This week’s Power Rankings is all about the game’s most important position: Quarterbacks. The NFL’s signal callers are the driving force of the league’s product. If they’re great, so is the product. If they stink, well, you get the picture.

Some teams can rise above their Quarterback play and produce a watchable product with consistency, but for the most part, the trajectory of each organization rises and falls with the man under center.

As we sort through the NFL heirarchy ahead of the Week 9 action, I’ll be giving each team a grade 1 to 5 based on how they stand at the game’s most important position. The number grades will be assigned as follows:

1 – Need an upgrade yesterday
2 – Replacement level play
3 – Just a guy
4 – We can contend with this guy
5 – Superstar club

For our purposes, the grade given will reflect where each QB stands as we head into Week 9. A guy playing at a Level 4 right now could end the season at a Level 3, as could a struggling Level 2 QB. With that in mind, let’s dive into it!

1. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Previous: 1

Quarterback: Jalen Hurts
Grade: 5 – Superstar club

Jalen Hurts is the best dual threat QB in the league. Sorry Lamar.

2. MIAMI DOLPHINS
Previous: 4

Quarterback: Tua Tagovoiloa
Grade: 4 – We can contend with this guy

He’s so efficient and smart in this offense. Not an elite playmaker, but an elite tactician.

3. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Previous: 2

Quarterback: Patrick Mahomes
Grade: 5 – Superstar club

The best in the world. Maybe ever.

4. DALLAS COWBOYS
Previous: 5

Quarterback: Dak Prescott
Grade: 4 – We can contend with this guy

He’s a little more up and down than some, but he’s still one of the best QB’s in the game.

5. BALTIMORE RAVENS
Previous: 6

Quarterback: Lamar Jackson
Grade: 4 – We can contend with this guy

Despite being an elite playmaker, the injuries and inability to win big keep him from ranking with the true greats.

6. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
Previous: 7

Quarterback: Trevor Lawrence
Grade: 5 – Superstar club

Trevor has put it all together. He makes the occasional head-scratching throw, but he displays all the traits of the generational talent he is.

7. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
Previous: 3

Quarterback: Brock Purdy
Grade: 3 – Just a guy

He is as smart as they come, but benefits greatly from an elite offensive system. Need to see more individual excellence when things break down.

8. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
Previous: 8

Quarterback: Geno Smith
Grade: 4 – We can compete with this guy

Geno is a low-end Level 4 QB. He’s really a Level 3 with a flair for greatness, so he earns that low Level 4 for me.

9. DETROIT LIONS
Previous: 9

Quarterback: Jared Goff
Grade: 4 – We can contend with this guy

Goff is as consistent as any QB in football, even if his ceiling isn’t as high as his Level 5 counterparts.

10. BUFFALO BILLS
Previous: 10

Quarterback: Josh Allen
Grade: 5 – Superstar club

Behind Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen is the most skilled QB in the game.

11. CINCINNATI BENGALS
Previous: 13

Quarterback: Joe Burrow
Grade: 5 – Superstar club

Burrow is an elite baller. Joe Cool is exactly that, and that’s what makes him elite despite a lack of traditionally elite traits.

12. CLEVELAND BROWNS
Previous: 11

Quarterback: Deshaun Watson*
Grade: 2 – Replacement level play

Watson gets an asterisk here because of his nagging shoulder injury, but make no mistake, he’s been a bad QB and a huge mistake for the Browns.

13. PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Previous: 12

Quarterback: Kenny Pickett
Grade: 2 – Replacement level play

You wanna give him a pass because of the horrid offensive system he’s stuck in, but the truth is Pickett misses more throws than he makes right now.

14. NEW YORK JETS
Previous: 15

Quarterback: Zach Wilson
Grade:1 – Need an upgrade yesterday

No team props up their QB like the Jets. Wilson’s been a little better than last year, but he’s just not an NFL QB.

15. LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
Previous: 17

Quarterback: Justin Herbert
Grade: 5 – Superstar club

Herbert is one of the most naturally talented passers the league has seen in years. It’s too bad his team can’t put it all together around him.

16. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
Previous: 20

Quarterback: Derek Carr
Grade: 3 – Just a guy

Well, he’s better than his replacement in Las Vegas. Carr is a solid game manager and can get the ball to his playmakers. That’s about all.

