With another season of NFL football in the books, media analysts begin to take in the changes that occur from one year to another. The professional sport, known for being more volatile from season to season compared to sports with more games throughout their respective seasons, like basketball and baseball. And since the sport is always developing into a new “age,” of modern schemes, physicality, and athleticism, it’s nice to have a benchmark of who goes where. That’s where I come in! Today, I will not only be providing you guys with quarterback rankings, but a full-fledged tier list.
These quarterbacks will be ordered from best to worst and be sub-categorized into “tiers,” or grades that symbolize where a certain player stands in relation to the rest of the league. I will be using the style of tier list that has become prominent in the competitive video gaming community, such as for constantly changing in-game content like characters in Super Smash Bros, champions in League of Legends, and weapons in Fortnite. These tiers, instead of starting at “A” and ending at “F,” will run from “SS” to “C.” Before we begin, I will provide a quick description of what each tier indicates:
SS – Game-breaking ability, can single-handedly carry lackluster teammates to great success. (Example: LeBron James in the 2018 playoffs)
S+ – Game-changing ability. Every time they are on the field there is a danger to score regardless of the talent around them.
S – Great at their job. Their individual performance lifts their team’s play. The player is able to keep their team in contention against difficult competition.
S- – Might need some surrounding help to be game-changers, but the player is more than proficient at commanding the offense and leading the team in a majority of scenarios.
A+ – Better than average starters that make plus plays for their offense. While a solid supporting cast is required for legitimate contention, the player is capable of keeping the team competitive.
A – Average starters that are not consistent game-changers, but still can limit their mistakes and make enough plus plays to help their team win games.
A- – Game manager types that may not do too much to lose their matches, but don’t do enough to win either. A talented and cohesive team is needed around them in order to succeed.
B – Backup-quality players. Players that might win you a game or two if the starter misses some time. No team that starts one of these is fielding them for current results. A lot of developing young players also fall into the category for flawed-passers. Teams will occasionally need to overcome poor QB play in order to win.
C – Decrepit players that need to develop their skills significantly or may have troubles being in the league within a short time.
D – These quarterbacks should not have taken a snap in the league this year, as they did not look like they could compete at the same level of play as their teammates in most scenarios.
Players in each tier are ranked further based on my preference. A player that is towards the top of their tier is close to breaking into a higher tier, while a player that is towards the bottom is more likely garnering consideration to drop a tier. Now that we have all of that settled: let’s get into the list!
SS
This is what I said in 2018, and have quoted since:
“There are currently no quarterbacks in the NFL that single-handedly can win any game they play regardless of their team’s capabilities. The most recent example of this kind of player in the NFL was Aaron Rodgers during his athletic prime (2010-2016). Before the injuries he has endured over recent seasons added some wear and tear to his body, Rodgers was able to carry a constantly underwhelming Packers roster to perennial success. Despite many promising players not reaching expectations, Rodgers picked up the slack, as he became this generation’s comeback king.
Now, however, Aaron Rodgers is a couple years older and can no longer pick up the slack of every weakness the roster has, thus removing him from the tier reserved for franchise-shifting talents.”
This section remains unchanged because as much as the top three quarterbacks on this list seem like they provide real life cheat codes for their teams at times, but none of them are “Bo Jackson in the Tecmo Bowl,” unfair, which is what this section is reserved for. Patrick Mahomes and Rodgers have flirted with the SS tier over the past couple years. Mahomes has had the highest quality of overall quarterback play over the past two seasons since I’ve done this exercise, while Rodgers has lifted his team’s level of play more than any quarterback in recent memory, but neither quarterback is at the level of making the NFL rule book seem poorly written when they step on the field.
S+
- Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
- Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
- Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The tussle between the two generational talents from different generations has been a back and forth affair. Rodgers has had his spark reignited under second-year head coach Matt LaFleur, and for now takes the lead after leading a far lesser supporting cast nearly as far in the playoffs during his second-career MVP season. The 37 year old QB is playing like it’s the middle of his prime, overcoming a “slump” that occured by Rodgers over Mike McCarthy’s last couple seasons and LaFleur’s first season, one which the superstar wasn’t even fully healthy for, in his defense.
