It's a great season to be a quarterback in the NFC North, according to FanSided's latest NFL quarterback rankings.
Ahead of the 2026 season, FanSided polled its NFL site experts on every single quarterback rostered in the league - this ranged from those that are on the brink of being practice squad candidates, to the obvious superstars like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Patrick Mahomes. Those three, of course, were three of the five "truly elite" signal callers in the NFL on this ranking.
Zooming in on the NFC North, specifically, a funny thing happened in these rankings - three out of the four starting quarterbacks in the division landed in the same "tier," which was the "strong QB1" tier. That's a really great group to be in, and it was nice to see Jared Goff get some sort of respect as a another power within a division that seems to be headed in whatever direction Caleb Williams goes.
3 out of 4 NFC North quarterbacks land in "Strong QB1" tier
I wrote about Goff for this ranking, not knowing where he'd land, but knowing that he should be at the top of this inverted triangle:
"Jared Goff makes up for his biggest weakness (lack of mobility when things fall apart up front) with an unbelievable amount of accuracy, and it's what's helped carry him through his soon-to-be 10 years in the NFL. Goff, a five-time Pro Bowler with the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions, remains one of the most consistent pocket passers in the league. Detroit needs a balance, boring signal caller to manage its electric offense in 2026, and Goff remains just that."
Caleb Williams was ranked atop this tier and 9th overall, with Jordan Love coming in directly after him at 10th overall. Goff is 13th, behind Trevor Lawrence and Jayden Daniels. That's fairly debatable, but feels like splitting hairs when he's so close behind the two of them. Although, I'm banking on Goff's durability and postseason experience over that of Lawrence's and Daniels'.
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Kyler Murray, of course, is the odd man out here. The newly-indoctrinated NFC North quarterback landed in the "game manager" tier, which isn't necessarily bad, but not exactly a ringing endorsement of Murray as he looks to revive Minnesota's chances at an NFC North title this season. He might be just talented enough to carry a very good roster into the postseason, but it doesn't feel like he can be placed ahead of Williams, Love, or Goff if it came down to a playoff matchup.
Adam Patrick, The Viking Age's site expert, wrote of Murray:
"After melting away in the desert for the first seven years of his NFL career, Kyler Murray finally gets to experience life this season with one of the best-run franchises in the entire league, and the Vikings are hoping it translates to boosting his play out on the field. With weapons like Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Aaron Jones, T.J. Hockenson, and more to go along with an offensive line that will actually protect him, Murray has a great opportunity to put together the best season he's ever had since entering the league in 2019."
This division is going to be one of the tightest headed down the stretch of the season, and this ranking is pretty great proof of that - the NFC North is the only division with three or more quarterbacks in a high tier, which speaks to the contention level of all three franchises.
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