Now that the NFL
draft is behind us, we pretty much know what the landscape of starting
quarterbacks will look like in 2017. Armed with that knowledge, we’ve
enlisted FTW’s Luke Kerr-Dineen, Charles Curtis and Steven Ruiz to sort
all 32 starters into tiers.
Each staff member submitted their own tiered rankings, and from there we used majority rules to come up with a consensus. Here are the results…
Luke (Rodgers, Brady, Brees):
I’m so annoyed at Charles and Steven for sliding Luck in here. So, so annoyed. Let the record reflect that I am very annoyed about this situation. Luck is, of course, a very good quarterback stuck on a dire team. He may be the next elite quarterback, but it’s so unfair to anoint him alongside three Super Bowl winners in Brees, Brady and Rodgers, and ahead of guys like Cam and Roethlisberger. He’s not there. Not right now. Not yet.
Charles (Rodgers, Brady, Brees, Luck):
Luck absolutely belongs on this list and don’t let anyone (aka Luke) tell you otherwise. The off-the-charts talent (a scintillating combination of athleticism and brains) is there, the protection (he took 41 sacks last year, ugh) is not. Please, Indy: Give that man some help and keep him upright so we can see him contend for a Super Bowl.
Steven (Rodgers, Brady, Brees, Luck):
Rodgers, Brady and Brees are no-brainers, and Luck isn’t far behind after the season he produced last year. He was the third-best quarterback in the league, right behind Rodgers and Brady. Yes, I know Ryan won MVP, but imagine Luck, or really any other top-10 quarterback, in that offense. The Colts, meanwhile, had no running game and no line while playing in an outdated offense. Luck still managed to produce career-highs in completion percentage, yards-per-attempt and QBR — all while dealing with a bum shoulder.
Luke (Roethlisberger, Wilson, Ryan, Newton, Luck, Rivers, Manning, Stafford):
Pretty at ease with how this tier turned out, to be honest. Cam will be up a tier sooner rather than later, and it seems a bit harsh on Wilson to be in the next wave, but his skill set is more efficient than transcendent. Stafford is the one name that gives me a headache. There are shades within the tiers, and while Stafford is often streaky, his stats show he’s got just enough to sneak in.
Charles (Roethlisberger, Wilson, Ryan, Newton, Rivers, Stafford):
Yes, that’s right: I, a Giants fan since birth, put Eli Manning not in Tier 2, but in 3. When the talent around Manning is good – a solid running game and a good offensive line – he rises. But without that? He’s a turnover machine, which tells me a lot about his talent. Sorry, fellas: Eli isn’t EliTE. Also I had a 10-minute debate with myself about where to put Stafford. Can’t we pull a Being John Malkovich and just put him in the 2.5 floor?
Steven (Roethlisberger, Rivers, Manning, Stafford, Ryan, Newton, Palmer, Wilson):
Luke and Charles — like the rest of the football world outside of Arizona — are sleeping on Palmer. He had a down statistical year but it wasn’t his fault. The offensive line was garbage, which is kind of a big deal in a downfield passing scheme. Based on individual performance alone, Palmer’s 2016 season was not far off from his 2015 season. I have no problems with any of the other names in this tier. Manning and Stafford just barely made it for me.
Luke (Flacco, Dalton, Mariota, Carr, Winston, Prescott, Bradford, Cousins, Palmer, Watson, Smith):
Remember, these aren’t bad quarterbacks. These are quarterbacks who, right now, are closer to average than to good or bad. All these guys have limitations, all can look better or worse in certain systems, all their success is mostly determined by the tools you put around them. With the right offensive line (Prescott), coach (Palmer), defense (Flacco), they’re all capable of delivering a Super Bowl.
Charles (Carr, Flacco, Dalton, Mariota, Winston, Prescott, Bradford, Tannehill, Cousins):
No gripes here, although I kept itching to putt Derek Carr in Tier 2 simply based off what we saw last year before I talked myself out of it, remembering how good the Raiders’ line is. And let’s all give some love to Smith, who has carved out a very nice NFL career for himself simply by being peak Alex Smith: Staying accurate, keeping the turnovers to a minimum and occasionally running the ball well.
Steven (Carr, Flacco, Dalton, Mariota, Winston, Prescott, Bradford, Tannehill, Cousins):
Carr just barely missed out on Tier 2 for me, too. Still think his MVP-caliber season was more a product of his supporting cast than Carr himself. I could see him (along with Winston and Mariota) establishing himself as a bona fide top-10 guy in 2017.
*looking at the rest of the list*
Dak, yep. Bradford, totally agree. Cousins, OK. Palmer, should have been in Tier 2 but all right. Smith … ALEX SMITH?!?!? Nope. Terrible. You guys should be ashamed. The Chiefs traded up for a QB for a reason. He’s a Tier 4 QB; you can’t convince me otherwise. He can’t (and won’t) throw deep, is afraid of the pocket and consistently misses receivers running wide open. Ugh, let’s just move on before I break something.
I suppose Tannehill will be a point of contention for many, but I’m really not sure why. He’s been 18th, 25th, 16th, 27th and 24th in QBR since coming into the league. Enough is enough, Miami. This isn’t your guy. Start again.
Charles (Wentz, Taylor, Tannehill):
If I’m a betting man (and we know I am), I want to throw some hypothetical money on Wentz going up a tier by the end of 2017. I know how bad he was at the end of last season, but there’s room to grow. Also, really Steven? Tannehill was in your Tier 3? [Insert thinking face emoji here.]
