2017 Top 10 NFL Quarterbacks

1. Tom Brady

 

2016 Stats

Passing – QBR: 83, Rating: 112.2, Yards: 3,554, TDs: 28, Ints: 2, Comp %: 67.4

Rushing –  Yards: 64, TDs: 0

Forget about who is the best QB in the NFL right now, Brady just solidified himself as the greatest QB in NFL history with another sensational performance in his seventh Super Bowl appearance in which he won making him a five time champion. How at the age of 39 Brady was able to pull off having the second best season of his career is beyond me but he did. The total numbers are not eye popping because he missed the first four games due to suspension but once he took the field he clearly was on a mission. He posted his highest QBR and passer rating since his record setting 2007 season where he and Randy Moss broke all sorts of records. Yea Matt Ryan won MVP but if this guy had played all 16 games he would have easily won MVP. Brady has some physical shortcomings in the athletic department but he makes up for it with his intangibles and cerebral approach.  He is the smartest player in the NFL and is simply playing chess while the majority of his opponents are playing checkers. Brady is a master in the pocket. Despite the lack of athleticism he maneuvers in the pocket as well as anybody and nobody gets the ball out quicker than this guy. Even the great Aaron Rodger proved to be less effective without his best target in 2015 when Jordy Nelson was lost for the year. However, Gronk went down yet again for the Pats and you barely knew he was gone, that is how great Tom freaking terrific is at playing this position. He has really turned it into an art form at this point. There are faster QBs, Bigger QBs, and QBs with stronger arms but there is no QB I would rather have right now than this guy.

2.  Aaron Rodgers

 

2016 Stats

Passing – QBR: 76.9, Rating: 104.2, Yards: 4,428, TDs: 40, Ints: 7, Comp %: 65.7

Rushing –  Yards: 369, TDs: 4

Aaron Rodgers is the most talented QB in the NFL but that does not necessarily mean he is the best. However he is so good that literally the only QB better right now is the greatest QB to ever throw a football. Rodgers has simply mastered the art of playing the position in all phases and does not have any physical weaknesses in his game. In 2016 he had one of his best seasons yet. What makes Rodgers special is that he not only has elite arm talent but that he also possess a high football IQ and tremendous mobility in the pocket. His ability to process information as quickly as he does while on the move is incredible. He can anticipate what the defense is doing or will do and adjust accordingly in a flash. Throughout NFL history QBs with Rodger’s caliber arm strength are typically less secure with the football opting to take more risk but Rodgers routinely makes smart decisions with the football and does not throw interceptions. We have never seen a QB with his set of skills all wrapped into one package.

3. Drew Brees

2016 Stats

Passing – QBR: 72, Rating: 101.7, Yards: 5,208, TDs: 37, Ints: 15, Comp %: 70.0

Rushing –  Yards: 23, TDs: 2

Ho hum another 5,000 yard passing season for Drew Brees and at 37 no less. He is old, he is undersized and his defense would be unable to stop a paper cut from bleeding with a first aid kit. Yet none of that has gotten in the way of this guy continuing to play the game at an all-time great level. Rodgers and Brady have him beat in some other areas but there is no doubt that Brees is the most accurate QB in the NFL. He not only has phenomenal ability to put the ball wherever he wants at all three levels of the field but also posses sensational anticipation skills and touch to throw to spots as he can not always see the entire field given his lack of size. In 2016 he attempted 673 passes and completed 70% of them which is just unreal, especially when considering opposing defenses know the Saints are going to throw around 70% of the time and are still helpless to stop him. Teams are literally playing the Saints for the pass almost all game and still have no answer, it is quite absurd. Brees is so good that if the Saints could just field an average defense they would be an instant Super Bowl contender overnight. My only issue with him is that I would like him to take slightly better care of the football although I am sympathetic to the fact that he has to over compensate for a bad defense and often times force the issue.

