​Mike Sando from the Athletic released the NFL quarterback tiers ahead of the 2026 season and two former LSU football stars are in the top half. Joe Burrow is a tier one passer for a fifth-straight time, earning the No. 4 overall spot. Jayden Daniels checks in at No. 13 overall on tier 2.50 executives and coaches voted to rank 35 veteran quarterbacks. Burrow joined a first tier that included Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Matthew Stafford as all four separated themselves by a wide margin. Daniels is one of 13 quarterbacks in tier two, the largest in the 13-year history of the survey. The tier one descriptors include “carries his team each week” and “expertly handled pure-passing situations” with “no real holes in his game.” The tier 2 descriptors include “carries his team sometimes” and “has other dimensions that elevate him above tier 3.”Both Burrow and Daniels dealt with injuries that limited their production last season. But neither dropped out of the tier in which they began last season, which shows confidence from leadership around the NFL. The former Heisman Trophy winners are poised for bounce-back seasons.Here is what The Athletic wrote about Burrow and Daniels in its quarterback tiers. Joe BurrowBurrow, despite dealing with an injury-riddled 2025, remained among the league’s best. He had just four votes for tier 2. Here is what one offensive coach said about Burrow.“He’s so talented at throwing the ball, and he sees it so well. Everyone would want to have him, 10 times out of 10, no matter how much money he asked for.”Over six NFL seasons, since being drafted No. 1 overall in 2020, Burrow has 20,810 passing yards and 157 touchdowns along with a 68.5% completion percentage. He has thrown for over 4,000 yards in three of those seasons, coming less than 100 yards short of 5,000 in 2024.Jayden Daniels After the Washington Commanders took him at No. 2 overall in 2024, Daniels led them to the NFC Championship game as a rookie while throwing for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns along with 891 rushing yards. He was in and out of the lineup in 2025 due to injury, which affected his standing in the tiers. Daniels experienced the third-largest year-over-year drop after Geno Smith and Tua Tagovailoa. Going from one of the highest highs to a reality check on his ranking, but a playoff run would solidify his prowess.Here is what an NFL executive said about Daniels.“Jayden was really, really good in terms of his authority to make plays both on and off schedule. It’s extremely difficult to defend guys who can do both, so I think they’ve got a chance for a real bounce-back.”This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Where Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels landed in The Athletic’s 2026 QB tiers