Not too long ago, I started a brand-new series in which I would rank divisions by each position. I started by ranking the AFC divisions by their quarterbacks and now comes part two: Ranking the NFC divisions by their quarterbacks. In my opinion, the NFC is much harder to rank than the AFC. There are so many more question marks with the quarterbacks of the NFC and the level of play isn’t as easily defined as the AFC. So let’s get into the NFL Quarterback Rankings.
How do you rate guys like Jimmy Garoppolo and Mitchell Trubisky? What can we expect from Jameis Winston now that Bruce Arians is his head coach? How long of a leash does Eli Manning have now that his heir apparent is waiting in the wings? That’s just a small sample size of things I have to consider when doing these rankings. All that said, let’s see what I’ve come up with for NFL Quarterback Rankings.
NFL Quarterback Rankings: NFC
NFC South
The only division with two active MVPs at the quarterback position, the NFC South has been a hub for elite signal-caller play for what seems like forever now.
New Orleans Saints
Surprisingly enough, the best one of the group, Drew Brees, has never won an MVP and now likely never will. Brees had a noticeable dip in his arm velocity as the season went on and you really started to notice it after the New Orleans Saints loss to the Cowboys in week 13 last season. Even then, Brees and Saints were just one blown call away from going to the Super Bowl.
Atlanta Falcons
Matt Ryan actually played extremely well last season and his numbers rivaled those of his MVP year from 2016. Unfortunately, a defense decimated by injuries, the continued regression of Vic Beasley and a nonexistent ground game were large factors in what was a lost season for the Falcons. If the Atlanta Falcons can stay healthy this year, then we might be in store for another MVP-like season for Matty Ice.
Carolina Panthers
The bottom two QBs of this division, Cam Newton and Jameis Winston, both have huge question marks on them entering this season.
No one knows for sure how healthy Newton is. If his shoulder problems from 2018 linger over into the start of the season, then the team may elect to shut him down and see what third round pick Will Grier has to offer.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It’s a make or break year for Jameis and I’m expecting a high touchdown/interception ratio this year. Arians loves to throw the ball down the field and Winston’s accuracy has always been questionable at best. Not sure how that’ll translate to wins, but if Jameis doesn’t show out this year, then I fully expect Arians to look for a new franchise signal caller in the 2020 draft. I know—not exactly a hot take, but I think it’s fair to say that most people expect this to be the last year we see Winston as a starter in the NFL.
NFC West
Seattle Seahawks
Easily the most controversial decision of this series thus far, I have the NFC West ranked ahead of the NFC North. Russell Wilson is a top five quarterback in this league and yet somehow still underrated in my opinion. He’s been playing behind one of, if not the worst, offensive lines in the league for what seems like forever now. Even with the Seattle Seahawks switching to a run first mentality on offense and his lack of weapons outside of Tyler Lockett, Wilson still managed to put up a career high in passing touchdowns (35). All of this while being sacked an astonishing 51 times! Not sure what else needs to be said here; Russell Wilson is elite.
Los Angeles Rams
As far as Jared Goff is concerned, I actually tend to be a bigger fan of his than most other people. I wouldn’t put him in the “elite” category yet, but he certainly has the opportunity to elevate himself to that status this year. Todd Gurley may never be the same player again with his knee issues, so it’ll fall on Goff to carry the Los Angeles Rams against an ever-improving NFC West.
San Francisco 49ers
2019 will finally be the year that Jimmy Garoppolo emerges as a top-tier quarterback in this league. Dante Pettis is a star in the making (you heard it here first) and George Kittle might be the best tight end in the league. All of that, along with a loaded backfield, and it’s hard not to get excited about what the 2019 season could have in store for the San Francisco 49ers.
Arizona Cardinals
That just leaves us with the greatest enigma of the upcoming season: Kyler Murray. I believe that his athleticism alone will be enough for him to find success during his rookie season at the least. It’ll be interesting to see how he fares against the stout defenses of the NFC West.
NFC North
Green Bay Packers
I have to admit, I’m not a huge fan of the quarterback play in this division. I understand that Aaron Rodgers is a generational talent, but he also led the league in thrown away passes in 2018. He simply didn’t take any risks and seemed too worried about throwing interceptions and, yes, believe it or not, that is a thing. Rodgers also made no effort to disguise his displeasure with the offensive scheme throughout the course of the season. I’ve just continued to become less of a fan of his as the years have gone on. Now with reports of him and new head coach Matt LaFleur already at odds about audible control at the line of scrimmage, it’ll be interesting to see how Rodgers controls his emotions throughout the 2019 season. I’m expecting an 8-8 season for the Green Bay Packers, even after the plethora of offseason acquisitions they made.