Patrick Mahomes played one of the most impressive games I’ve seen for a quarterback with such an ugly stat-line in the Super Bowl against the Bucs. The former Red Raider wasn’t able to utilize his vaunted receiving corps to his pleasing due to the lack of time in the pocket and an issue with drops throughout the game, yet still looked like a guy that could turn it around with a miracle throw on any play. Rodgers takes the cake for now due to his team-lifting ability being more consistently evident and some dropped interceptions that mask some of Mahomes’ ball security issues throughout the season, but the 2018 MVP is still my pick for the next “SS”-ranked quarterback in the NFL.
Tom Brady, like Mahomes, can amplify the talents of a whole roster further than their limits due to his competitiveness, winning pedigree, and unmatched game management skills. I strongly debated putting Tom Brady in the “S” tier due to leading better supporting casts than Rodgers nearly annually and inability to bomb the ball like the two players above him. However, the quarterback that has gone 7-3 in Super Bowls throughout his career clearly doesn’t need the extra arm strength to beat both players over the course of one postseason. The 43 year-old quarterback remains the smartest, most competitive, and the best at situational football. Just because the Buccaneers were loaded with talent and the Chiefs field a quarterback who can make once-in-a-lifetime throws seemingly five times a game doesn’t mean Tom Brady’s greatness has to be undermined.
S
- Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans
- Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
- Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
- Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
Deshaun Watson emerged as a top five NFL quarterback last season despite the Texans’ offense, and franchise, trending in the wrong direction since their 2019 Divisional Round loss to the Chiefs. Without top-three NFL receiver Deandre Hopkins, Watson put up career highs all across the board (yards, yard per attempt, touchdowns, passer rating and completion percentage were all career highs while Watson logged a career low in the interception department). Regardless of the Texans’ 2020 record, the former national champion has earned the hefty contract, and will eventually leave the Texans with a huge reward for allowing a young, generational talent at quarterback to walk away from Houston.
Russell Wilson was in the first half in the season what Josh Allen was throughout the second half. The two MVP candidates were the two players most commonly mentioned in the MVP race with Aaron Rodgers due to their ability to consistently take advantage of a solid receiving group, provide their team with a dual-threat to keep the defense on their toes, and lead their team to tough, close wins throughout the season. Wilson waned down the stretch, turning into an interception machine at times and occasionally seeming like he was trying to do too much behind a mediocre offensive line. Allen, meanwhile, was inconsistent against the league’s top defensive competition and seemed to regress at times early in the season before pulling it together. Despite all the reasons I listed for why the two aren’t more highly-rated, the pair of quarterbacks both led teams with holes in key spots of their roster to successful regular seasons and playoff births.
Lamar Jackson couldn’t match his production from his MVP-winning 2019 campaign, but the third-year quarterback maintained his development as a passer while providing the Ravens with the third thousand-yard rushing season by a quarterback in NFL History (Michael Vick and Jackson’s MVP season are responsible for the other two). While critics are hesitant to place Lamar Jackson in the same tier as gunslingers like Watson and Wilson, what Jackson brings to the table with his legs is more than enough to make up for it.
S-
- Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
- Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans
- Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
- Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions
- Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
The Dallas Cowboys witnessed their future checkbook run thinner and thinner by waiting on re-signing Dak Prescott. The team looked lost without their star quarterback under center, even with a solid backup like Andy Dalton. Who could blame them? The Mississippi State product was the heartbeat of this offense throughout the first five games, averaging over 370 passing yards per game before missing the final 11 games of the season due to a severe ankle injury.
Ever since coming to the Titans from Miami, Ryan Tannehill has exceeded even the most wildest expectations, turning into a top-tier game manager for his new team. He reminds me of Alex Smith, but with a bigger arm, because one of Tannehill’s best traits is that he knows how to get the ball to the best players, like Derrick Henry or A.J. Brown. Henry is a huge help as a distraction in the backfield, but far from the only reason that Tannehill not only maintained his 2019 success, but put up a career high in passing touchdowns and fourth-quarter comebacks in 2020.
