A Massive Collection Of NFL Insiders Ranked Their Top 10 Quarterbacks And Labeled Joe Burrow As The Best QB On The Planet Not Named Patrick Mahomes
There's only one definitive quarterback ranking or tier list that we can all trust, and we know where to get it from:
Nevertheless, it's cute to see actual NFL executives, scouts, coaches and players take their stab at ranking all the QBs around the league. All these fools are too close to the action to have any sort of objective truth about it. Or so you'd think!!
With such a widespread aggregation of expert opinions, consensus has built to the only conclusion possible: Cincinnati Bengals superstar Joe Burrow is the best in the entire sport not named Patrick Mahomes. This passage in particular is notable:
"An AFC offensive coach said Burrow is No. 2 and 'it's not close' because he does everything well, he's more skilled than given credit for, 'tough as hell and extremely accurate.'"
Pretty cool to know Mahomes and Burrow will be battling it out on New Year's Eve with the AFC's No. 1 seed potentially on the line.
Don't come at me with Josh Allen's alleged superiority over Joey B, either. Dude's scattershot accuracy has returned in each of the past two seasons, not to mention he's as mistake-prone as anyone. Aaron Rodgers is coming off a down year and rightly files in at the No. 4 slot.
Let's explore more of ESPN's league-polled list, though.
Marty Mush's brain is about to explode when he sees Justin Herbert ranked inside the top five. I'm so here for it. The Chargers have done everything possible to fuck up Herbert's development. All he does is continue to overcome the odds. With Kellen Fucking Moore as his play-caller in 2023 and beyond — unless Moore gets poached for a head coaching vacancy — I think Herbert is going to vault into the No. 2 conversation with Burrow either this year or next.
As much as ESPN rightly gassed up Burrow's intermediate and deep passing prowess (NFL-leading 19 TDs on throws of 20+ yards), Herbert has an absolute bazooka attached to his right shoulder. When he's given the chance to let it rip downfield, it's a thing of beauty. Sounds like Moore is keen to take more shots with his new field general.
Some will say Jalen Hurts is too low, but let's see him flourish for another season until he's in the top five. Sixth is more than fair for him. Hurts also lost his offensive coordinator. That could be a pretty big deal. Whereas Herbert is getting a massive upgrade, Hurts' situation is less certain.
Trevor Lawrence's spot at No. 8 is based on projection. I know I just said "let's see more than one year" about Hurts. The difference here is Lawrence had a worse roster around him, inferior pass protection and was learning a new offense on the fly after a shit show of a rookie season under Urban Meyer. To still win the division, rally to get a huge playoff victory and give Mahomes' Chiefs a legit push in the Divisional Round…you gotta give it up for T-Law.
If Matthew Stafford weren't so riddled with injuries from last year and the battering he took for a dozen years in Detroit, he'd likely be higher. Certainly ahead of Dak Prescott, who does nothing but come up smallest on the big stages. I like Prescott more than the average hater. It's getting hard to defend him at this point. PS, Prescott is talking a big game ahead of the 2023 campaign, as told to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Gabriel Trevino:
“I know who I am, and you can go back and take away half of those off drops. I’m not saying it’s on the receiver, but if you cut that in half then we start talking about those, nobody is talking about it. […] “I won’t have 10 interceptions this year.”
We'll see what happens with Mike McCarthy in charge of the call sheet. Good luck, Dak!
First among the honorable mentions is first-team All-Pro scumbag Deshaun Watson, followed by Kirk Cousins, Jared Goff, Derek Carr and Tua Tagovailoa. If I had to rank all those dudes right now, it'd go Tua-Carr-Cousins-Goff-Watson. That's assuming Tua is healthy of course. Had he not had those scary concussion issues in 2022, I think Tua would merit top-nine consideration.
Finally, the receiving votes category: Kyler Murray, Daniel Jones, Justin Fields, and Geno Smith. The supporting casts around Jones and Fields have upgraded considerably for this coming season, so it'll be pretty interesting to see how they fare with the NFC so wide-open. Kyler is coming off a torn ACL, and certainly has elite talent. This should only fuel him.
Where's the love for Geno Smith? He led full-time starters in completion percentage last year. To not even crack the top 15 should leave him feeling a certain type of way. Know this: Geno will not write back to those preemptively writing off his recent resurgence. I'm certainly not betting against him with a wide receiver trio of DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and first-round pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
One more reminder that there's only one set of QB tiers/rankings you can trust.
And just understand that Joe Burrow is QB2. It's science. It's irrefutable until further evidence is presented. Now carry on with your week and remember training camp is only ONE WEEK AWAY LFGGGGGG.