Future QB Rankings: Rating all 32 NFL teams’ situations from worst to best

Touchdown Wire ranks the 32 NFL teams in terms of stability and potential at the game’s most important position over the next 3-4 seasons.

4. Baltimore Ravens

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At least in the short term, the Ravens have the best quarterback depth in the league except for the Saints, who have Drew Brees and Teddy Bridgewater. Rising superstar Lamar Jackson is under contract through 2021, but it’s a certainty the Ravens will try to lock him up for the long term soon. Backup Robert Griffin III is under contract through 2020. “His knee problem is in the past, and I think he can still play,” one panelist said of Griffin. Third-stringer Trace McSorley, a rookie from Penn State, is under contract through 2022. But Jackson is the one that matters most. He did enough as a rookie last year to prompt the Ravens to let veteran Joe Flacco go. Jackson clearly has validated that decision with his play this year. He’s thrown for 2,258 yards and 19 touchdowns. Just as importantly, he has rushed for 788 yards and six touchdowns. “As a general rule, you don’t want your quarterback running too much. But this guy is different. He has a knack for avoiding big hits,” a panelist said.

3. Dallas Cowboys

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Dak Prescott is only 26 and just entering his prime. He also is in the final year of his rookie contract and could become a free agent. That’s highly unlikely, because owner Jerry Jones is too smart to let Prescott hit the market. The two sides have been talking since the preseason, but nothing has happened yet. However, it will. “He’s way too talented to just let him walk away,” one of our panelists said.

2. Seattle Seahawks

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Russell Wilson might be playing better than any other quarterback in the league right now. And it might be the same case in 2023, the last year of his current contract. He’ll turn 35 that year, but still could be playing in his prime. Wilson is having an MVP-type season this year. His backup is Geno Smith at the moment, but Smith is only under contract for this year. It doesn’t matter all that much, because Wilson has been durable. One of our panelists called Wilson a transcendent talent, (“He showed you don’t have to be 6-foot-4 to play quarterback in the NFL, and that’s opened the doors for guys like Kyler Murray.”) The Seahawks aren’t going to let Wilson go anywhere. Barring injury, he’ll sign at least one more contract extension in Seattle.

1. Kansas City Chiefs

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The Chiefs currently have the best bargain in the league. Patrick Mahomes, last year’s MVP, is still on his rookie contract for one more year. In 2020, Mahomes will turn 25 and is scheduled to make just $735,000. But the Chiefs almost certainly will give him a long-term extension this offseason, and he could get a bump in pay to about $35 million a year. Is he worth it? “His mechanics make me shake my head sometimes. He throws across his body and back against the field a lot. But it works for him. He does things no one else can,” one of our panelists said. And it’s probably going to stay that way for at least the next decade.

Pat Yasinskas has covered the NFL since 1993. He has worked for The Tampa Tribune, The Charlotte Observer and ESPN.com and writes for numerous national magazines and websites. He also has served as a voter for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

32-29 / 28-25 / 24-21 / 20-17 / 16-13 / 12-9 / 8-5