The Falcons’ 4-12 season in 2020 was extremely disappointing, but don’t point fingers at Matt Ryan for the team’s struggles. In a season where star receivers Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley were both dealing with bumps and bruises throughout the season, the offensive line didn’t provide much relief, and the defense was atrocious, Matt Ryan made sure that Atlanta could keep things interesting against better teams like the Saints, Bucs, and Chiefs as the season came to a close.
The Lions won 5 games last season, and three of them were won on fourth quarter-comebacks by Matthew Stafford. Not to mention, it really would’ve been 6 and 4 in that stat books for Stafford if D’Andre Swift caught the potential game winning pass against the Bears in Week 1. Despite some improvements on the offensive side of the ball in the form of D’Andre Swift and an improved T.J. Hockenson, Matthew Stafford was the main catalyst for any of the Lions 2020 success and earned the appreciation of Detroit fans over the past decade before being traded to Los Angeles this offseason.
The Chargers lost all but two of their nine defeats by a total of 1 score or less. So while the 6-9 record as a starter isn’t flattering for Justin Herbert, the rookie quarterback was a picture-perfect leader for a team dealing with their coach on the hot seat most of the season. The impressive stats are hard to ignore, but even putting aside Herbert’s 4,000-yard, 30-touchdown season, he showed the traits of a poised leader and the capability to light a match under an underperforming offense.
A+
- Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders
- Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
- Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns
- Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
- Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
- Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings
- Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Derek Carr has returned to form under the last couple years with Jon Gruden. The 2016 NFL MVP candidate took a step back in 2017 and 2018 as the Raiders regressed from playoff contenders into a mediocre unit, and then back to a top-15 quarterback in the league once Gruden and GM Mike Mayock patched up the offensive line for their starting QB. Carr feels like the epitome of an A+ rating, as he is consistently among the better passers in the league when his surrounding offense is stashed with talent.
Kyler Murray was mentioned as a dark-horse MVP candidate early in the season before the losses started piling up for the Cardinals. Murray struggled with turnovers. While his interceptions remained consistent at 12, he nearly doubled his fumbles from 5 to 9 in his sophomore season, per pro-football-reference.com. Still, the Cardinals dual-threat quarterback is second to only Lamar Jackson at using his legs to help his offense, and made strides as a passer.
Baker Mayfield took a step in the right direction this season after a tumultuous 2019 campaign that saw the former first-overall pick throw 21 interceptions. With a complete supporting cast around him, Mayfield looked like a Pro Bowl caliber quarterback for the Browns and set a career high pass rating.
Pittsburgh’s Wild Card loss against the Browns will leave a sour taste in the mouths of Steelers fans for a long time. And while Ben Roethlisberger was far from solid in his performance during the game, he did show how live his arm can be, even at the age of 38 and had a good body of work when accounting for the entirety of the season. His struggles down the stretch are cause for some major concern in 2021, as the former first-rounder has taken an insane amount of hits throughout his career and could soon feel the effects of that if he hasn’t already. However, based on what the veteran accomplished in early 2020 alone, he remains among the positive difference-makers in the league.
The arm talent that allowed for Drew Brees to be mentioned along with Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, and Peyton Manning as one of the top quarterbacks the NFL could offer throughout the 2010’s is now dwindling. Despite the injuries and age taking a toll on the 42 year old quarterback, his potential to the Saints at 2021 is a better scenario for most teams to have under center than most franchises. A lot was made of his rough playoff performance against the Buccaneers, but Brees remained on point throughout the offseason, completing over 70% of his passes and logging a passer rating over 106 in his 12 games.
One of the most polarizing quarterbacks of the 2020 season, Kirk Cousins was bad throughout his first 6 games. A 1-5 start and a 11:10 touchdown-to-interception ratio wasn’t cutting it for the Vikings, who looked to be in contention for the first-overall pick early in the season. However, Minnesota turned things around, largely thanks to… Dalvin Cook and Justin Jefferson. Of course, Cousins also turned his season around, only throwing 3 more picks all season and failing to log a passer rating under 90 in any game.
