Read American Football Quarterback Rankings: 31-17
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In the long summer days of July, football season can feel like a distant mirage. As the unsatisfying queasiness dissipates from the lunacy of the NFL Top 100 list, the team of writers here at Read American Football decided to do their own rankings.
Instead of undertaking the asinine task of trying to determine whether or not Antonio Brown is a ‘better player’ than Aaron Donald, we’ve just handled the quarterbacks.
Combining the lists of eight writers, the resulting list is something of a consensus on where the starting signal-callers stand in relation to their peers.
However, debate should still be rife, as fans and journalists alike go to war for the man they deem to be their franchise quarterback.
NOTE – As a group we decided to name the following quarterbacks the starters of their teams; Josh McCown, Cody Kessler, Mike Glennon and Paxton Lynch. Also, we determined it wouldn’t be fair to rank Deshaun Watson of Houston. As such, this list is only 31 quarterbacks long.
Here’s quarterbacks 31 through 17, according to the Read American Football team.
31) Jared Goff - Los Angeles Rams
The number one overall pick from the 2016 NFL Draft, was, quite frankly, disastrous. Often resembling a cow on its hind legs, rarely have I seen anything look so uncoordinated and uncomfortable with its surroundings. Despite this, Goff has time on his side. With a new head coach in Sean McVay and a bolstered offensive line, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the former Cal man move out of the cellar next season.
30) Paxton Lynch - Denver Broncos
Another rookie from last year, Lynch spent a short amount of time in relief of Trevor Siemian. All reports from Denver are indicating Lynch will be the man taking the first snap come September, so he finds a spot in the rankings. Similar to Goff, the Memphis star looked out of his depth in an NFL huddle, as the transition from his spread offense in college was not entirely smooth. If anything, Lynch is ranked above Goff based only on the smaller sample size.
29) Cody Kessler - Cleveland Browns
Again, another rookie. DeShone Kizer could not have made the list for the same reasoning we excluded Deshaun Watson, and if we’d ranked Brock Osweiler we’d need a whole new slideshow to illustrate how far behind he is than these other guys. Kessler played in nine games in 2016, and tried to keep the ball safe. And, it has to be said he achieved that. With an impressive 65% completion percentage for a first year guy, the former USC Trojan threw just the two interceptions.
28) Josh McCown - New York Jets
The New York Jets will be Josh McCown’s tenth team in the National Football League, in a career that has been in motion since 2002. In his time with the Browns, McCown showed a kind of maniacal hunger to win that saw him concuss himself with startlingly regularity. One can only hope the Jets have taught the veteran the value of self-preservation.
27) Mike Glennon - Chicago Bears
To borrow a term from youth culture, the Bears’ front office ‘snaked’ head coach John Fox in drafting Mitchell Trubisky, following the signing of former Buccaneers backup Mike Glennon. Jameis Winston’s understudy has played in 21 games, throwing 30 touchdowns with 15 interceptions.
26) Blake Bortles - Jacksonville Jaguars
Bortles was ugly at times in 2016. Just as his team entered a critical situation in the fourth quarter, the third year man threw interceptions like it was part of Madden game-code scripting. Mechanically, the UCF Knight is a mess. If he can’t recover the fundamentals, Bortles is a prime candidate to sit bottom of this list around the mid-season mark.
25) Brian Hoyer - San Francisco 49ers
Brian Hoyer is a very limited quarterback, but new 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan got the Hoyer-led Browns to start the season 6-3 in 2014, so evidence suggests the veteran could be productive in his first season in California.
24) Alex Smith - Kansas City Chiefs
Personally, I think this is unfair. I had Smith as the 20th best QB in the league, but the beauty of the collaborative list has pulled him down to 24. As Patrick Mahomes was drafted by the Chiefs back in April, we now have a clearer indication that Smith’s days are numbered. A pedestrian quarterback if ever there was one, the 33 year old seeks ball retention above all else- earning him admirers and vocal critics.
23) Carson Wentz - Philadelphia Eagles
The number two overall pick from the 2016 NFL Draft showed instant impact in Philly, garnering ludicrous comparisons to some of the game’s greats for what was admittedly an astonishing run of form out the gate. As the season wore on teams grew wise to Wentz’s inherent mechanical flaws, and they were subsequently exposed throughout the autumn and into the winter.
22) Tyrod Taylor - Buffalo Bills
I don’t think there’s a more divisive quarterback on this list than Tyrod Taylor. Ranked as high as 16th and as low as 24th, there is no agreed definition of where Taylor ought to lie. With undeniable athleticism, sceptics view the Bills’ starter as having an arm that is not conducive to success at the NFL level.
21) Joe Flacco - Baltimore Ravens
The question of ‘is Joe Flacco an elite quarterback’ is now really ‘is Joe Flacco a serviceable NFL quarterback’. To call his trajectory a decline might be unfair due to his very obvious over-achievement in the Super Bowl season, and some would call mediocrity blended with occasional greatness the reality of having Joe Flacco as your quarterback.
20) Sam Bradford - Minnesota Vikings
With Teddy Bridgewater still sidelined indefinitely, Sam Bradford handled himself enormously well in Minnesota last year. Running a quick-snap low-risk offense, Bradford set the NFL record for completion percentage and sneakily delivered the best season of his injury plagued career.
19) Ryan Tannehill - Miami Dolphins
I can’t wrap my head around Ryan Tannehill, and seemingly, no one else can either. All eight of our writers placed the Dolphin in the 17-21 range, as we wait to see how the former Texas A&M Aggie plays in his sixth season in the league.
18) Kirk Cousins - Washington
As Kirk Cousins plays under the franchise tag in 2017, fans, journalists, and front office personnel will be eagerly waiting to see what kind of money he’ll command come the off-season. With whispers suggesting Washington won’t be bringing Cousins back, a team will have an opportunity to add what we believe to be the 18th best quarterback in the NFL.
17) Eli Manning - New York Giants
With many quarterbacks still to come, many will raise an eyebrow at the two-time Super Bowl Champion sitting below the halfway point. Simply put, the veteran looked shaky in 2016. With an abomination of an offensive line and no discernible running game, that may excuse Manning to a degree. Giants fans will be watching with baited breath as they pray the Manning gene that savaged Peyton’s arm late in his career isn’t carried by his younger brother.
Click here to see Part Two of our QB rankings.