NFL Position Rankings: Quarterback

[Messiah]

With the NFL season dwindling down, I thought it would be interesting to see how people view each position. I plan on doing this for every position over the next couple of weeks (we did this for basketball on that other site) and hopefully it leads to some good discussion.

1. Aaron Rodgers
2. Peyton Manning
3. Tom Brady
4. Drew Brees
5. Philip Rivers
6. Tony Romo
7. Ben Roethlisberger
8. Matt Ryan
9. Russell Wilson
10. Cam Newton / Andrew Luck

There is a dropoff from Brees to Rivers and then a huge dropoff from Roethlisberger to Ryan. There isn't much of a difference between a lot of QBs at that point and ultimately depends on you. I know some of you will disagree with me on Ryan but he is still one of the most consistent quarterbacks in the NFL regardless of maybe having a limited ceiling and when you get to around the 8th best or so QB in the NFL, consistency matters a bunch. What Ryan did this season with Julio Jones out and Roddy White damn near useless to go along with absolutely no running game and a dreadful offensive line was damn impressive in my opinion.

As far as Aaron Rodgers goes, he is the most complete quarterback in the NFL. Rodgers has arguably the strongest arm in the NFL to go along with pinpoint accuracy whether it is on short crossing rights, intermediate, or downfield, is incredible at protecting the football, and he is the best QB I have ever seen throwing on the run. Not to mention he is exceptional in the postseason as well - 66%, 19 touchdowns to 5 interceptions, 103.1 QB Rating with 7.8 Y/A. I love Aaron Godgers.

[Everlong]

1. Aaron Rodgers
2. Peyton Manning
3. Tom Brady
4. Drew Brees
5. Philip Rivers
6. Matt Ryan
7. Tony Romo
8. Russell Wilson
9. Cam Newton
10. Ben Roethlisberger

My list doesn't look all that much different than yours, other than me leaving Andrew Luck off of it and switching around a few players. I'd probably take Matt Ryan over Tony Romo, and I think Russell Wilson has proved himself to be a difference-maker this year. I still think Ben has the ability to be a top five or six QB in this league, but his production has been slightly down and he's entering the declining phases of his career.

Peyton Manning and Tom Brady will dominate the headlines, and Manning set all the records this year, but there's no doubt that Rodgers is the best player at the position right now. He carries his team, is a much better athlete than Manning or Brady and can make throws that literally nobody else in the league can make right now because of his combination of mobility, arm strength, intelligence and accuracy. Brees is the last of the elite top four. He occasionally struggles with his decision making and in road games. Philip Rivers, holy fuck did he redeem himself this year. He'd been a solid top five QB for several years, took a couple years off from that and came back in full force this year. Definitely deserves that top 5 ranking again.

Cam had the best year of his career and is largely underappreciated on the national scale. He's still improving, so he's got plenty of room to go up on this list.

Andrew Luck made my top ten earlier in the season but he simply turns the ball over too much and has struggled with accuracy at times. I absolutely expect him to be a top ten or top five player in the not so distant future, but right now he just misses out. Nick Foles is another guy to watch. He had some ridiculous stats this season but his sample size is way too small for me to justify putting him in the top ten at the moment.

[The Legend]

1. Peyton Manning- Now owns two of the three best statistical seasons all-time and can do it with Harrison and Wayne or Garcon and Collie or D. Thomas and J. Thomas. It just doesn't matter, he's the best quarterback I've ever seen.
2. Aaron Rodgers - Has really good command of an offense as a playmaker and does it without a lot of help.
3. Drew Brees - I'm not sure how many cities or systems he could have success in, but it doesn't matter because he's etching out a HOF career for himself in New Orleans in the dome and with Sean Payton.
4. Tom Brady - Only QB in the league right now with three rings so he has to be high, but he hasn't won one since the Patriots have turned to an offense-centric team.
5. Phillip Rivers - A talented thrower of the football, but it's not quite there in the understanding and mental side of the game.
6. Matt Ryan - He has been extremely consistent since joining the league as a productive QB right up until this year. Probably would have had him fifth in past years.
7. Ben Roethlisberger - He is the best combination of evasive pocket awareness and ability to throw the ball in the league and won two Super Bowls, hard to argue with him belonging on the list.
8. Alex Smith - There is something to really like about Alex Smith and what he's done with his career the last few years since getting coaching that knows what it's doing instead of Mike Singletary types.
9. Russell Wilson - He's growing on me and I think is really a smart QB that's mastering his offense.
10. Joe Flacco - He has a ring and I think that warrants being him being in the top 10, since only 7 QB's in the league have those, not to mention his highly consistent performance throughout his career.

Now to be perfectly clear, my list is really a top 7 with three more guys tacked on at the end. You could pretty easily argue interchangeable parts between the last three on my list and my next three (Romo, Newton and Luck).

[Everlong]

You'd have a very, very hard time convincing me that Joe Flacco is better than Tony Romo, or even a bunch more guys that aren't on this list, especially after he just threw more interceptions than touchdowns in a season.