Joe Burrow at times looked like just any rookie out there for the Bengals, but combined it with occasional flashes of a great player and leader. Subject to an awful offensive line, an injured A.J. Green and Joe Mixon, and a nasty knee injury in his tenth game of the season that ended his season prematurely, Burrow also showed a lot of what made him the first overall pick despite all of the complications. The former LSU quarterback kept a very bad team competitive against playoff teams like the Titans, Colts, and Browns, and thus earns an A+ for his efforts.
A
- Philip Rivers, Indianapolis Colts
- Ryan Fitzpatrick, Miami Dolphins
- Andy Dalton, Dallas Cowboys
- Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers
- Alex Smith, Washington Football Team
- Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
- Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
Instead of going out with a bang or a whimper, Philip Rivers went out with just about a median season per Philip Rivers standards. The longtime Chargers quarterback made the move to Indy and led a talented Colts team to the playoffs. It did take a talented defensive, a standout offensive line, and a bit of luck to make it into the Wild Card Round, but Philip Rivers was far from an issue. He delivered a couple of come-from behind wins and posted a nice 97 passer rating despite the receiving corps suffering from injuries.
Fitzmagic made some waves with the Dolphins when he was brought in to replace rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa against the Raiders and play closer for a team trying to make the playoffs. While Ryan Fitzpatrick had a couple duds against New England and Seattle, the veteran journeyman was still playing at a solid level before getting somewhat-surprisingly replaced by Tua for what what was supposed to be the remainder of the season after a shutout win versus the Jets. In his three games of Tua relief duty, he brought the Dolphins more big-play ability than the Alabama quarterback did.
While the Cowboys’ offense was nowhere near the level it was operating at with a healthy Dak Prescott in early 2020, Andy Dalton put together a highly respectable season as Prescott’s replacement. After missing some time and returning to an absolutely rudderless Cowboys offense, Dalton pieced together a respectable 4-5 starting record and 14:8 touchdown-to-interception ratio throughout his first season as an NFL backup.
After some uneven performances in recent memory, including a Super Bowl LIV matchup where he looked outmatched by the Chiefs’ defense as the game progressed, Jimmy Garoppolo is no longer the NFL’s golden child. The oft-injured quarterback had a couple duds against Miami and Seattle this season, but the former Patriot was never brought in to San Francisco to do everything himself. An injury-decimated year for the entire roster started way before Jimmy GQ’s season-ending injury, as the 49ers seemingly played more backups than starters due to the absences piling up. Whether or not Garoppolo gets another chance in California, or finds a new home, a clean slate of health for him and his team will likely see him return to the league’s upper-tiers of game managers.
With five wins in his final five starts of the season, Alex Smith was the main catalyst for the Washington Football Team to take the NFC East crown. The stats don’t look pretty with a 6:8 touchdown-interception ratio, but Smith was the ultimate game manager for Ron Rivera’s squad and played a huge development in Antonio Gibson’s development as an all-purpose running back. The defense carried them to those seven wins, but Dwayne Haskins or Kyle Allen wouldn’t have been enough to bring them that level of success the stretch.
Yes, Tua Tagovailoa was outplayed by Ryan Fitzpatrick as the Dolphins’ quarterback down the stretch, but the rookie quarterback’s level-headed approach to the game is likely what kept them afloat in the playoff picture for so long. Where Fitzpatrick is volatile, Tagovailoa is steady, which is why Brian Flores decided to swap the two quarterbacks despite a solid 3-1 stretch by the veteran. In his first six starts, Fitzmagic threw mulitple picks in three games. Tua only had one such game all season, though it did come at a bad time, it being the Week 16 loss to the Bills that ultimately knocked Miami out of the playoffs.
Jalen Hurts did finish the season with an ugly 52% completion percentage and more turnovers than desired from a starting quarterback, but the second-round rookie provided a spark for the Eagles when taking over for their other turnover-prone passer, Carson Wentz. Hurts dealt with an awful receiving group and a banged-up O-line on top of learning his mechanics on the fly, showing some insane potential for success in Philly down the line.