Chicago Bears
A lot of people are expecting an MVP type season from Mitchell Trubisky, I am not one of them. I’m not a big fan of the “smoke and mirror” offense the Chicago Bears run. It’s the type of system that works well in the regular season, but flounders in the playoffs when opposing teams are more honed in on studying the other team. Even with that being said, I still expect the Bears to run away with the NFC North for the second year in a row. That defense is just too good and will only get better as the players spend more time in that scheme.
Detroit Lions
Matthew Stafford and Kirk Cousins are the two most overrated quarterbacks in the league and it’s not even close.
Detroit Lions fans continue to make excuse after excuse for Stafford and he continues to reward their loyalty by winning absolutely nothing. He’s appeared in three playoff games since being drafted, and has choked in every single one of them. This has to be a “make or break” year for the 10-year veteran, right?
Minnesota Vikings
And then there’s Cousins. I’m not sure if there’s any other quarterback in the league that shrinks in the spotlight like Cousins. The arm talent is there, but he just doesn’t seem to have it mentally. He’s got arguably the best receiving duo in the league and a defense that ranked 4th overall in yards last season. I understand that the Minnesota Vikings offensive line wasn’t the best last season, but the team looked to rectify that by drafting Garrett Bradbury in the first round. We’ll see if Cousins can finally live up to the ridiculous, fully guaranteed, three-year contract he received last off season. If the Vikings get a slow start in 2019, I expect Mike Zimmer to be fired mid-season. How’s that for a bold prediction?
NFC East
Finally there’s the NFC East. If Carson Wentz wasn’t coming off yet another injury and Alex Smith was healthy enough to start the season, then I may have ranked them ahead of the NFC North, but alas here we are.
Philadelphia Eagles
Wentz is easily the best out of this group, but health has been the biggest thing holding him back. Even with Wentz’s injury history, I still believe the Philadelphia Eagles made the right move in picking Wentz over Nick Foles. He’s simply the better and younger talent. Time will tell if he can return to the MVP form he displayed before getting injured in 2017. If I were a betting man, which I am, I’d put money on a return to form for the young signal caller in 2019.
Dallas Cowboys
What can I say about Dak Prescott that hasn’t been said already? He’s an average arm talent at best, but the guy is a winner. Since 2016, Prescott has more game-winning drives and more prime time wins than any other quarterback in the NFL. It’s obviously no secret that his deficiencies have been masked by the team around him. Amari Cooper was supposed to be the acquisition that took Prescott to the next level, but that has yet to happen. Maybe he’s capable of putting up elite quarterback numbers but simply doesn’t because he doesn’t have to for the Dallas Cowboys to win games, who knows. What I do know is that Prescott has never displayed nothing more than average arm talent in the NFL, and thus is ranked accordingly.
New York Giants
Do I even need to say anything about Eli Manning? The guy has been making it by on his past accomplishments for years now. The New York Giants have been too petrified of their fan base to finally pull the plug on the shot fighter. No need to fear though, the Giants drafted the exact same player in Daniel Jones. The Giants are a mediocre regular season team that occasionally sneaks into the playoffs.
Washington Redskins
That leaves us with Dwayne Haskins of the Washington Redskins. I’m not a Haskins fan and I attribute the bulk of his impressive college numbers to the track team of receivers he had at Ohio. This viewpoint is further justified when you find out that he led the nation in passes thrown under 10 yards at one-point last season. He’s going to be the starter by default in Washington due to Smith’s injury. I don’t see big things for Dwayne Haskins in the NFL, and him not being able to redshirt this season certainly won’t help in the long run. The Redskins WR group isn’t even average and who knows how well Derrius Guice will play after sitting out his entire rookie season due to injury. The Redskins are the epitome of average in the NFL and I just can’t see that changing anytime soon.
Last Word on the NFL Quarterback Rankings: NFC
So there you have it, my division rankings for the quarterback position are now complete. It certainly wasn’t easy and there were definitely some controversial decisions along the way, but I’m more than satisfied with the decisions I made. Stay tuned as I look to tackle the running back position next, starting with the AFC pun definitely intended.
