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There’s a lot we didn’t see coming this year.
OK, there’s a lot I didn’t see coming this year.
Bo Nix’s regression has been fierce. C.J. Stroud’s rebound has been remarkable. And Patrick Mahomes’ return to being … well, Patrick Mahomes, has been a joy to watch. Let’s get into all of that and more in this week’s QB Stock Market.
These aren’t your typical QB rankings. I’m focused on contextualizing the fluctuations of starters’ performances throughout the season. I don’t write about every quarterback every week, but I dive deeply into the most compelling performers.
No one — not even Josh Allen — is safe at the top. No one — not even Tanner McKee — is stuck at the bottom. There is room for quick ascent — and rapid decline. One question holds the most importance: What have you done for your team lately?
Previous: Offseason | Preseason | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6
Previous ranking: 32 ↑
Previous ranking: 24 ↓
The Giants have a relatively easy decision to make this week. They’re almost definitely going to promote J.J. McCarthy to QB1. Winston is a good bridge QB or a backup. He can help you win a few games. But he’s not a QB that you can build an offense around.
Now, I’m not totally sure that McCarthy is either. But in Week 6, he did enough to make us curious. In the fourth quarter against the Saints, he racked up 243 passing yards. Just in the fourth quarter! Justin Herbert’s season high is 226 yards.
There were a few things that we saw from McCarthy in his 2026 debut. He layered a pass into a soft spot in the Saints defense (above), which was exactly the throw that the Vikings didn’t trust him to make. He also generated explosive plays, with four in this game — despite only posting 17 during his Vikings tenure.
Let’s not sugarcoat it, though. McCarthy has been in New York for just a few weeks. He doesn’t know the depths of the offense. And in this appearance, he was playing against one of the league’s worst defenses in what initially looked like garbage time. And he completed only 11 of his 21 passes (5.24%) for 243 yards, a touchdown and an interception. This wasn’t a sterling or impeccable performance.
It’s possible — likely even — that the Giants later turn back to Winston, who has been serviceable, especially given all the adversity that’s stacked against a backup. But McCarthy is a compelling option to, at least, explore while the NFC East is still an open race. He is also the type of asset who could appreciate and net a Day 2 pick this offseason. There are layers of upside.
If he knows the offense well enough to play, let McCarthy play.
Previous ranking: 27 ↑
Nix has been objectively bad this year, and he seems to get worse every week.
Week 6 against the Seahawks might have been up there with his three worst performances of his career — going all the way back to his rookie year, when everyone proclaimed him a bust in those first few weeks. Nix’s performance was so conservative that he looked like he was playing scared, finishing the game with an average air yards attempt of 2.98. He checked it down, he threw underneath and he could not — for the life of him — complete a pass of more than 10 yards downfield.
Normally, we’d chalk that up to Seattle’s defense. But 1) the Seahawks’ defense has been gettable this year for QBs, and 2) this has been more of the same from Nix for the past three weeks. That’s why Amazon Prime analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick boiled over after the game.
“Bo Nix is not playing competitively,” Fitzpatrick said on air. “It’s almost disrespectful to the quarterback position how he’s playing quarterback right now. … He has no trust from his coach, he calls a screen play on third-and-8. … I can only imagine how Sean Payton feels. I mean, Sean Payton, [offensive coordinator] Davis Webb, everybody that blocks for him. He’s not competing right now.”
Well, let’s talk about Payton and Webb. Because they haven’t made life easier for Nix.