A-
- Gardner Minshew, Jacksonville Jaguars
- Teddy Bridgewater, Carolina Panthers
- Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago Bears
- Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams
- Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints
- Nick Foles, Chicago Bears
- Daniel Jones, New York Giants
If the Jaguars were trying to win and not undo an accidental Week 1 victory against the Colts throughout 2020 in a tank-job, Gardner Minshew would have been the undoubted starter throughout the season. The Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes did end up going to Jacksonville, meaning that Minshew will likely have to find a new home if he plans on starting. I hope that happens, as Minshew has proven through his first two years that he has the arm and leadership qualities that a team will look for in a starting quarterback, as well as some impressive stats in a bad offense (37 touchdowns to 11 picks over the past two years a 93 passer rating over his first two seasons).
The Panthers looked to be in good hands with Teddy Bridgewater and Christian McCaffery sharing the backfield. Then, McCaffery got hurt and only played 3 games all year. Bridgewater still largely did his job for the Panthers early in the season, leading a team without their best player to a pair of back-to-back wins directly after losing him. Bridgewater remained solid before he got hurt against Tampa Bay in Week 10. Upon returning after a one-game absence, however, the former Vikings, Jets, and Saints quarterback struggled mightily in his final five games, only posting a passer rating of over 90 once over that span.
The Bears ended up sneaking into the playoffs this season as the NFC’s first ever seventh-seed. Mitchell Trubisky wasn’t largely responsible for that, but he did enough to keep a really talented team afloat. After replacing Nick Foles in the lineup, the guy who the Bears replaced him with in the third week of action despite being 2-0 as a starter at the time. Overall, Trubisky’s numbers returned to 2018 form with the help of some much-needed adjustments to the scheme and offensive roster by Matt Nagy and Chicago’s front office.
Sean McVay finally gave up on Jared Goff. The former first-overall pick was never the reason for the Rams’ success, and often was the first to get in the way of it throughout the 2020 season. When the pressure was low, Goff remained a solid QB1 for Los Angeles and looked like someone who get get it all together under one of the best offensive coaches in recent history. Instead, Goff continued to sputter in high pressure situations and only surpassed a 100 passer rating in 3 games after posting 4 straight during the team’s 4-1 start
Taysom Hill’s least valuable asset under center was his arm in 2020, and his arm wasn’t all that bad. While I would strongly consider going with quarterbacks that are ranked below Taysom Hill for a full time quarterback job over him, the jack-of-all-trades offensive weapon held his own under center while starting four games in place of the injured Drew Brees and put up an impressive near-100 passer rating in his absence, as well as a completion percentage over 70 despite not utilizing Alvin Kamara as a dink-and-dunk target. The beauty is in the results, which is why Hill makes it this high.
The Philadelphia legend did not quite receive the same reverence from Bears fans since being acquired from the Jaguars last offseason. Though Chicago briefly embraced him as a sign of the Trubisky-era ending, their former second-overall pick came back in after Foles led his team through a four-game losing streak and looked like the better option of the two middling passers. Foles gets some credit for showing his clutch gene yet again against Atlanta, the game he originally took over for Trubisky, and solid performances against New Orleans and Tennessee proved that the Bears’ early-season offensive struggles were did not fully fall on Foles’ shoulders.
Without Saquon Barkley present to diversify the Giants’ offensive attack, Daniel Jones took a step back from an impressive rookie season. Stats make the drop-off seem drastic, but the offense’s new scheme, injury issues, and line struggles tell a more clear story of what happened. Jones shouldn’t be pressured out of his job for having to play under such an unenviable position, but the clock might be ticking for the former Duke Blue Devil to piece things together in the Big Apple.
