Bills star Josh Allen explains why Patrick Mahomes is the ‘clear No. 1’ quarterback in the AFC right now

When it comes to starting quarterbacks in the NFL, the AFC is absolutely loaded this year. From Patrick Mahomes to Joe Burrow to Josh Allen to Aaron Rodgers, the conference features almost all of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. 

It’s not easy to rank the best quarterbacks in the AFC, but if you have to do it, you better make sure you have Mahomes at the top of your ranking, because he’s the “clear” No. 1 QB in the conference, according to Allen. 

The subject came up during a recent interview on Kyle Brandt’s Basement. During the show, the Bills QB was asked to assess Brandt’s ranking of AFC quarterbacks (You can see his ranking below). 

The one part of the ranking that Allen agreed with was having Mahomes at the top of the list. 

“Until me or [Burrow] or anybody else can win a Super Bowl, I think Pat’s kind of the clear No. 1 right now,” Allen said. “He’s been playing at such a high level for so long and he’s got the rings to prove it.”

In five full seasons as a starter, Mahomes has already won two Super Bowls, which is not only wildly impressive, but it makes him the ONLY active quarterback in the NFL who has multiple Super Bowl wins as a starter.

Mahomes also has two MVP awards under his belt, which makes him one of just two active players with multiple MVPs (Aaron Rodgers is the other one). In 15 years as a starter, Rodgers has won one Super Bowl and four MVPs. Mahomes has already topped his Super Bowl count and is halfway to his MVP number even though he’s been starting for a full 10 years less than Rodgers. 

As Allen said, it does seem like Mahomes is in a class by himself as the “clear No. 1” quarterback. 

As for the rest of the Brandt’s list, Allen didn’t really agree with everything, especially the rankings for Trevor Lawrence and Tua Tagovailoa. 

“I’m not the one to sit here and say who belongs where, but I do think that Tua and Trevor — they played extremely well last year — I think they’re a little too low.” Allen said. 

The Bills QB also seemed to indicate that he would move Rodgers up into a class with himself and Burrow. 

“I think Aaron belongs a little higher,” Allen said. 

We can spend the next few months debating how to rank the best quarterbacks in the AFC, but one part of that list we can’t debate is who belongs on top, and that is currently Mahomes.