The Atlanta Falcons named Tua Tagovailoa their Week 1 starting quarterback on Monday, just days before their season-opening trip to face the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s the sixth different Week 1 starting quarterback the Falcons have fielded in six years.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski isn’t committing to anything beyond that. “I don’t think it’s fair to really go past this week on anything related to our football team,” Stefanski said. Left unspoken is that Michael Penix Jr. is working his way back into eligibility to play this season, putting Tagovailoa’s job on notice almost as soon as he got it.
Fox Sports’ Armando Salguero says naming a starter this late in the process is rarely a sign of strength. “It is a poorly veiled cry for help,” he writes, arguing the Falcons situation reflects a team in real trouble heading into the year.
The Full Rankings
Salguero released a full predictive ranking of all 32 NFL starting quarterbacks ahead of Wednesday night’s kickoff of the 2026 regular season, based not on who has the biggest name but on who is likely to actually perform over the next five months.
At the bottom: Jacoby Brissett (32), Deshaun Watson (31), and Tagovailoa himself (30), who Salguero predicts “might not make it to Week 2 as the starter.” Also near the bottom are Cam Ward (29), Malik Willis (28) of the Dolphins, and Geno Smith (27) of the Raiders.
The middle tier includes veterans and developing passers alike — Kirk Cousins (26), Jaxson Dart (24), Bryce Young (23), Jalen Hurts (21), C.J. Stroud (20), Trevor Lawrence (19), Aaron Rodgers (18) and Baker Mayfield (16), among others.
Near the top, Salguero flags several breakout candidates: Bo Nix (10) and Kyler Murray (9) are pegged for career or breakout seasons. Jared Goff sits at No. 8, called “underrated by many outside of Detroit.” Drake Maye comes in at No. 7, with Salguero writing that “last year was not a mirage. Next stop is super stardom.”
The top five: Lamar Jackson (6), Patrick Mahomes (5), Dak Prescott (4), Matthew Stafford (3), Josh Allen (2), and Joe Burrow at No. 1. Of Burrow, Salguero writes, “If he and his offensive teammates stay healthy, they have the best offense and best QB play in the NFL.”
Salguero’s underlying point is that great quarterback play doesn’t necessarily require a great quarterback — it requires the quarterback a team has to play great in that moment. Hurts, he notes, isn’t rated as a great quarterback overall, but played great enough to win the Eagles a Super Bowl. Allen, by contrast, is rated a great quarterback but hasn’t gotten the Bills to one.