B
- C.J. Beathard, San Francisco 49ers
- Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles
- Nick Mullens, San Francisco 49ers
- Cam Newton, New England Patriots
- Kyle Allen, Washington Football Team
- Brandon Allen, Cincinnati Bengals
- Drew Lock, Denver Broncos
- Joe Flacco, New York Jets
- Sam Darnold, New York Jets
- Mike Glennon, Jacksonville Jaguars
C.J. Beathard threw less pass attempts than Taysom Hill in 2020, but Jimmy Garoppolo and Nick Mullen’s backup deserves a lot of credit for filling in for the team in six games (extended action in five), starting two of them, and never giving the ball up through the air. The former Iowa Hawkeye wasn’t always effective despite his awareness, as he still struggled with fumbles and moving the ball consistently beyond the short passing game. Still, Beathard gets ranked above some big name quarterbacks, due to his reliability to contribute as a high-end backup this season.
Carson Wentz is leaving an extremely unique situation in Philadelphia, one where he ultimately ended up un-thanked for despite doing the heavy work for Nick Foles to lead the Eagles to their first ever Super Bowl. Without Wentz’s MVP-level season in 2017, there would be no legend surrounding Foles because the team doesn’t make it that far. This year alone, though, Wentz looked absolutely lost and unconfident in what he was doing. A falling out with Doug Pederson and the Eagles’ staff explains some of it, as does a lackluster and banged-up supporting cast on offense, but decision-making issues led to a career high in interceptions while Wentz failed to record a completion percentage of 60%, and the now-Colt watched the Eagles perform better under Jalen Hurts.
Nick Mullens, not C.J. Beathard, was the next man up for the 49ers this season. In his first stint filling in for Garoppolo, Mullens showed a ton of potential to be a future starting quarterback, and was kept around as a quality backup who went unneeded throughout San Fran’s Super Bowl. In his second stint, Mullens was not as impressive. His touchdowns and passer rating dropped while his interceptions increased. At best, Mullens looks to have nearly reached his 2018 output despite being two years more experienced. The Southern Mississippi product still has the tools to piece it together, but there is a reason that Mullens ranks below his own team’s third string quarterback on this list.
There were rumblings of Cam Newton being in the MVP race for 2020 after the Patriots got off to an impressive start with the former MVP under center. That all changed upon Newton missing time in covid protocols and returning to the field looking much worse for wear. Cam returned to the field looking like a less composed passer, posting a mediocre 83 passer rating and only picked up an 8:10 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He still remained a solid rushing quarterback and red zone threat with the ball in his hands, picking up 13 non-passing touchdowns for the Pats. An “S” tier in my post just a bit over two years ago, Cam absolutely deserved another shot to start heading into 2020, but might be better off as a backup at this point in his career.
I originally told myself that no quarterback with under 100 attempts in 2020 should be graded on the list. However, Allen has been around for a while and is a known quantity. While it is probably smarter to not rank someone with such a small sample size, I want to rank him, so here it is! Despite only logging 87 attempts during his first-season with the Football Team, Allen showed a lot more of the same that he showed in Carolina last year. While Allen is far from perfect, as both his accuracy and decision-making get away from him too often to be considered a reliable starting quarterback, he has proven to be a solid backup that can provide a talented team with a sense of competition, as evidenced by the QB’s games against New York and Dallas.
From one Allen to another, Brandon Allen was good against bad defenses and bad against good ones. As a sign of his commitment to that rule Joe Burrow’s replacement absolutely lit up the Texans to the tune of 371 and 2 touchdowns on over 75% completion percentage, and followed that game up by only completing 6 of 21 passes against the Ravens, posting a passer rating of 0. Allen has to refine his mechanics, but shows the physical tools to be at least a high-tier backup in this league moving forward.
After a 4-1 stretch to end 2019, Drew Lock was entering his second NFL season with a lot of hype surrounding him. The Mizzou quarterback did not impress, throwing 15 picks in 13 games and looking exceptionally lost on the field after losing Courtland Sutton early in the season. His completion percentage and quarterback rating plunged during his first season as a full-time starter, dropping from 64% to 57% and from 90 to 75. While the third-year quarterback will get another chance with more ideal circumstances, including the return on Sutton, a fallback option at the quarterback spot has to be on the Broncos’ minds this offseason (perhaps, Andy Dalton?).
