Two AFC West Quarterbacks Ranked Top-Five

The Las Vegas Raiders will have to face two of the league's best quarterbacks twice this year.

The Las Vegas Raiders have been at a disadvantage ever since reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes became a starter in the NFL.

Mahomes became the Kansas City Chiefs' official franchise quarterback in 2018 and has since won two Super Bowls and two MVP awards. 

The Raiders, meanwhile, have made it to the postseason only once -- their only winning season -- in that time.

With Kansas City being the primary juggernaut in the AFC West all those seasons, things only got more challenging for Las Vegas when the Los Angeles Chargers selected an up-and-coming quarterback in Justin Herbert with the sixth overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.

According to ESPN's latest position rankings, the two AFC West Pro Bowl quarterbacks are top-five heading into the 2023-24 campaign.

In Jeremy Fowler's quarterback rankings posted Monday morning, Mahomes was listed at No. 1, while Herbert, who enters his fourth NFL season, was ranked No. 5.

Between the two were Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow at No. 2, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen at No. 3, and New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers at No. 4.

The list was based on votes from NFL executives, coaches, scouts, and players.

As with all his position rankings, Fowler explained the voting process:

"Voters give us their best 10 players at a position, then we compile the results and rank candidates based on number of top-10 votes, composite average, along with dozens of interviews, research and film-study help from ESPN NFL analyst Matt Bowen. In total, more than 80 voters submitted a ballot on at least one position, and in many cases all positions. We had several ties, so we broke them with the help of additional voting and follow-up calls with those surveyed."

Mahomes comes off a sensational MVP season in which he was named to his first AP All-Pro First Team since 2018-19.

Meanwhile, Herbert made his first postseason appearance but was unsuccessful as the Jacksonville Jaguars returned from a 27-0 deficit to advance to the Divisional Round.

The Las Vegas Raiders open training camp for the entire team on July 25, 2023.

The Silver and Black open the preseason by hosting the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Aug. 13, at 4 p.m. EDT/1 p.m. PDT.

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