4. Russell Wilson

2016 Stats

Passing – QBR: 63.2, Rating: 92.6, Yards: 4,219, TDs: 21, Ints: 11, Comp %: 63.2

Rushing –  Yards: 259, TDs: 1

Wilson has quietly become one of the elite QBs in the NFL. By the numbers he had a better year in 2015 but considering the circumstances one could argue his 2016 season was just as good. This past season Wilson played behind the worst offensive line in the NFL all while gutting it out through an ankle injury that severely limited his ability to run. Wilson had rushed for nearly 500 yards or more in every season before this year clearly suggesting he was playing while compromised which only shows his toughness. Despite his size Wilson has overcome it by improving his anticipation skills in the pocket and is a master at getting outside the pocket where he can avoid throwing over the trees and put himself at an advantage. He is one of the smartest players in all of football and in 2016 with his running ability compromised he proved he could play the QB position at a high level even without being an elite run threat.

5. Matt Ryan

Stats

Passing – QBR: 83.3, Rating: 117.1, Yards: 4,944, TDs: 38, Ints: 7, Comp %: 69.9

Rushing –  Yards: 341, TDs: 2

In 2016 Matt Ryan had without a doubt the best season of his career and it was recognized as he was awarded league MVP honors. He threw for nearly 5,000 yards, had a QBR over 80 and led the Falcons to a Super Bowl. Matt Ryan has always had the arm talent to be an elite QB in the NFL and has shown flashes throughout his career. However up until this season they were just flashes and nothing more as he has lacked consistent great play for the majority of his career. Just the year before in 2015 he had one of the worst seasons of his career. If the rankings were based on this season and only this season Ryan would be no lower than number three. However, all the guys ahead of him not only played at a high level last season but also the year before. Ryan stands tall in the pocket and throws the ball accurately all over the field. The question with him has always been his intangibles. As great as he was in 2016, in the most important game of his career those intangibles or lack there of were on full display in the Super Bowl as he was unable to help the Falcons hold on to a 25 point lead to capture his first championship. Ryan needs to prove he can get it done in the biggest moments and he needs to string together two elite seasons in a row before I am comfortable rating him any higher than this. Winning MVP is great but Cam Netwon proved this year that anybody can do it once.

6. Andrew Luck

Stats

Passing – QBR: 71.2, Rating: 96.4, Yards: 4,240, TDs: 31, Ints: 13, Comp %: 63.5

Rushing –  Yards: 341, TDs: 2

Andrew Luck quietly was one of the very best QBs in the NFL last year. There were a lot of QBs who were talked about nationally more but Luck had the best season of his young career in 2016 and if he does again next year and can find away to get average Colts team to the playoffs it will be time to start mentioning him with Brady and Rodgers. The biggest problem with his game coming into the 2016 season was turnovers. He was throwing way too many interceptions. However he was a lot better this season taking care of the ball which had a lot to do with him posting a career high 71 QBR. This season was the first time in his career he posted a QBR over 70. Luck is a thick well built athletic QB that like Aaron Rodgers has top tier arm talent, mental prowess and the ability to move. If he can continue to refine his game and take care of the football he is on his way to being a top three QB in the NFL.

7. Ben Roethlisberger

Stats

Passing – QBR: 66.3, Rating: 95.4, Yards: 3,819, TDs: 29, Ints: 13, Comp %: 70.0

Rushing –  Yards: 14, TDs: 1

Big Ben has had a fantastic career and if he retired tomorrow he would go on to be a first ballot hall of famer. Off ability alone one could definitely make the case he should be ranked higher. However, Ben cannot seem to stay healthy anymore. He appears to be slowly breaking down and declining as he just is not aging as well as guys like Brady and Brees. This is because unlike those guys he has routinely held on to the ball longer and taken more punishment over the years. Ben is known for his ability to absorb contact and shed off would be sackers but even when he does he is still taking shots on those kind of plays. For two straight seasons he has gotten hurt and failed to play the entire season. Even he knows the end might be near as he reportedly was seriously considering retirement during the offseason. My guess is he can sense that his body is starting to break down and knows the end is near.Maybe it is just injuries but his overall game appears to be on the decline to me. He is moving noticeably slower these days and appears to be processing information slower as well hence the spike in interceptions and arrant throws into coverage the past two seasons.  However, when Ben is fully healthy and on his game he has proven to be an elite QB for a number of reasons. First he has elite size in terms of both height and build and mobility to go along with it. He is one of the best in the league at extending plays and keeping his eyes down field.  He has a strong arm and can effortlessly stretch the field with a one of the better deep balls in the league. All of that is fine and dandy but if the injuries continue for Ben I fear 2017 could be his last season in the NFL.

