As training camps draw near, the AFC quarterback picture is coming into focus, and the top of the league still runs through the same position that shapes everything else. If a team has its quarterback, plus the protection and pass rush to support him, the path to a Super Bowl gets a lot clearer.
A number of AFC teams can say they have that franchise guy. Others are still searching.
At the bottom of this early 2026 ranking sit two situations that feel far from settled. Cleveland lands at No. 16 with Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders, and the outlook there is bleak no matter who ends up taking the snaps.
Watson has not been good for what feels like five years now, while Sanders was a struggling rookie. The Browns do at least have extra draft capital that could help them chase a franchise quarterback in the 2027 NFL Draft, but for now this looks like one of the roughest quarterback rooms in the league.
There is still a path where Watson wins the job and resembles his Houston Texans version, but that feels like the ceiling, and even that does not seem likely.
Just ahead of them is Miami at No. 15 with Malik Willis, who arrives after doing solid work as a fill-in for Jordan Love with the Green Bay Packers and then earning a multi-year deal from the Dolphins this offseason. He is expected to start, but this looks like a short-term answer while Miami tries to sort out the long-term plan.
Willis has never been a full-time starter, which makes him one of the biggest unknowns on the board. If the efficiency he showed in spot duty with Green Bay carries over to a full season, the Dolphins may have found something.
If not, it would not be a surprise to see them with a very different quarterback within three seasons.
In Other News...
Dolphins Could Have A Quarterback Fight Nobody Saw Coming
The Dolphins have spent the offseason talking about competition everywhere, with Jeff Hafley and Jon-Eric Sullivan making it clear that the best players will play. Quarterback has been the one obvious exception so far, but the position is starting to look less settled than it did when camp opened, especially with a young challenger pushing to make the decision harder than expected.
Malik Willis enters the summer with the job, and Quinn Ewers is the name to watch as training camp unfolds. If Ewers keeps building on the flashes he showed in OTAs and minicamp, Miami could find itself with a real conversation on its hands, one complicated by the kind of contract and expectations that make every rough stretch feel bigger than it should. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Suddenly Have Real Hope At Their Biggest Camp Concern
The Dolphins came into the spring with one of their biggest question marks sitting in the secondary, a group that looked thin on paper and easy to worry about heading toward training camp. But OTAs and minicamps have offered a different picture under defensive coordinator Sean Duggan and coach Jeff Hafley, with the young defensive backs showing enough progress to make the position feel less like a liability and more like a work in progress with real upside.
Rookie Chris Johnson has helped change the tone, and Jason Marshall has done enough to put himself in position to matter right away. Miami still appears committed to building this out from within rather than chasing outside help, which makes the next few weeks important for a unit trying to grow together before the pads come on and the depth chart gets serious. [Read more 🡒]
Why This Dolphins Rebuild Feels Different Heading Into Camp
Training camp arrives with the Dolphins in a familiar place on the calendar but a different place in spirit. This rebuild has a cleaner organizational feel, with head coach Jeff Hafley and general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan aligned on the same vision for the culture and identity they want to build. After years of turnover and mixed messages, that kind of unity matters as much as any depth chart battle when a team is trying to reset itself.
The contrast with the last reboot in 2019 is hard to miss, especially for a franchise that knows how quickly a promising plan can unravel when the people in charge are not pulling the same way. Miami is also preparing to spend the season developing young players and living with the reality that it will be an underdog in nearly every game, which makes the long view even more important. The bigger question now is whether this version of the rebuild can stay coordinated once the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]