about Josh Allen other than at times he just might try to do too much.”
“I don’t know that there’s a defensive scheme that can really contain Josh Allen right now.”
Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals (#2)
“There is the injury thing there that you talk about and is certainly a factor. When I watch Joe Burrow and he’s out there, he’s arguably the most surgical guy in the NFL from the pocket. He has a sixth sense. He never misses the target. His throwing, his accuracy is incredible…Burrow’s ability to read defenses and play some ball is really second to none when you get into the surgical part of playing quarterback in the NFL.”
Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens (#3)
“He’s one of the greatest quarterbacks we’ve ever seen.”
“He’s towards the top of the list of the guys that you’d rank of who are under the most pressure. New regime, didn’t get to the playoffs last year, still this big conversation, ‘can he get to the Super Bowl?’ They’re still a team that I sit here and look at and go, ‘I think they’re in the Super Bowl window.’ They’ve had some underwhelming playoff appearances and losses that have hurt them, too. We are spoiled with the two years before last year of just unbelievable play from the pocket and with his legs and his feet. Decisions were great. Last year, that fell off a little bit. It was definitely not one of his best years. The injury probably had something to do with that and derailed him to a degree.”
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (#4)
“His injury certainly plays into that. I don’t expect Patrick Mahomes to be totally 100% himself when he starts the year next year so that’s what made it be No. 4. Going back and watching Patrick Mahomes last year, wow, did he still play really damn good.”
“That’s what jumps through the screen. It doesn’t matter what the game is, where I watch the play, I rewind it, and nobody’s open. He’s sitting back there, he moves around and makes some crazy throw. You go, ‘They got 15 yards and I’m telling you they should’ve got 0.’ How many plays he makes where they don’t pass protect all that well either, and he still makes a quick throw somewhere and makes a guy miss, then makes a big play down the field. Doing all that with I don’t think the greatest supporting cast in the world, and no running game, and not the greatest pass protection. Some of the stats don’t look all that great but I’m here to tell you his play on the field was better than quarterback ratings and some of the stats you saw last year from Patrick Mahomes.”
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (#5)
“He’s going to the Hall of Fame. If he wins another Super Bowl, he might be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.”
“Stafford’s ability to throw the football is next level. It’s an all-time arm. He can throw it any which way he wants. He has incredible accuracy no matter what the throw is…This is one of the more gifted passers and throwers we’ve seen in the history of football. He had an incredible year last year and he made a ton of big plays and throws. That is why he was the MVP because they played through him. That offense was what it was because you had to stop Matt Stafford in the passing game first, then they could do everything else off of that.”
Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears (#6)
“If this was a different exercise and you told me I could draft one quarterback to start a franchise with right now, I’d probably pick Caleb Williams. Would I be shocked if we were sitting here next year where Caleb Williams is the No. 1 quarterback next year? Absolutely not. He’s got that type of talent.”
“That’s where he’s special. He can make plays, game-changing plays, throws, and scrambles that you go, ‘There’s only a few people in the history of the sport that can do it this way.’ He’s got the clutch gene. He’s got unbelievable physical ability. If we can match up what his negative is, to be more consistent in the second and third quarters so you don’t have to make magic late in the football game and carry the team, that’s where we’re getting to here with Caleb Williams.”
“He probably has the most powerful arm I’ve ever seen in my life on the run…Here we are with year two with the quarterback genius (Bears head coach Ben Johnson) and everything going there, I expect a huge year for Caleb Williams to make another big jump.”
Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (#7)
“It might take some playoff games and some big game moments. That’s what is missing from Justin Herbert’s career arc or timeline or resume is big unexpected wins. In the playoff games he played in, I don’t really think he was on the better team any of those years. When you’re a superstar quarterback, sometimes people don’t care. There’s definitely been playoff games where Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes weren’t on the better team and they still won. Why? Because they made it happen. I want more from Justin Herbert in that manner as well.”
“Last year, he was awesome. It’s hard to pick apart anything. When the pocket is clean and he can stand there and throw the ball, I’m not sure there’s a better machine thrower of the football in the whole sport than Justin Herbert.”
“He showed leadership and the willpower throughout the regular season to will his team to win a football game. Let’s not forget their offensive line was beat. They couldn’t run the ball that well…He was at one time by far the most hit quarterback, the most pressured quarterback in football. He took more hits than just about anybody in the history of the sport last year. It was a better year than people realize for Justin Herbert, who is a phenomenal talent.”
Drake Maye, New England Patriots (#8)
“His play was phenomenal. There’s no doubt about that. It wasn’t like Matthew Stafford, I’m not ready to say that, but it was a step in the right direction. He got rewired in a complicated offense with (offensive coordinator) Josh McDaniels. It will only get better as far as their offensive attack.”
“The biggest thing for him is going to be staying on top of the mechanics and getting totally rid of some of the bad things I saw in college.”
Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders (#9)
“Jayden Daniels has superstar talent. Year One was special. Last year and part of his negativity is his frame, his body. Is he going to be able to stay healthy? That’s something you worry about with him…As a player, there’s really not much to worry about with Jayden Daniels. He does everything pretty awesome. The running is special, his accuracy throwing the football. He rarely misses the target, except on a few cases. He can make all the throws and is a really awesome decision-maker. He is No. 9 but could be No. 3 or No. 4 next year or the year after, he has that type of talent.”
Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (#10)
“He’s a great leader, he’s clutch, he’s tough. He adds energy to the football team as much as just about anybody you could talk about on the list.”
“Overall, big Baker Mayfield fan. This is a year where I can see their offense being pretty dangerous with Baker Mayfield at quarterback.”
Chris Simms brings an unfiltered look, fresh perspective, insider knowledge, and a touch of humor to every episode as he breaks down the NFL like no one else can. From deep-dive game analysis to player rankings, expert picks and much more, Simms and co-hosts Connor Rogers and Ahmed Fareed always keep the show unfiltered and entertaining.
--NBC SPORTS--