17. ATLANTA FALCONS
Previous: 18

Quarterback: Desmond Ridder*
Grade: 2 – Replacement level play

Ridders’ replacement level play has actually gotten him replaced by veteran Tyler Heinicke.

18. HOUSTON TEXANS
Previous: 14

Quarterback: CJ Stroud
Grade: 3 – Just a guy

This is one of those Level 3’s that could easily be a 4 by the end of the year. Stroud looks the part, he’s just inexperienced.

19. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
Previous: 19

Quarterback: Gardner Minshew
Grade: 3 – Just a guy

Minshew is a backup. He’s also playing better than maybe 10 other league starters.

20. LOS ANGELES RAMS
Previous: 16

Quarterback: Matthew Stafford
Grade: 4 – We can contend with this guy

Gotta love the fight from Stafford in 2022. His thumb injury shouldn’t take away from the fact that he’s looked like one of the best passers in the league so far this season.

21. TENNESSEE TITANS
Previous: 25

Quarterback: Will Levis*
Grade: TBD

Levis made his first start on Sunday and tossed up 4 TDs against Atlanta. Too early for a grade here, but if he lights up Pittsburgh on Thursday, he’s the biggest story in football.

22. MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Previous: 21

Quarterback: Kirk Cousins*
Grade: 4 – We can contend with this guy

I wanted so bad to give Kirk a 5, but he’s just not quite there. His injury is such an unfortunate turn of events in one of the best stretches of his career.

23. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
Previous: 22

Quarterback: Baker Mayfield
Grade: 3 – Just a guy

Baker’s “renaissance” is a nice story, and he’s playing well for a “meh” Bucs team. Nothing fancy, nothing horrid. He’s the perfect embodiment of his team.

24. DENVER BRONCOS
Previous: 30

Quarterback: Russell Wilson
Grade: 3 – Just a guy

Needless to say, not the guy the Broncos were hoping for when they mortgaged the farm for the former Seahawk.

25. GREEN BAY PACKERS
Previous: 23

Quarterback: Jordan Love
Grade: 2 – Replacement level play

All the talk about confidence in Love as the “next guy” in Green Bay have morphed into uncertainty and impatience in a city used to Level 5 QB play.

26. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
Previous: 29

Quarterback: Mac Jones
Grade: 1 – Need an upgrade yesterday

Jones has had a couple better weeks in a row, but he’s still not curring it as a real NFL QB. The Pats should be in the First Round QB discussion again this offseason.

27. WASHINGTON COMMANDERS
Previous: 26

Quarterback: Sam Howell
Grade: 3 – Just a guy

Howell has looked the best out of the 2nd year QBs east of Brock Purdy, but he’s still too raw and mistake prone to be any higher than this.

28. NEW YORK GIANTS
Previous: 24

Quarterback: Daniel Jones*
Grade: 1 – Need an upgrade yesterday

The Giants $40M/year man is the 2nd biggest financial mistake at the QB position in the league (Deshaun Watson is number 1).

29. CHICAGO BEARS
Previous: 27

Quarterback: Justin Fields*
Grade: 3 – Just a guy?

The question mark is there on purpose. Fields has every trait to be a Level 4 or 5 QB in this league. Whether he can put it together or not will define his career, and quickly.

30. LAS VEGAS RAIDERS
Previous: 28

Quarterback: Jimmy Garoppolo*
Grade: 1 – Need an upgrade yesterday

Ironically, the Raiders upgraded yesterday.

31. CAROLINA PANTHERS
Previous: 32

Quarterback: Bryce Young
Grade: 2 – Replacement level play

The flashes are few and far between, but they are there. Can such an undersized QB succeed in the NFL? Yes, we’re still asking that question 8 games in.

32. ARIZONA CARDINALS
Previous: 31

Quarterback: Josh Dobbs*
Grade: 3 – Just a guy

Yes, I know Dobbs is now in Minnesota, but we know nothing of Clayton Tune, and Kyler Murray’s future is murky. The QB the Cards trusted through 8 weeks was not the problem with this team. He’s a solid low-end starter.

I hope you enjoyed this unique look at the Week 9 NFL Power Rankings. Come back next week for the updated pecking order after what promises to be a wild Week of NFL action.