NFL 2023 - NFL's Best Quarterbacks Return

The NFL's best quarterbacks return for an another exciting NFL season and look to lead their teams to the playoffs and Super Bowl victory.

MVP Mahomes Rewriting Record Books

Kansas City's PATRICK MAHOMES led the Chiefs to the Super Bowl LVII championship last season and became the seventh player to win both the NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP awards in the same season and the first since Kurt Warner in 1999.

In the regular season, Mahomes led the league with 5,250 passing yards and 41 touchdown passes, joining Drew Brees as the only players ever with two career seasons of 5,000 passing yards and 40 touchdown passes. He also joined Brees (five seasons) and Tom Brady (two) as the only players in NFL history to total at least 5,000 passing yards in multiple seasons.

Mahomes, who also was named NFL MVP in 2018, can become the sixth quarterback ever to earn the honor three times, joining Peyton Manning (five-time winner), Aaron Rodgers (four), Tom Brady (three), Brett Favre (three) and Johnny Unitas (three).

Rodgers Jetting Up All-Time Ranks

AARON RODGERS enters his first season with the New York Jets in 2023 after an 18-year career in Green Bay, where he totaled 59,055 passing yards and 475 touchdown passes, was named NFL MVP four times and won the Super Bowl XLV championship.

This season, Rodgers needs 2,307 passing yards to surpass Dan Marino (61,361 passing yards) for the eighth-most ever, 3,738 to surpass Matt Ryan (62,792) for the seventh-most ever and 4,386 to surpass Philip Rivers (63,440) for the sixth-most ever.

With 34 touchdown passes, Rodgers will surpass Brett Favre (508 touchdown passes) for the fourth-most in NFL history.

Rodgers is looking to join Tom Brady and Peyton Manning as the only starting quarterbacks to ever win a Super Bowl with two franchises, while he can become the first player ever to win NFL MVP with two different franchises.

Pace Setting Quarterbacks

Many quarterbacks enter the NFL regular season on a historical statistical pace.

Buffalo's JOSH ALLEN has 176 career combined passing and rushing touchdowns (138 passing, 38 rushing), the most-ever by a player in his first five seasons.

With 29 combined passing and rushing touchdowns in 2023, Allen will surpass Patrick Mahomes (204 combined touchdowns) for the most-ever by a player in his first six seasons.

Cincinnati's JOE BURROW has 11,774 passing yards in 42 career games and tied Kurt Warner (36 games) as the third-fastest player ever to reach 10,000 career passing yards.

Burrow has five career games with at least 400 passing yards, the most-ever by a player in his first three seasons.

Detroit's JARED GOFF has 25,854 passing yards in 100 career games, the fifth-most ever by a player in his first 100 games.

The Los Angeles Chargers' JUSTIN HERBERT has 14,089 career passing yards, the most-ever by a player in his first three seasons, and 94 touchdown passes, the second-most ever by a player in his first three seasons.

Herbert needs 2,330 passing yards in 2023 to surpass Peyton Manning (16,418 passing yards) for the most-ever by a player in his first four seasons.

With 21 touchdown passes this season, Herbert will surpass Patrick Mahomes (114 touchdown passes) for the second-most ever by a player in his first four seasons. Only Dan Marino (142) has more.

Jacksonville's TREVOR LAWRENCE has 746 career completions, the second-most ever by a player in his first two seasons.

With 317 completions in 2023, Lawrence will surpass Andrew Luck (1,062 completions) for the second-most ever by a player in his first three seasons. Only Justin Herbert (1,316) has more.

Kansas City's PATRICK MAHOMES has 24,241 career passing yards and 192 touchdown passes, both the second-most ever by a player in his first six seasons.

Mahomes needs 5,202 passing yards in 2023 to surpass Peyton Manning (29,442 passing yards) for the most-ever by a player in his first seven seasons and needs 29 touchdown passes to surpass Dan Marino (220 touchdown passes) for the most-ever by a player in his first seven seasons.

The New York Jets' AARON RODGERS has 475 touchdown passes in 230 career games and needs 25 touchdown passes in his first 13 games of the 2023 season to surpass Peyton Manning (244 games) as the fastest player ever to reach 500 career touchdown passes.

The Los Angeles Rams' MATTHEW STAFFORD has 52,082 career passing yards in 191 career games and tied Drew Brees (183 games) as the fastest player ever to reach 50,000 career passing yards. In 2023, Stafford can surpass both Peyton Manning (52,606) and Matt Ryan (54,349 passing yards) for the second-most passing yards ever by a player in his first 200 career games, trailingonly Drew Brees (55,439).

Denver's RUSSELL WILSON has 308 career touchdown passes, the secondmost ever by a player in his first 11 seasons. Wilson needs 21 touchdown passes in 2023 to surpass Dan Marino (328 touchdown passes) for the second-most ever by a player in his first 12 seasons.

Quarterbacks with Winning Ways

Several quarterbacks enter the 2023 season as some of the most established winners ever at the position.

