The Athletic unveiled 2026 quarterback tiers Tuesday.

They are worth exploring, with two caveats: they are anonymous and opinion-based. The exercise polls NFL coaches and executives — and has for more than a decade — but it's not a definitive evaluation of the players included.

Put together by Mike Sando, and incorporating votes and input from 29 coaches and 21 execs overall, there are 35 quarterbacks placed into five tiers, from the best (Tier 1) to the worst (Tier 5).

The top is headlined by Patrick Mahomes, who for the first time since 2022 received a Tier 2 vote from a general manager. That person said, "He's not carrying them (the Chiefs) every week anymore," and wonders about his future: "They had the season (2024) when they were historically, you could say, lucky in the one-possession games and then got trounced in the Super Bowl. They were not as impressive in the one-possession games (in 2025). Now, he's coming off an injury. Is he gonna deteriorate physically?"

Mahomes is back on the field for Chiefs training camp after suffering an ACL injury, by the way, and Sando detailed that "One veteran coach laughed off suggestions Mahomes was in decline, noting that Joe Montana faced similar questions after three successive one-and-done playoff exits in the 1980s."

The past two MVPs, Josh Allen (2024) and Matthew Stafford (2025), tied for second behind Mahomes, and they were joined in Tier 1 by Joe Burrow, who has dealt with injuries but is distinguished as a passer.

Tier 2 includes three guys who garnered double-digit Tier 1 votes but not enough to be part of the premier class: Lamar Jackson (22 T1 votes), Justin Herbert (19) and Dak Prescott (12). A baker's dozen quarterbacks in total checked in to Tier 2; Sando noted it's the largest Tier 2 in the survey's 13-year history. Others in that group who also received at least one Tier 1 mention are Drake Maye (5), Jared Goff (4), Jordan Love (2), Brock Purdy (1), Jayden Daniels (1), Baker Mayfield (1) and Trevor Lawrence (1).

Let's flip the page to the Vikings and competing quarterbacks Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy.

The veteran Murray is included in Tier 3 for the fourth consecutive year. An uptick could be incoming.

"The person I think who will change a lot is Kyler Murray, just because he's around a quarterback coach, he will have weapons, he probably has something to prove and his ability to escape the pocket, when he is on, is no joke," one defensive coordinator said.

An offensive coach added: "He will have better players around him than he ever had in Arizona."

McCarthy is listed as one of seven Tier 4 quarterbacks, but he could rise under the right circumstances.

"People are curious to see how he handles this," one executive said about the QB competition. "His toughness was the thing that really jumped out to me watching him play. If you have that, you always have a chance."

New man in the middle

Blake Brandel has Ryan Kelly's stamp of approval.

Kelly, the four-time Pro Bowl center who signed with Minnesota last offseason to upgrade the pivot position, retired after 10 NFL campaigns and his lone on the Vikings in which he was in concussion protocol multiple times.

Brandel is the 29-year-old former sixth-round pick who has played every OL position – the rare five-tool, er position, lineman – including his first snaps at center in 2025 and is preparing to start there this year.

Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune zoomed in for a closeup of Brandel this week and spoke with Kelly to learn why the team trusts a once developmental player to take over at the most important spot.

In a nutshell, Brandel possesses intelligence, poise and the right personality.

Hinting at the first – and the benefits of continuity at center if Brandel can establish himself – Kelly recalled sitting with former Vikings offensive line coach Chris Kuper and trying to understand Minnesota's system.

"He's trying to teach me the offense and I'm like, 'Dude, I don't — maybe I'm not smart enough to understand the Vikings offense,' " Kelly recalled. "I had a great grasp on concepts, and there's only so much you can do with 11 guys, right? But maybe I don't. ... [Kuper] was just like cracking up because he's like, 'Dude, it took me forever the first time I got here.' "

Remember, Brandel has played every role on the O-line before. That's a testament to his brainpower.

"Beyond knowing the offense and being able to articulate that to the quarterback," Kelly said, "it's the guys around you knowing, 'Blake Brandel knows exactly what he's doing, and he saw that pressure before I saw it.' It gives everybody confidence."

Kelly said Brandel is known for cracking jokes during high-pressure moments to calm down his teammates, and noted, "It's good to have a guy in the center that's even-keeled, can connect with everybody and keep the train going. I think it's perfect for him."

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