NFL QB Tier List

Five weeks into the season, let’s take a look at which quarterbacks have impressed, which have surprised, which have regressed, and which have broken out.

Quarterback Tier List [Credit: www.tiermaker.com]

ELITE — The best of the best.

1. Tom Brady (Tampa Bay). The GOAT. No explanation required.
2. Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City). The best quarterback of his generation. Mahomes has been thoroughly let down by what is now the league’s worst defense, but despite a momentary lapse to start the season, I have no doubt he will brush off the cobwebs and remind us why he’s an MVP and a Super Bowl winner.
3. Josh Allen (Buffalo). My pick for MVP. Played out of his skin against the Chiefs in his vengeance homecoming, utterly outplaying Mahomes on his own turf. He’s got wheels, he’s got a cannon of an arm, and he’s got star playmaker abilities which will propel him to the apex of football.
4. Russell Wilson (Seattle). The most under-appreciated player in football. Never hurt. Never lost more than two games in a row. Super Bowl winner. Loyal family man and great guy. Wilson is consistently one of the best quarterbacks in the league, both statistically and through the eye test, but often fails to receive the recognition he deserves. Well, not from me.

WORLD CLASS — Very good quarterbacks who also have a history of being very good.

1. Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay). Some people say he’s the GOAT. I don’t know why, they’re wrong obviously, but I do believe that Rodgers may be the most talented quarterback we’ve ever seen. He’s recovered well after that weird, hopefully anomalous season-opener where he threw like three picks in a row.
2. Justin Herbert (Los Angeles). Kid is a baller, and he just keeps getting better. 4.2 GPA and a biology major from Oregon, where he was also a tutor. Super bright, super responsible, super humble, and most importantly super talented. Watch this space.
3. Kyler Murray (Arizona). Lots are calling for Kyler to be MVP. He already has over 1500 yards after 5 games and has a 75.2% completion percentage. He’s ripened into a fully-operational dual-threat QB, who can beat you any way.
4. Lamar Jackson (Baltimore). Forget future MVP, Lamar has already been the MVP. And any charges of bad throwing ability were comprehensively dispelled on Monday night when he became the first player in NFL history to throw for over 400 yards at an 85% pass completion rate.
5. Dak Prescott (Dallas). The Cowboys are my outside pick to win the NFC, and Dak is a major factor in that decision. Dallas is 28–0 when they run the football more than they pass it, which is hardly a positive indictment on Prescott. But he’s tough, accurate, makes intelligent plays and has the perfect maturity to be at the helm of America’s team.
6. Matthew Stafford (Los Angeles). Stafford, unshackled from the hellish landscape that is Detroit, is flourishing under the blazing Los Angeles blue skies. 12 TDs, 3 INTs, 68% completion rate, over 1500 yards. Just think of all the years we’ve been deprived of Stafford’s excellence. Thanks, Detroit.

GREAT — Quarterbacks who have an element of ‘special’ to them, but maybe aren’t quite the complete package.

1. Derek Carr (Las Vegas). Unfortunately, the Raiders have once again imploded after a solid start. Only Brady has more yards than Carr, who started the season red-hot. It’s imperative that he doesn’t let team drama interfere with his development.
2. Kirk Cousins (Minnesota). You like that? On his day, no defender wants to be on the other side of the ball as Kirk Cousins. Statistically his start has been strong, but his critics point to the Viking’s poor record and inability to beat worse teams.
3. Matt Ryan (Atlanta). The former MVP showed that he’s still got it in the London game against the Jets this past weekend. However, other games have portended that Ryan may be coming to the end of his illustrious career.
4. Joe Burrow (Cincinnati). On the graphic I’ve got him in the world class tier, but I’d like to make an adjustment. It’s not that Burrow isn’t going to be world class, he is, it’s just that he’s not quite there yet. His awful overtime pick against the Packers is proof that he needs more time to hone his skills and decision-making before he can be considered amongst the league’s elite.

AVERAGE — doesn’t mean bad. Many average QBs have won Super Bowls. Joe Flacco, Joe Namath, Brad Johnson, Trent Dilfer — heck, even Nick Foles.

