The recent influx of talent at the quarterback position has transformed passing games across the NFL. We've seen 15 quarterbacks drafted in the first round of the past four drafts, with 11 of them currently serving as the starter for their respective franchise. On top of that, there are somewhere in the neighborhood of five more QBs primed to be selected in Round 1 next April at the 2021 NFL draft.
With that in mind, Pro Football Focus set out to rank the top 10 quarterbacks who we'd want to lead a franchise -- based on talent alone, and not their respective contract situations -- from the 2017-2021 NFL draft classes.
1. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Draft class: 2017
Do you really need an explanation here? Since Mahomes entered the NFL, his 93.1 passing grade trails only that of Drew Brees (93.4). The next closest player on this list is Deshaun Watson at 83.5. Mahomes ranks third in deep completions over that span with 101, despite playing only one game his rookie year, and second in deep adjusted completion percentage at 48.0%.
What really separates him from the rest of the quarterbacks on this list, however, is his consistency. In 46 career starts, including the playoffs, Mahomes has only six career games with below-average passing grades. You can count on Mahomes and the Chiefs' offense to show up every single week.