Kansas City's PATRICK MAHOMES' 64 wins are the most-ever by a quarterback through his first 80 career starts, surpassing Tom Brady (60 wins), Ken Stabler (60) and Roger Staubach (60). Mahomes' 11 career postseason wins are tied with Troy Aikman and Aaron Rodgers for the fifth-most ever by a starting quarterback.

Baltimore's LAMAR JACKSON has compiled a 38-12 record in his first 50 career starts, tied with Tom Brady (38 wins) and Danny White (38) for the third-most wins by a quarterback in his first 50 career starts since 1970. Only Mahomes (40 wins) and Stabler (40) had more.

With three wins, the New York Jets' AARON RODGERS (147 career regular-season wins) will become the sixth quarterback in NFL history with at least 150 career wins, joining Tom Brady (251), Brett Favre (186), Peyton Manning (186), Drew Brees (172) and Ben Roethlisberger (165).

Denver's RUSSELL WILSON has 108 career regular-season wins and needs eight more to surpass Brett Favre (115 wins) for the third-most wins ever by a quarterback in his first 12 seasons. Only Peyton Manning (131) and Tom Brady (124) have more.

San Francisco's BROCK PURDY became the third rookie quarterback ever to win each of his first five career starts last season.

Quarterbacks that Broke Through in 2022

Seattle's GENO SMITH took over as the team's starting quarterback in 2022 and set career highs in completions (franchise-record 399), passing yards (franchise-record 4,282), touchdown passes (30 – most among NFC quarterbacks), completion percentage (franchise-record 69.8) and passer rating (100.9 – fifth in NFL). He was one of four quarterbacks to record at least 4,000 passing yards and 30 touchdown passes.

Geno Smith became the eighth player in NFL history and first since Alex Smith (2017) to record his first-career season with at least 4,000 passing yards in his 10th-career season or later. He earned Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year honors and was selected to his first Pro Bowl in his 10th career season. Smith became the first quarterback since Rich Gannon (1999) to earn his first Pro Bowl selection in Year 10 or later of his career.

Pittsburgh's KENNY PICKETT was the first quarterback selected in the 2022 NFL Draft (No. 20 overall) and proceeded to lead all rookie quarterbacks with 2,404 passing yards last season. In Weeks 16-17, Pickett became the first rookie in NFL history to have a game-winning touchdown pass in the final minute of the fourth quarter in consecutive games.

The QB Draft Class of 2020

Each of the top five quarterbacks selected in the 2020 NFL Draft enter the 2023 season as the projected starting quarterback for the team that drafted them. This would mark the first time the top-five selected quarterbacks in an NFL Draft all started in Week 1 of a season since the topfive quarterbacks selected in 2011 each started Week 1 of the 2012 season.

Cincinnati's JOE BURROW (No. 1 overall pick) enters 2023 with 82 touchdown passes and 10 rushing touchdowns and is one of two players all-time (Andrew Luck) with at least 75 touchdown passes and 10 rushing touchdowns in his first three seasons. Last season, Burrow ranked tied for second in the league with 35 touchdown passes and fifth with 4,475 passing yards, while adding a career-high five rushing touchdowns. He joined Josh Allen and Steve Young as the only players ever with at least 4,000 passing yards, 35 touchdown passes and five rushing touchdowns in a season. In 2023, Burrow can join Dan Marino as the only players ever to record at least 4,000 passing yards and 30 touchdown passes in three of their first four seasons.

Miami's TUA TAGOVAILOA (No. 5 overall) led all qualified passers with a 105.5 passer rating last season and recorded a career-high 3,548 passing yards and 25 touchdown passes.

Since 2020, the Los Angeles Chargers' JUSTIN HERBERT (No. 6 overall) ranks third among all players with 14,089 passing yards and sixth with 94 touchdown passes.

Last season, Herbert ranked second in the league with 4,739 passing yards and became the first player ever to record at least 4,500 passing yards in two of his first three career seasons and the first player ever with at least 4,000 passing yards in each of his first three seasons. Herbert is one of two players all-time (Peyton Manning) to record at least 25 touchdown passes in each of his first three seasons.

Green Bay's JORDAN LOVE (No. 26 overall) enters the 2023 season as the Packers' starting quarterback for the first time. He has appeared in 10 games over the past two seasons, with one start.

Love is expected to become only the third different Green Bay quarterback to start a season-opening game for the franchise in the last 30 years, joining Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.

Philadelphia's JALEN HURTS (No. 53 overall) led the Eagles to a Super Bowl LVII appearance in his second season as the team's full-time starter and became the seventh-youngest quarterback ever (24 years, 189 days) to start a Super Bowl. In the 2022 regular season, Hurts became the fourth quarterback ever with at least 3,000 passing yards (3,701), 20 touchdown passes (22) and 10 rushing touchdowns (13) in a single season, joining Kyler Murray (2020), Cam Newton (2011 and 2015) and Kordell Stewart.

NFL 2023 - NFL's Best Quarterbacks Return this Season