For a position that requires a lot of experience to learn, playing quarterback can be an old man’s game. The top three players in the first QB Stock Report of the season are at least 30 years old, with No. 4, Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals joining in December.
But the young puppies are closed quickly.
The New England Patriots’ Drake Maye and the Chicago Bears’ Caleb Williams are a pair of 24-year-olds who could upset the NFL’s hierarchy, although that tends to happen. The last two guys projected to make such a jump — Houston Texans’ CJ Stroud (ranked No. 7 in 2024 by the QB Stock Report) and Washington’s Jayden Daniels (No. 5 in 2025) — fizzled out instead.
In 2026 we are looking at Caleb Williams
Kevin Fishbain and Dan Wiederer
May and Williams may differ. First, Maye reached a higher level than his colleagues. Closing the 2025 season at No. 1 on the stock reportfinishing second to Matthew Stafford in MVP voting and leading the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl. And like Maye with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniel, Williams also has system continuity with head coach Ben Johnson. Maye and Williams are also entering their third seasons, while Stroud and Daniels were reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year candidates before their second seasons as Cavaliers.
this summer, The athletics He surveyed 20 anonymous coaches and executives To name the best QB on a rookie contract. Maye received 12 votes to Williams’ five, while Daniels (two) and Bo Nix (one) also had supporters. Stroud, Bryce Young, Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart, Tyler Shough and Fernando Mendoza were other possible answers.
Maye didn’t just win by vote. It also received praise for the possibility of creating a religious experience for certain New Englanders.
“Drake has everything you need in place,” said one executive who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss players openly on rival teams. “With Josh McDaniel and that offense, they’re setting him up to look like (Tom) Brady to win at the line of scrimmage.”
McDaniel was Brady’s offensive coordinator or position coach for 13 seasons, while Patriots coach Mike Vrabel played with Brady for eight years. They’ve got a clear institutional knowledge of how the position plays at the highest level, and they’re trying to pass that on to Maye.
Nor is it just faint praise. The former head coach, who has called Maye his favorite QB prospect for the past decade, agreed that the Patriots are applying some of Brady’s tools to Maye’s arsenal.
“(McDaniels) is doing a great job coaching him,” the coach said.
Maye has already shown his ability under center and as a playmaker, as his ability to work with his backs to the line of scrimmage has accelerated his progress. The 2024 No. 3 pick needs better protection from the Patriots’ offensive line to take the next step, and another team’s defensive backs coach Maye would like to see him touch more accurately by throwing between the numbers in the pocket.
Maye has drawn comparisons to Josh Allen since his time at North Carolina because his budding AFC East rivals have the proverbial size, strength and athleticism to play the position at the modern level. But while Maye is a smarter passer than Allen has been in three seasons, Allen still holds a level of dominance that no one has duplicated.
Allen can uniquely style the Buffalo Bills in his backfield with a hybrid ballpark style, while the Patriots are doing it a little differently with Maye.
“Josh Allen’s success is built around the athlete,” the executive said. “New England is taking a top-level athlete and building him into a quarterback. That’s Brady’s piece.”
Of course, Maye is still a good improvement in his own right, although in this regard Williams is probably superior.
Another team executive said the Chicago Bears were “scared to death” of a chance to draw in the playoffs — simply because of Williams’ ability to make plays out of the air late in games. He led the league with six fourth quarter games last season.
Still, Williams needs to show more consistency in staying on schedule from the pocket. While he’s incredibly dangerous off-script, that’s a tough way to survive in the NFL, especially for someone with a shifty streak. Williams has thrown just three touchdowns in his last 10 regular-season starts but has been picked off five times in two playoff games.
“In situations outside the pocket,[Patrick]has a lot of Mahomes-type stuff, but he’s not in the pocket yet,” one executive said. “Maybe up there with Ben and be a top-five QB. I’d like to see more consistent plays from the pocket.”
The league appears to be in good shape with its young fans in the 2024 draft class of Williams, Daniels, Maye and Nicks. There’s more than enough time for Stroud to rebuild, while Daniels should be healthy after the 2025 deadline.
If Maye and Williams continue their rise from last season, they will enter that 30-year club year ahead of schedule.
QB index
You may have noticed a statistic called QBI in the chart above. what is that?
Let’s start here: We’re constantly trying to evolve this and make it a better product for our readers, so this season, we asked The athleticsResident analytics guru Austin Mock, for some help. Mock came up with a new metric for analyzing quarterback play, which he called the QB Index, or QBI.
In short, QBI is a measure of quarterback effectiveness that tries to eliminate the contributions of quarterbacks’ teammates and only what the QB himself provides on a per-game basis. It’s not a perfect barometer of QB play — no stat is — but the hope is that QBI offers better quarterback play that serves as a guide as we build weekly rankings.
And you’re going to see it alongside QB’s weekly stock report ratings. Now, there will be times, especially in the beginning before the sample size is increased, that the levels will not “comply” with the QBI. it’s good. QBI’s purpose is not to create the standard for us. It’s just one tool for evaluating quarterback play, and we use it that way.
For those interested in learning more about QBI, Mock published his methodology on Monday. go over Check it out..
stock hour
Lamar Jackson finished last season at one of the worst rankings of his career, dropping to 17th in the rankings. The 29-year-old, two-time MVP is still highly regarded around the league, so we’ll write off that swan for now.
But if Jackson gets off to a slow start with a new coaching staff, including first-time play caller Dylan Doyle, there’s room to fall.
True, there is also a significant logjam in verses 6-19. Nine of the 14 QBs are ranked in the top five at some point in 2025, and Strode was in the top five in 2025.
At some point, others have to prove they can do it again. Lawrence has shown remarkable improvement in keeping the ball, so it makes sense to be bullish in the offseason now that he has a full year of experience with coach Liam Coyne. If Lawrence plays to the same standard, his ratings will skyrocket.
There is much less lustful reason for lojam: everyone is healthy. Eight quarterbacks in the 2025 finals are currently on the bench or looking for work, so the quality will melt as the injuries mount.
To be clear, the line has been extended at No. 20 because Kyler Murray needs to prove himself in a new system and Daniel Jones needs to show his ability when he returns from a torn Achilles. There are so many unknowns until the game starts.
Situational awareness
Cam Ward’s ranking isn’t an indictment of his talent — it’s more of a concern about the Titans’ ability to protect him. He was tied for the league lead with 55 sacks as a rookie, and the line still has major question marks.
As mentioned many times before on QB Stock Report, player status is always important. Maybe Ward will get the ball off the ball quicker to improved receivers to ease the pressure on the line, but he’ll have to show up to jump. And the Titans should understand.
Sam Darnold was the poster boy for situational performance last season, with an outstanding performance as the Seahawks won their second Super Bowl. The 29-year-old has proven exactly what the Jets saw as the No. 3 pick in 2018, and he’s shown what’s possible when an organization backs its quarterback…the opposite.
This is not starting from scratch with a fantasy draft franchise. It’s about evaluating how quarterbacks play in their unique situations.