1. Baker Mayfield (Cleveland). People aren’t gonna like this one. Baker fans are as precious and sycophantic as k-pop stans on Twitter. And I’ve tried to include myself in that base, I really have. But Baker is just not that good. He’s not bad, he’s just…average.
2. Ryan Tannehill (Tennessee). He’s really not getting much help as the most-sacked QB in the league so far. But Tannehill does the basics very well, and his role is mitigated, justifiably, by number 22 at RB doing most of the heavy lifting. He also has stud targets A.J. Brown and Julio Jones to throw to, so there’s little concern for the Titans.
3. Daniel Jones (New York). Danny Dimes, to whom I wish a swift recovery from injury, definitely has the capacity to transcend mediocrity and become at big-time NFL QB. Only 1 pick this year, a joint-league leader in that category, and a clutch game-winning drive in overtime against the Saints in Week 4.
4. Carson Wentz (Indianapolis). Wentz is a prototypically good quarterback: midwestern; tough; self-sufficient; mature. He just lacks that spark to push himself over the top.
5. Teddy Bridgewater (Denver). 7 TDs and only 1 pick, and nearly a 70% completion percentage through 5 weeks. Bridgewater is playing well, and is not a pressing issue in Denver, which is falling apart after a promising 3–0 start.
6. Jared Goff (Detroit). Goff is experiencing firsthand the hardships Matt Stafford was forced to endure all those years in Motor City. Goff is a good player, remember he reached a Super Bowl as part of a high-powered Rams offense under Sean McVay back in 2019. But unlike Brady, Goff isn’t good enough to get traded and bring greatness with him.
7. Taylor Heinicke (Washington). Ryan Fitzmagic was supposed to be here, but unfortunately he’s injured (again). Heinicke sort of came out of nowhere, thrust into the spotlight in the playoffs last year and almost did the unthinkable in beating Brady, and has maintained a relatively high level of play since.
8. Jameis Winston (New Orleans). The third first-overall pick in this tier. Jameis has thrown for 12 TDs this year, but is averaging only 178.4 yards a game, at barely over 60%. Drew Brees’ long-term successor in NOLA? Unlikely.
9. Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia). He’s proven me wrong, I thought he would struggle to make an NFL roster, and has led Philly to some impressive wins. But there’s just something about him, he doesn’t quite have the flair of Lamar or Kyler on the run, or Herbert or Russell Wilson through the air.

DRAFT ANOTHER QB — Quarterbacks who, whilst not complete dumpster fires, are not the guy moving forward as the face of a franchise.

1. Jacoby Brissett (Miami). I’m going with Brissett over Tua for this, even though when fit Tua is actually the starter, but the difference between the two is negligible. Both can win games if they have good capital around them, but neither is special. Neither is going to win you a Super Bowl.
2. Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh). It’s a shame to put Big Ben here, him being a surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer. But he’s near the end of his career, and should bow out with dignity before he starts to embarrass himself and potentially tarnish his legacy.
3. Tyrod Taylor (Houston). Taylor’s NFL career has been blighted by injuries, which is sad because he has real ability with the ball in his hands and with his feet. But Houston’s QB scenario is a complete mess. Who knows what’s going on with Deshaun Watson and whether he’ll play another snap in the league, and Davis Mills is too much of an unknown quantity to proffer judgement.
4. Sam Darnold (Carolina). I’ve tried to be patient with Sam, but he’s just too turnover-prone. He showed at the weekend against the Eagles, he just can’t win you tight games with clutch throws and drives late down the stretch.

ROOKIES — I don’t think it fair to grade the rookies in with the rest of the league given they’ve only had five starts. So they get their own division and are compared against each other.

1. Mac Jones (New England). Maybe I’m biased, but Mac’s first game-winning drive of his career against Houston I think shows signs of what’s to come from this kid. Clutch, poised, good arm, high football IQ, great passion. Playing as the best rookie so far.
2. Trevor Lawrence (Jacksonville). Lawrence has endured somewhat of a baptism of fire, being thrown into the league’s most dysfunctional franchise with a rookie head coach and one of the league’s worst defenses. Despite all this, he’s managed to show signs of his great ability with some spectacular throws. His ceiling is really, really high.
3. Trey Lance (San Francisco). Good running with the football, but the jury is still out on his passing ability. Still better than Jimmy G, however.
4. Zach Wilson (New York). The Jets may have whiffed on yet another quarterback. Wilson is small, taking a lot of hits (no thanks to his O-Line), and most worryingly for Jets fans, making decisions that show a lack of positional understanding and poor football IQ. He’s too flashy, and wants a home run type trick play every other play, as well as only really being able to do that when rolling out to his right. This isn’t college anymore, buddy.
5. Justin Fields (Chicago). The Bears aren’t a very good team, but Fields has had more than one opportunity to show his talent, and hasn’t delivered. He has the lowest completion percentage of any starting QB (barely over 50%) and has only thrown 1 touchdown in 4 games.