Ranking the NFL's True Franchise Players for Teams to Build Around Before 2026 Season

What is a "franchise player?" 

In the NFL, it's somewhat complicated. Not to be confused with "franchise-tag recipients" (which is a whole other bag of worms), franchise players are usually but not always highly drafted quarterbacks teams have built—or are building—around. 

In assessing true franchise players teams can still look forward to building around, we traditionally stick to guys who are 28 or younger (in this case, as of the start of the 2026 season on Sept. 9), have played at least one season and remain on the team they were drafted by. 

In this case, we're also not penalizing or rewarding players based on their teammates. The Lions could arguably build around both Penei Sewell and Aidan Hutchinson, so they're both on the list after being assessed in a vacuum. And we aren't leaving Puka Nacua or Ja'Marr Chase out of the picture just because they're members of offenses that feature excluded veteran franchise quarterbacks. 

And so here they are...

Honorable Mentions

AP Photo/John Amis

Cam Ward

Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud

Two years ago, few would have argued with Stroud owning one of the top spots on this list after he put up one of the best rookie campaigns in NFL history. But he's tailed off the last two seasons and was a mess when the team needed him most in 2025. 

The talent is still there and there's plenty of time for the 24-year-old to recapture that magic from 2024, but it's also possible he'll have a difficult time in 2026 recovering from a third consecutive underachieving campaign.

Tennessee Titans QB Cam Ward

The 24-year-old gets a mention here simply because he's a young No. 1 overall pick with the ingredients to become a star. 

Ward's rookie season was rough, but his 103.8 passer rating in the final four weeks of the year does a lot of heavy lifting for a guy who didn't receive much support. 

Nos. 20-16

AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea

Puka Nacua 

20. New Orleans Saints QB Tyler Shough

The 2025 second-round pick surpassed most expectations as a rookie, also posting a 103.8 rating in his final four starts and finishing with 10 touchdown passes to six interceptions. 

It's entirely possible the Saints have found their next franchise quarterback, but we'll need to see him take his game to the next level as a 27-year-old in 2026. 

19. New York Giants QB Jaxson Dart

Another sophomore quarterback on the rise, Dart registered 24 combined passing/rushing touchdowns to five interceptions as a first-round rookie in 2025. 

Barely 23, he's become the face of the franchise as an extremely entertaining playmaker. But as with Ward and Shough, we need to see a lot more. 

18. Atlanta Falcons RB Bijan Robinson 

It isn't easy for running backs to make these lists in this era, but Robinson was a first-team All-Pro and a genuine Offensive Player of the Year finalist as a 24-year-old in 2025. It was his second straight season with at least 1,400 rushing yards, and he led the NFL with 2,298 yards from scrimmage.

No back in football has as much difference-making potential as Robinson entering the 2026 campaign. 

17. Detroit Lions Edge Aidan Hutchinson

The 25-year-old former No. 2 overall pick is coming off a 100-pressure season that included a career-high 14.5 sacks and four forced fumbles as he earned second-team All-Pro honors. 

He did that while coming off a severe leg injury suffered in 2024. So don't be surprised if Hutchinson builds on that campaign and a healthy offseason to become a top-tier Defensive Player of the Year candidate in 2026. 

16. Los Angeles Rams WR Puka Nacua 

It's easy to lose track of Nacua's value as a potential franchise player because his most famous offensive teammate is the reigning MVP while his most famous defensive teammate was Defensive Player of the Year in 2025. 

That said, we're talking about a guy who has averaged 95.3 receiving yards per game in his three seasons. That's easily the highest qualified average in NFL history. The 25-year-old first-team All-Pro is consistently a major producer in Sean McVay's offense, which is why he may soon become the highest-paid receiver in league history. 

Nos. 15-10

AP Photo/Stephen Brashear

Jaxon Smith-Njigba

15. Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams 

The top pick of the 2024 draft improved pretty much across the board under the tutelage of Ben Johnson as a sophomore in 2025. He's still not elite, but a 27-to-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio is extremely promising.

Williams also performed well on deep passes, third-down throws and in the fourth quarter of one-score games. He's on track for a breakout third season at age 24. 

14. Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix

Nix didn't become a superstar as a sophomore, but the athletic 2024 first-round pick again looked the part of a long-term franchise quarterback in Sean Payton's system. 

The 26-year-old led a league-high seven game-winning drives and five fourth-quarter comebacks, giving him 10 of those in 34 career starts (24 of which have been wins). 

13. Minnesota Vikings WR Justin Jefferson

We begin a run of megastar wide receivers with a four-time first- or second-team All-Pro who, when supported and healthy, is usually considered the best player in the sport at his position. 

Unfortunately, that hasn't always been the case the last few seasons, but Jefferson has still managed to put up more than 3,600 yards since completing an epic 128-catch, 1,809-yard campaign in 2022. The 27-year-old is still clinging to megastar status. 

 12. Cincinnati Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase

Obviously Joe Burrow is the focal point in Cincinnati, but even if that era were to end, Chase is so elite that he'd be a franchise cornerstone as long as he's on the roster, in his prime and healthy. 

The 26-year-old has put up an unreal 3,120 yards and 25 touchdowns on 252 receptions in the last two seasons alone. And only Jefferson has accumulated more yardage in the first five seasons of a career. Ever. 

