Ranking NFL quarterbacks has never been more difficult. The league has never seen so many good passers (and runners) at the position as it has in 2019, from rising young stars to accomplished veterans with plenty of above-average players in between.
Because our 2019 QB power rankings update from our previous preseason rankings made for some good fun last week, it's back by popular demand for this week. We're once again following the same ground rules.
When we go from 1 to 32, we're looking at only every team's current starer, so no Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees or Cam Newton until they return, and no Ben Roethlisberger at all for the rest of the reason. This week, we have several changes and three new additions as the Titans, Steelers and Dolphins all have new/old starters.
From the new best to the new worst, let the debate begin, er, continue:
WEEK 7 NFL PICKS: Straight up | Against the spread
NFL quarterback power rankings: Week 7
1. Russell Wilson, Seahawks (last week's ranking: 2)
Wilson is the NFL's midseason MVP. He's the highest-rated passer executing at a high level and still hasn't thrown an interception to blemish his precision downfield throwing. His running remains gravy and his team has needed all of his best to win big.
DIAMOND: Russell Wilson has changed the way the NFL evaluates QBs
2. Tom Brady, Patriots (3)
The Patriots have suddenly gone back to a pass-first offense from last year's run-heavier ways —out of necessity with the running game and blocking having issues — and even with a shorthanded and seemingly lesser receiving corps overall, Brady has made that work for undefeated results, just what you expect from the GOAT.
3. Deshaun Watson, Texans (5)
He's locked into reading defenses and not surprisingly, you can see his studying of his craft is paying off by being a little better every week. The big arm and accuracy are there, and he's remained a dynamic runner who is now taking fewer hits.
4. Aaron Rodgers, Packers (4)
Rodgers keeps losing healthy receivers and the Packers have been more run-oriented with Matt LaFleur. But when he's given the chance to improvise within the system, Rodgers can still do big things, as we saw with him completing a fourth-quarterback against the Lions with Allen Lazard as a fill-in go-to guy.
MORE: Why injury proneness of running QBs is overstated
5. Carson Wentz, Eagles (6)
Wentz wants to lets his wings loose but it's been hard as Philadelphia doesn't have any field-stretching pop without DeSean Jackson. He's gutted his way to solid production and the main thing is he's stayed healthy enough to lift an offense from current limitations.
6. Dak Prescott, Cowboys (7)
Prescott had trouble pushing the ball downfield without his starting offensive tackles and wide receiver Amari Cooper in the loss to the Jets. He still dug deep to lead a comeback on the road. He really needs a deep-passing get-well game at home against the Eagles' secondary.
7. Matt Ryan, Falcons (8)
Ryan is not responsible for their 1-5 start given they would be a lot worse without him as they can't run the ball or stop anything defensively. He's thrown for well more than 300 yards in every game this season with multiple touchdowns in every game but one.
NFL POWER RANKINGS:
49ers jump Saints; Vikings, Texans rise; Cowboys, Eagles fade
8. Lamar Jackson, Ravens (10)
Jackson became the first QB ever to be nominated for FedEx Ground Player of the Week after he rushed for 152 yards against the Bengals on top of throwing for 236 more. He's become an unique outlier, a Michael Vick for the modern-day offense.
9. Kirk Cousins, Vikings (16)
Cousins has proved he's in a groove with Kevin Stefanski's offense with his two best Vikings performances in consecutive games. You should "like that" a lot more and not buy into the established narratives about him, a la former Eagles linebacker Zach Brown.
10. Matthew Stafford, Lions (9)
Stafford made a few more big plays against the Packers in what's been his best hybrid season so far with downfield passing and efficiency. His team came up short, however, and he needs to help it finish better in the red zone as the running game hasn't lived up to expectations.
11. Jimmy Garoppolo, 49ers (13)
It's been hard to get a handle on Jimmy G's season because he's not a running QB for a team that boasts the NFC's most prolific rushing attack. But he keeps making the necessary plays to support that running game and the great defense, and his resume keeps building with an absurd level of winning.
12. Jacoby Brissett, Colts (14)
Brissett was riding a multiple-TD streak until he played more caretaker in a ball-control beatdown of the Chiefs. He should have his big arm and legs more on display after the bye with his receivers mostly healthy.
13. Kyler Murray, Cardinals (24)
Murray was a big reason why Arizona just won its first two games with him as their starter. The rookie No. 1 overall pick is starting to feel it in Kliff Kingsbury's QB-friendly spread system, spreading the ball around well and now doing some impactful running, too.
14. Philip Rivers, Chargers (11)
Rivers keeps grinding away behind a shaky offensive line and a suddenly disappearing running game. He's made more mistakes than usual but he's also not getting the usual help. Getting tight end Hunter Henry and left tackle Russell Okung back in consecutive weeks does help.
15. Teddy Bridgewater, Saints (21)
He proved in Week 5 against the Buccaneers he can make the throws necessary to win them games. He just hasn't needed to do much with the defense dominating and the running game methodically putting opponents away. Making him the highest-priced designated backup in the NFL has been paid off big time without Brees.
MORE: NFL's 25 highest-paid players
16. Sam Darnold, Jets (26)
Darnold joins Murray with a huge jump for a young QB. He came back from mononucleosis in Week 6 and promptly injected plenty of life into the Jets' offense to earn them the upset victory over the Cowboys. He's picking up where he left off at the end of last season and starting to live up some of the budding franchise hype he had in the preseason.