8. Derek Carr

Stats

Passing – QBR: 62.1, Rating: 96.7, Yards: 3,937, TDs: 28, Ints: 6, Comp %: 63.8

Rushing –  Yards: 70, TDs: 0

In 2016 Derek Carr went from potential to arrived hence the new mega contract paying him 25 million per year. As with most young QBs there are things Carr still needs to work on but as of now his physical tools might be better than any QB not named Rodgers. He can really move and he has a huge arm with the ability to throw with touch. Carr was a legitimate MVP candidate before going down with injury near the end of the season. He did a lot of things well but I was most impressed with the significant improvement in ball security. He threw 25 interceptions in his first two seasons and then last season only threw six. He looked a lot more confident in the pocket and appeared to be a lot better with his eyes not starring down receivers as much and doing a good job of spreading the wealth. His raw numbers were very similar to his second season yet in 2016 his QBR skyrocketed nearly 20 points because of the things he did well that do not always show up in a box score. If he continues to grow mentally as a QB the sky’s the limit for him.

9. Dak Prescott

Stats

Passing – QBR: 81.5, Rating: 104.9, Yards: 3667, TDs: 23, Ints: 4, Comp %: 67.8

Rushing –  Yards: 282, TDs: 6

I gave serious consideration to just going ahead and prematurely crowning Dak a top five QB after just one season and honestly it would not be a stretch. He just had what was without a doubt the best rookie season by a QB in NFL history and it was not even close. Rookie QBs just are not supposed to be that poised, that accurate, and have such strong intangibles. You can credit his success as a rookie to playing behind the game’s best O-Line and having an all-pro back behind him but you cannot deny what your own eyes see. It is freighting to think that no QB in the entire league besides Tom Brady appeared to have better pocket presence than this rookie QB who was picked in the fourth round and was supposed to be Tony Romo’s backup. Another thing Dak is way ahead of the curve on is ball security. The one thing you can normally count on all rookie QBs to do, no matter how good they are, is throw interceptions. But not Dak. He only threw four the entire season and set a record for most passing attempts without an interception. If all that was not enough Dak is also an elite run threat at the QB position. He had 6 rushing TDs and has chiseled muscular frame built to absorb contact and carry the football when needed. As great as Dak was he has some limitations that were well hid by the Cowboys coaching staff and the quality of teammates around him. He does not have elite arm talent and his deep ball can be shaky. Other than that the kid really does not have any other noticeable flaws at this point and even those two things he is not bad at just not great.

10. Matthew Stafford

Stats

Passing – QBR: 70.5, Rating: 93.3, Yards: 4,327, TDs: 24, Ints: 10, Comp %: 65.3

Rushing –  Yards: 207, TDs: 2

Outside of Dak the most surprising player at the QB position in 2016 was Matthew Stafford who in his first season without Calvin Johnson had the best season of his entire career. Some attributed that to being free of the pressure to force the ball to Johnson but it goes beyond that. If you just watched Stafford play the position last year the improvement to his game was undeniable. He was significantly better reading coverage and making decisions under pressure hence less forced throws and a career low 10 interceptions. Prior to this season Stafford was a notorious gun slinger but he definitely cleaned up his act in his eight season as he appears to now be entering his prime. Stafford has always had terrific physical tools with a thick build at 230 pounds, one of the biggest arms in the league and the ability to scramble which is why he was picked 1st overall back in 2009. But until this season he was just never able to really put it all together the way many had hoped. It remains to be seen if 2016 was a blip or trend for Stafford but if it was the latter he has a chance to completely change the trajectory of his career.