Fox Sports analyst Colin Cowherd recently came out with his list of the top-ten quarterbacks in the NFL. These rankings caused a bit of a stir, as is the case for many of his hot takes, which he makes in an effort to bait viewers and readers into engagement and ratings.
His choice for the best quarterback in the league was not controversial. Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills, of course, is believed by many to be the top quarterback in the NFL. However, his decision to declare Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams as the third-best in the league raised some eyebrows.
In these rankings, Cowherd had Kansas City Chiefs star and future Pro Football Hall of Famer Patrick Mahomes ranked very high as well.
Fox Sports analyst Colin Cowherd calls Patrick Mahomes this generation’s John Elway
In these rankings, Cowherd had Mahomes ranked as the second-best quarterback in the NFL, despite the fact that he had a down year in 2025 and will be out for the first part of 2026 as he recovers from a torn ACL.
Part of the reason why Cowherd ranked the three-time Super Bowl Champion so high was because of how often he has been able to lead his team back from deficits throughout the course of his career:
“He now has a run game and an upgraded O-line. I think he will be Patrick Mahomes again, but I need to wait and see it. The most remarkable stat about Patrick Mahomes is this: He’s won half the games in his career, 20-20, when he’s trailed by 10-plus points. He is the great [John] Elway. He is the great ‘come from behind’ quarterback of my life.”
As seen from the excerpt above, Cowherd compares Mahomes to Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, who was known for orchestrating great come-from-behind victories during his long career.
It is somewhat ironic, though, that the Fox Sports analyst calls Mahomes the “Great come from behind quarterback of my life” when Elway’s career was, in fact, during Cowherd’s life as well.
Is he saying Mahomes is greater than Elway? If so, many would not argue. After all, modern era players seem to have an easy time getting placed higher on all-time lists than the players that preceded them.
It will truly be interesting to see how Mahomes plays following his return from a torn ACL. If he is able to continue playing and winning, he will be the standard that people point to in years to come, rather than Elway.