It's a Hall of Fame-worthy start. 

11. Seattle Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba

JSN's career trajectory is off the charts. The reigning Offensive Player of the Year put up 100 catches, 1,130 yards and six touchdowns as a sophomore in 2024 and then exploded with 119 receptions, 1,793 yards and 10 scores as a 23-year-old in 2025. 

He has to be considered the hottest offensive star in football entering his fourth pro campaign with the defending champions. 

Nos. 10-6

AP Photo/Maria Lysaker

Will Anderson Jr.

10. Detroit Lions OT Penei Sewell 

Now Detroit's man on the blind side, Sewell was the highest-graded qualified offensive tackle in the league at Pro Football Focus in 2025. 

Still just 25, Sewell is already a three-time first-team All-Pro. He has missed just one game in five NFL seasons and has taken just three holding penalties in his last 33 games. That truly puts him on a Hall of Fame track half a decade into his career. 

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers OT Tristan Wirfs

On a similar Hall of Fame track is Wirfs, who has been a first- or second-team All-Pro three times in six seasons and has just seven holding penalties in his entire career. Sewell was PFF's top-graded right tackle in 2025, while Wirfs was the No. 1 left tackle with a 92.7 rating. 

Sewell and Wirfs have been responsible for a grand total of five sacks since the start of 2024. We rank the Buc one spot ahead of the Lion because the jury is still out on Sewell at left tackle. 

8. Houston Texans Edge Will Anderson Jr.

While Myles Garrett dominated the headlines during his record-breaking DPOY 2025 campaign, it was actually Anderson who earned the highest PFF grade among qualified edge defenders, beating out fellow 90-something graders Garrett, Hutchinson and Micah Parsons (who is ineligible for this list) with a 93.4 rating.

Combine that with 12 sacks and three forced fumbles, and Anderson was deemed the most valuable player in the league based on Pro Football Reference's AV metric. Not bad for a 24-year-old former top-three pick in his third pro season. 

7. Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love 

Love ranked third in the NFL in QBR, sixth in passer rating and eighth in yards per attempt in his best season yet as a 27-year-old with the Packers in 2025. He also led a career-high four game-winning drives and fourth-quarter comebacks.

It hasn't happened overnight, but the 2020 first-round pick has become a steady and reliable franchise leader three seasons into his career as a starter. It wouldn't be surprising if he were to take a big step forward as that emerging pass-catching corps becomes a bigger asset in Matt LaFleur's offense in 2026. 

6. San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy

Among 270 quarterbacks in NFL history with 1,000 attempts, Purdy is the highest rated with a career rating of 104.0. Has he benefited from an early-career shock factor as well as Kyle Shanahan's system in a stacked offense? Sure, but numbers are numbers and his are fabulous. 

In 2025, Purdy was the league's highest-rated passer on third down and was lights-out in the fourth quarter of one-score games. 

Mr. Irrelevant has become one of the most relevant players in the league entering his fifth pro campaign.

Nos. 5-1

AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Drake Maye

5. Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence

Let's look at it broadly. Lawrence is an undeniably talented 26-year-old former No. 1 overall pick who posted 15 touchdown passes to one interception and a 113.2 passer rating in his last six games as the Jaguars went 8-0 to conclude the 2025 regular season.

Even with a soft schedule and a small sample, it appears he has finally hit a groove in head coach Liam Coen's offense. There's little reason to doubt that progress will continue as the two grow together in Year 2.

4. Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert

Herbert did not put up mega-numbers in 2025, but a lack of offensive support due primarily to injuries along the line was a huge factor.

A consistently awesome deep thrower, he still put up the fourth-best deep passer rating in the NFL as the Chargers managed to win 11 games and make the playoffs anyway. 

That's a testament to what the cannon-armed 27-year-old can do, as is the fact he threw just 10 total interceptions in 30 games in 2023 and 2024 combined. 

The future remains extremely bright, especially if the rest of that offense can hold up for him as well as masterminds Jim Harbaugh and Mike McDaniel. 

3. Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts 

Supporting cast, weaponry and system have certainly helped bring Hurts along as a franchise quarterback in Philadelphia, but that doesn't change the fact the uniquely talented and accomplished 27-year-old is exactly that. 

The three-time Pro Bowler is a former Super Bowl MVP who consistently generates well over 30 passing/rushing touchdowns per season but is also a gunslinger who has thrown a league-high (by a mile) 40 deep touchdown passes in the last four seasons. 

Hurts is not typical, but he is special. 

2. Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels

Daniels experienced a dream rookie season in 2024 and followed that up with a nightmare sophomore campaign in 2025. But injuries—to himself, his offense and his entire team—played a major role. 

For now, we have to give the 2024 No. 2 overall pick the benefit of the doubt considering how electric he was in leading the Commanders on an improbable NFC Championship run as a rookie. 

Only Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and Joe Burrow had higher QBRs than Daniels that season. 

1. New England Patriots QB Drake Maye 

This is really a no-doubter considering that Maye led the NFL in completion percentage, passer rating, QBR and yards per attempt during a near-MVP sophomore campaign for the surprise AFC champion Patriots. 

The schedule was soft, but the 23-year-old blew away expectations in building on a promising rookie campaign. He's already an elite weapon down the field as well as with his legs, and now he's got plenty of big-game experience entering Year 3. 

The future is wildly bright.