WHO IS THE BEST QB IN THE AFC WEST?
The AFC West features the Super Bowl Champions in the Kansas City Chiefs.
A division that was lauded the best in the NFL a year ago, a lot has changed in the twelve months that have followed. So who has the best quarterback?
Here is our AFC West quarterback rankings from one to four.
1 Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs)
The easiest choice on the list. Mahomes is the best quarterback in the league and is arguably already a top five QB of all time.
Drafted tenth overall in the 2017 NFL Draft, Mahomes sat out the majority of his rookie year with a single Week 17 appearance under his belt.
What has transpired since is nothing short of perfect.
Not only has Mahomes started in five straight AFC Championship games, but he has played all of these at home. The former Texas Tech product still waiting to play an NFL playoff game on the road that isn’t a Super Bowl despite having played 14 postseason games.
Mahomes is 11-3 in the playoffs, has five Pro Bowl selections, two Super Bowls, two MVP awards and is a two-time Super Bowl MVP.
It is not just the post season where Mahomes has excelled, with 24,241 yards and 192 touchdowns to just 49 interceptions. It took him until his second Super Bowl appearance to lose a game by double digits and the crazy thing is that he is just 27 years old.
Mahomes has the team around him and the coach to be in many more Super Bowls and number 15 will be at the forefront of their success. The other quarterbacks on this list may struggle to reach a Super Bowl (or another one in the case of Wilson and Jimmy Garoppolo).
2 Justin Herbert (Los Angeles Chargers)
The next most likely quarterback out of the four to win the Super Bowl is surprisingly not Herbert, who is already being touted as the next Philip Rivers after some terrible luck with coaching.
Moving from Anthony Lynn to Brandon Staley is the equivalent of leaving one job that pays you less than minimum wage to another job with the same salary.
Herbert is a way better quarterback than the two below, but you have to wonder whether he will a victim of poor front office choices. At least Wilson has Sean Payton. Despite a 25-24 record, Herbert has thrown for 14,089 yards, 94 touchdown and 35 interceptions in three seasons.
On the field, Herbert has shown he has done more than enough to guide a team to at least an AFC Championship game, even if his resume currently stands at just one Wildcard Round collapse.
The Chargers front office have recently shown their faith in Herbert, with the former Oregon Duck signing a five-year $262.5 million deal this week.
3 Russell Wilson (Denver Broncos)
Like Mahomes, Wilson had a perfect start to life as a pro in the NFL with two Super Bowl appearances in his first three seasons, but he failed to really kick on. His playoff record is 9-7, with a 3-5 record post his heartbreaking Super Bowl 48 loss.
His move to the Denver Broncos last year was seen as a franchise changing move from the team, but it did not work out that way.
In 2022, the Broncos finished 4-11, with Wilson throwing for 3,524 yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. This was the lowest touchdown total of his career and two shy of being the joint-worst interception total during his eleven years in the NFL.
Of course, this could have been down to Nathaniel Hackett, who did not make it to the end of his rookie year as a Head Coach. However, there will be no excuses with Payton in charge.
We will know in 2023 if was down to Wilson or Hackett.
4 Jimmy Garoppolo (Las Vegas Raiders)
Herbert is the only quarterback on this list to never win a Super Bowl (or even appear in one). However, Garoppolo earned his two Super Bowl rings as a backup to Tom Brady.
Since he earned the move to the San Francisco 49ers, he has had his moments (including a Super Bowl appearance), but injuries have been a constant hinderance for the former second-round pick.
He passed his physical for his new team in the Raiders, but there was concern that he wouldn’t do so. He has gone from one of the best coaches in the league in Kyle Shanahan to Josh McDaniels, who is already on the hot seat after just one year with the team.
Expect Garoppolo to struggle even more so, whether this is down to form or injuries.