Sam Darnold was genuinely outplayed by Joe Flacco in 2020. The former third-overall pick received a very poor hand entering the league, having to work with the underwhelming Jeremy Bates as offensive coordinator in his rookie season before Adam Gase took over and further gummed up his development. A completion percentage of under 60%, 9 touchdowns, and 11 picks through 12 games doesn’t cut it for . Darnold is still young with tons of potential with the proper coaching, but the USC quarterback struggled to lead the Jets’ offense to anything above expectations and often led to the Jets falling further behind the eight ball. Flacco, meanwhile, did most of his damage in his final two starts for New York. The Jets showed a sort of resiliency in games against New England and the Chargers that they didn’t show with Darnold. Still, Flacco struggled with his accuracy to the tune of a 55% completion percentage, led his team to being shut out during another one of those starts, and shouldn’t be seriously considered as a re-emerging starter for his production this past season.
Mike Glennon’s inability to stretch the field beyond a 6-yards-per-attempt clip was able to ensure that the Jaguars struggle to receive any sort of bailout by their signal caller. Glennon, despite the low ranking, did have some good moments for Jacksonville. However, he made his team sweat a few times during their hunt for Trevor Lawrence, as he only lost his first two starts by a combined 5 points. The veteran journeyman isn’t securing a starting gig for a competitive team anytime soon, but should stick around as a mid-to-high level backup quarterback.
C
- Jake Luton, Jacksonville Jaguars
- Dwayne Haskins Jr., Washington Football Team
There is a lot of football left to play for the player that only finished his rookie season, but Jake Luton was a poor quarterback for the Jaguars. Luton started off relatively strong in his NFL debut against the Texans, but regressed in both of the succeeding weeks before Mike Glennon took over as starter. In their close game against Green Bay, it looked like Jacksonville could sneak a win if not for an 18-for-35, 4 yards-per-pass type of showing by the sixth-rounder.
The 2019 first-round pick for the Washington Football Team did not take a long time to establish himself as a bust. The Ohio State product looked unprepared to start in his second season of play, and was quickly benched for Kyle Allen, then eventually cut after failing to impress as the relief quarterback to Alex Smith. The now-Pittsburgh Steeler was cut by the team who drafted him after being caught at a public event, breaking NFL policy and doing so directly after a tough loss to Seattle that he started in and struggled in mightily. After one more ugly start against Carolina the following week, Haskins was gone.
D
Luckily, the NFL was spared from such atrocities at the quarterback position in 2020. Ben DiNucci, P.J. Walker, and Luton were the worst quarterbacks to take snaps this season, in my opinion, but none of them have a sample size worthy of receiving the ol’ boot from the league. All young and now with a hint of NFL experience, these three first-year passers all deserve some time to figure things out.
Notable Unranked Quarterbacks
- Taylor Heinicke, Washington Football Team
- Colt McCoy, New York Giants
- Ryan Finley, Cincinnati Bengals
- Tyrod Taylor, Los Angeles Chargers
- Jeff Driskel, Denver Broncos
Every quarterback that has thrown for less than 100 passes throughout the 2020 season, and is NOT named Kyle Allen lands in this category. Here are some of the most notable quarterbacks that weren’t listed above. Taylor Heinicke is by far the most prominent name in this section, but it felt unfair to rank him after just two games, albeit very promising ones. I would not be shocked to see the former XFL backup quarterback move forward with the starting job in Washington and find a ranking on this tier list’s next installment.
Tyrod Taylor played the least of any of my mentioned unranked quarterbacks, but as an upcoming free agent, Taylor remains a borderline “A-” caliber quarterback that can provide a talented team with some success due to his ball protection skills and mobility.
Ryan Finley would likely be in “C” tier, but that’s not fair for the guy who led the Bengals to a win against their rival Steelers. Since he doesn’t qualify, the former N.C. State quarterback will get some time to work on his accuracy. Meanwhile, Colt McCoy and Jeff Driskel are reputable backup quarterbacks who had to do their job at points this year, but mainly contributed as a clipboard holder.
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