17. Gardner Minshew, Jaguars (12)
There's more film out on Minshew and the magic hasn't been quite there against tougher defenses, but he's hanging in there and will learn from throwing his first interception as a starter. He should get back on track with the running game facilitating him greatly against the Bengals. He still shows great maturity for a rookie, balancing well his off-script playmaking and decision-making.
18. Jameis Winston, Buccaneers (15)
Winston is coming off his turnover fest in London and now gets a bye to get a needed reset in a Bruce Arians and Byron Leftwich system that has mostly brought the best out of his arm talent. They need to keep working on his head because no matter how many big plays he makes, the big mistakes he keeps making is what still has his franchise future in doubt.
19. Jared Goff, Rams (17)
Goff put up some microscopic numbers in the Rams' biggest game of the season at home against the 49ers in Week 6. The system is breaking down with bad offensive line play and a limited running game and he's not capable of overcoming it with clean play. The good news is the Falcons in Week 7 present a nice get-well opportunity.
20. Baker Mayfield, Browns (18)
Mayfield looked like he had turned the corner at first with his performance against the Seahawks, but then came the critical turnovers in a close game, which made him look worse in contrast to the hyper-efficient Wilson. There's a lot for him to fix with Freddie Kitchens and Todd Monken during the bye to dig out of a deep sophomore slump.
21. Kyle Allen, Panthers (27)
Allen's play has been good enough leaning on Christian McCaffrey and his strong offensive skill supporting cast to raise the question about whether he should remain the starter over Cam Newton. The bottom line is, if there's any doubt about Newton's complete health, which there will continue to be, there should be no pivot from Allen after a four-game winning streak.
22. Josh Allen, Bills (25)
This Allen needs to shake off that ugly interception mess against the Patriots and blah game at the Titans and use the Dolphins as a post-bye springboard for a big improvement over the rest of the season. He will be needed to play well for a long stretch for Buffalo to turn its hot start into a real playoff push.
23. Daniel Jones, Giants (23)
Jones played better than you think against the Patriots, but some tentativeness has crept into his play, something that tends to happen often with physically gifted rookies. He was caught a little in limbo, sometimes not knowing when to get rid of the ball or take off running. He's smart enough to learn from mental mistakes every week and should look good oppsoite Murray in Week 7.
24. Matt Moore, Chiefs (not ranked)
Too high for Patrick Mahomes' replacement? Not at all. Remember how good this Andy Reid offensive system is, given it produced career-best numbers from Alex Smith before Mahomes took it to another level. There's a natural physical dropoff to a veteran journeyman, but Moore proved quickly against the Broncos he can execute with plenty of help from his talented weapons and he now has 10 days to prepare for a start against the Packers.
MORE: Top 10 QBs for 2020 NFL Draft
25. Derek Carr, Raiders (22)
Carr has done more of his good brand of dinking and dunking, something that will get more difficult with new go-to wide receiver Tyrell Williams for another week against the Packers' pass defense. Oakland is 3-2 more because of running game and defense, but at some point they will need Carr to let it loose downfield more effectively.
26. Andy Dalton, Bengals (27)
The early returns on Zac Taylor's offense haven't been good. The offensive line is a disaster, Joe Mixon is of limited use out of the backfield ahd having neither A.J. Green nor John Ross eliminates any downfield element. The tight ends have become afterthoughts in the passing game, too. Dalton has been dragged into the mess, stuck with Tyler Boyd and Auden Tate as his only real two ways of moving the ball in a high-volume passing game.
27. Mason Rudolph, Steelers (not ranked)
Undrafted rookie Devlin Hodges needed only to hand off often to James Conner and let the defense do the rest in his one-week assignment at the Chargers Rudolph has cleared concussion protocol and the Steelers should be prepping him to operate more of their normal pass-leaning offense with a good post-bye testing ground against the Dolphins in Week 8.
28. Case Keenum, Redskins (28)
Keenum is battling through multiple injuries to play and interim coach Bill Callahan knows he's got the higher ceiling than Colt McCoy and higher floor than Dwayne Haskins. Keenum did come through with the pass plays he needed to make to get the first win against the Dolphins, and his downfield passing is an acceptable complement to a run-heavier offense.
29. Mitchell Trubisky, Bears (29)
Trubisky will return from his left shoulder injury to play the Saints, who after major pass defense struggles early, have ramped it up the past several weeks with good pressure and respectable coverage trickling down from Marshon Lattimore's shutdown cornerback play. The Bears need to balance keeping things simple with his arm and legs with the right dose of creatively designed aggressive pass plays.
30. Ryan Tannehill, Titans (not ranked)
Tannehill takes over from Marcus Mariota. Mariota was efficient with the occasional flashes of explosion before Week 6, but then he started throwing interceptions and missing a whole bunch of routine passes, which ballooned into his benching. Tannehill may end up being a clone, only less conservative, which is what the Titans need right now to take better advantage of a skilled receiving corps.
31. Joe Flacco, Broncos (30)
Flacco had the most miserable quarterback experience on Thursday Night Football, and he wasn't even the one who suffered a brutal knee injury. He's holding on the ball too long behind a bad pass-protecting line and when does make the throws, he's missing some good targets badly. You can bet the Broncos are itching for rookie second-rounder Drew Lock to be healthy to make the change from their latest failed stopgap in the John Elway era.
32. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Dolphins (not ranked)
The Fitzmagic is back after Miami was a two-point conversion away from its first win because of his fearless comeback effort. The Dolphins decide to go savvy gunslinger over a still green Josh Rosen, hoping that Fitzpatrick will be better at spreading the ball around to a diverse receiving corps. We just see mostly multiple sack and turnover games.
