Pro Football Network’s NFL Top 100 has Buffalo’s Josh Allen as the best quarterback in football entering 2026, and it slots the reigning MVP all the way down at No. 5. That is not a typo, and Jacob Infante is not backing off it.
Matthew Stafford just led the NFL in passing yards (4,707) and touchdowns (46) on his way to his first MVP, then carried the Rams to the NFC Championship Game. On a single-season ballot, he wins going away. PFN does not use a single-season ballot.
Why PFN’s Top 5 QB Rankings Punish the Reigning MVP
“The only reason he doesn’t come in higher is because he finished outside of the top 10 in QB impact scoring in 2024 and 2023,” Infante said. “And remember, we do have that three-year evaluation window that’s factoring into this.”
That window reframes the whole list. Stafford finished second in PFN’s proprietary QB Impact score for 2025, but two quieter years by the metric drop him to fifth. Infante is not apologizing for the placement. “The reigning MVP coming in at number 5. Are you guys on drugs? I’m not on drugs, brother, I’m high on life,” he joked, before pointing to a Rams roster he called maybe the most talented single-season group he has seen.
Joe Burrow lands at No. 4 on his résumé rather than 2025 production. A Grade 3 turf toe injury cost him nine games, and Cincinnati went 1-8 without him after going 5-3 in his starts. Go back to 2024, though, and Burrow led the league in passing yards (4,918) and touchdowns (43). Infante credited “pocket presence that’s arguably unparalleled,” and said that if Burrow “can stay healthy this year, the Bengals with that retooled defense they have, they could make something special in 2026.”
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Then comes the climber. Drake Maye sits at No. 3 on the strength of one elite season, his second in the league. He led the NFL in completion percentage at 72%, and topped the league in passer rating and QBR while going 14-3. PFN’s metrics loved him even more. Infante said Maye “led the NFL in QB impact scoring with a 91.8 score.”
Josh Allen’s Consistency Separates Him From Lamar Jackson
Lamar Jackson checks in at No. 2, and that ranking is a bet on health. A hamstring injury and a later back issue held him to a career-worst rushing workload in 2025, and he never quite looked like himself. The body of work carries him. Jackson was first-team All-Pro in both 2023 and 2024, beating out Allen for the honor in 2024 even as Allen took the MVP. “Impact score be damned last year,” Infante said. “Jackson was really, really good in 2023 and 2024, and we’re betting on him to return to full strength in 2026.”
That leaves Allen, and the case for him is not built on a 2025 peak. He threw for 3,668 yards and 25 touchdowns while leading all quarterbacks in rushing yards (579) and rushing touchdowns (14). The separator is the floor. Allen has posted six straight top-10 finishes in PFN’s QB Impact, which Infante called the longest active streak in the league.
“Patrick Mahomes hasn’t been able to do that. Lamar Jackson hasn’t been able to do that. Matthew Stafford hasn’t been able to do that, neither has Joe Burrow,” Infante said. “Allen has been the definition of consistency.”
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That is the whole argument in one line. Stafford owns the trophy and Maye owns the moment, but PFN’s list rewards the quarterback you can pencil in for elite play three years running. Right now, that is Allen. The chase for everyone behind him restarts the second the 2026 season kicks off.
