ESPN: Mahomes, Rodgers, Brady Lead Top 10 NFL QBs Ranked by Execs, Players, Coaches

To the surprise of no one, Patrick Mahomes remains the NFL's best quarterback in the eyes of the league.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler polled a group of more than 50 people around the NFL, including players, coaches, executives and scouts, who were given the task of ranking their top 10-15 quarterbacks. Mahomes led the way and was followed by Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Russell Wilson.

Here is how the top 10 played out:

1. Patrick Mahomes
2. Aaron Rodgers
3. Tom Brady
4. Russell Wilson
5. Josh Allen
6. Matthew Stafford
7. Dak Prescott
8. Lamar Jackson
9. Justin Herbert
10. Kyler Murray

(Note: Deshaun Watson was excluded from the list given the uncertainty for his status for this season. Watson has been accused of sexual assault and misconduct in 22 ongoing lawsuits. He has denied any inappropriate behavior.)

While it's hard to argue with the logic of the top five names on the list, things get a little curious at No. 6. Stafford is 33 years old and 12 seasons into his career but has made only one Pro Bowl appearance and has never been an All-Pro. Blaming the Detroit Lions is tempting, but Stafford played a large swath of his career with Calvin Johnson as his top wideout; it's hard to see how he ranks ahead of some of the names on this list.

Jackson's ranking as No. 8 seems wildly low, given he was MVP in 2019 and remained one of the most dynamic players in the sport last season. Fowler wrote that "many" left Jackson off their ballots, an almost inexcusably bad take given his impact as an NFL starter.

"He can become a better passer if they put more on him to do so," a quarterback said. "But if they continue to build a fence around him that's RPO [run-pass option] gimmick type of stuff only utilizing his running skills, I think they will never score enough to make a deep run."

Voters seemed bullish on Prescott's ability to return to form following a gruesome leg injury, which tracks with the good news that's been coming out of Cowboys camp.

Murray and Herbert have both ascended early in their NFL careers, giving them the nod over veterans such as Derek Carr, Kirk Cousins and Matt Ryan, who also received votes.