Ranking every quarterback on the Saints' 2026 schedule
Outside of some tough back-to-back games in the opening weeks and at midseason, the Saints could have an edge at QB every time they hit the field.
To try and strike a balance between the objectivity of stats and ball-knowing film junkies, we averaged the rankings for 36 quarterbacks from five different metrics (Pro Football Reference passing success rate and adjusted net yards per attempt , NFL passer rating , ESPN's quarterback rating , and Pro Football Focus passer grade ) and cross-checked them against the final 2025 quarterback rankings from four different outlets ( For The Win , The Ringer , Bleacher Report , and NFL. com ). That gave us something close to a clean list accounting for statistical analysis and honest evaluations, though it took a few tweaks and some judicious choices to fit guys like Deshaun Watson in there who didn't play last year but could start in 2026.
Now that we've got that out of the way, here's our ranking for every quarterback the Saints will (or could) face in 2026: Tier 1: Top-10 talents Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers (Week 13) Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals (Week 12) Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (Week 1) Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens (Week 2) These are the most dangerous quarterbacks on the schedule -- accomplished passers who have been there, done that, and won the kinds of playoff games the Saints hope to reach someday. They're capable of ripping off 300 yards and putting the team on their back, even if we see it more often from some guys (Jackson and Burrow) than others (Goff and Love). The New Orleans pass defense must be in peak condition to slow them down.
Tier 2: Ascending, or at least steady, starters 5. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears (Week 11) 6. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Weeks 15 and 18) The Saints defense got the better of Williams in their meeting last year, holding him to just 172 passing yards while coming away with an interception, a sack, and two forced fumbles (with negative yards as a rusher).
They'll need to repeat that performance again. Mayfield has gone 4-2 against New Orleans since landing in Tampa Bay, but he's thrown just 12 touchdown passes against 8 interceptions while averaging about 229 passing yards per game. They can beat these guys, but it won't be easy.
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