Steven (Wentz, Taylor, Smith):
You guys are sleeping on Tannehill. This is going to look foolish (it already does) next season. I’d take him over at least three guys you have in Tier 3. Wentz is just barely made it in Tier 4 for me. His mechanics are problematic and I don’t think he sees the field very well. If there was a Tier 4.5, that’s where I’d put him. As for Taylor, I really wanted to put him in Tier 3, but just couldn’t. He’s a Tier 3.5 guy for me.
Watson dragged Clemson to two consecutive National Championship games and toppled Alabama to win one. Does he need to improve? Undoubtedly, but he’ll figure it out fast. Serial winners tend to do that. Nick Saban couldn’t speak more highly of Watson at the draft, saying he was one of the most talented quarterbacks he’s ever faced. Apparently that’s not enough for Steven and Charles.
Charles (McCown, Kessler, Bortles, Siemian, Goff, Hoyer, Glennon, Watson):
Luke, the only argument you had for Watson is that he was a “winner”? C’mon. This part of the list seems perfect, although we’re not factoring in some of the quarterbacks who could replace these names soon enough, and even then, I don’t think they’d be called up to Tier 4.
Steven (McCown, Kessler, Bortles, Siemian, Goff, Hoyer, Glennon, Watson):
Guys who have a chance of playing their way out of the bottom tier: Goff and Winston. The rest should not be starting in the NFL. I have no idea why the Jaguars didn’t at least look for some competition for Bortles.
Each staff member submitted their own tiered rankings, and from there we used majority rules to come up with a consensus. Here are the results…
Tier 1 (Elite): Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Andrew Luck
(AP Photo/Ron Schwane, File)
I’m so annoyed at Charles and Steven for sliding Luck in here. So, so annoyed. Let the record reflect that I am very annoyed about this situation. Luck is, of course, a very good quarterback stuck on a dire team. He may be the next elite quarterback, but it’s so unfair to anoint him alongside three Super Bowl winners in Brees, Brady and Rodgers, and ahead of guys like Cam and Roethlisberger. He’s not there. Not right now. Not yet.
Charles (Rodgers, Brady, Brees, Luck):
Luck absolutely belongs on this list and don’t let anyone (aka Luke) tell you otherwise. The off-the-charts talent (a scintillating combination of athleticism and brains) is there, the protection (he took 41 sacks last year, ugh) is not. Please, Indy: Give that man some help and keep him upright so we can see him contend for a Super Bowl.
Steven (Rodgers, Brady, Brees, Luck):
Rodgers, Brady and Brees are no-brainers, and Luck isn’t far behind after the season he produced last year. He was the third-best quarterback in the league, right behind Rodgers and Brady. Yes, I know Ryan won MVP, but imagine Luck, or really any other top-10 quarterback, in that offense. The Colts, meanwhile, had no running game and no line while playing in an outdated offense. Luck still managed to produce career-highs in completion percentage, yards-per-attempt and QBR — all while dealing with a bum shoulder.
Tier 2 (Very good): Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers, Matt Ryan, Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, Eli Manning, Matthew Stafford
USA TODAY Sports
Pretty at ease with how this tier turned out, to be honest. Cam will be up a tier sooner rather than later, and it seems a bit harsh on Wilson to be in the next wave, but his skill set is more efficient than transcendent. Stafford is the one name that gives me a headache. There are shades within the tiers, and while Stafford is often streaky, his stats show he’s got just enough to sneak in.
Charles (Roethlisberger, Wilson, Ryan, Newton, Rivers, Stafford):
Yes, that’s right: I, a Giants fan since birth, put Eli Manning not in Tier 2, but in 3. When the talent around Manning is good – a solid running game and a good offensive line – he rises. But without that? He’s a turnover machine, which tells me a lot about his talent. Sorry, fellas: Eli isn’t EliTE. Also I had a 10-minute debate with myself about where to put Stafford. Can’t we pull a Being John Malkovich and just put him in the 2.5 floor?
Steven (Roethlisberger, Rivers, Manning, Stafford, Ryan, Newton, Palmer, Wilson):
Luke and Charles — like the rest of the football world outside of Arizona — are sleeping on Palmer. He had a down statistical year but it wasn’t his fault. The offensive line was garbage, which is kind of a big deal in a downfield passing scheme. Based on individual performance alone, Palmer’s 2016 season was not far off from his 2015 season. I have no problems with any of the other names in this tier. Manning and Stafford just barely made it for me.
Tier 3 (Franchise guys): Derek Carr, Joe Flacco, Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston, Dak Prescott, Sam Bradford, Kirk Cousins, Carson Palmer and Alex Smith
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY
Remember, these aren’t bad quarterbacks. These are quarterbacks who, right now, are closer to average than to good or bad. All these guys have limitations, all can look better or worse in certain systems, all their success is mostly determined by the tools you put around them. With the right offensive line (Prescott), coach (Palmer), defense (Flacco), they’re all capable of delivering a Super Bowl.
Charles (Carr, Flacco, Dalton, Mariota, Winston, Prescott, Bradford, Tannehill, Cousins):
No gripes here, although I kept itching to putt Derek Carr in Tier 2 simply based off what we saw last year before I talked myself out of it, remembering how good the Raiders’ line is. And let’s all give some love to Smith, who has carved out a very nice NFL career for himself simply by being peak Alex Smith: Staying accurate, keeping the turnovers to a minimum and occasionally running the ball well.
Steven (Carr, Flacco, Dalton, Mariota, Winston, Prescott, Bradford, Tannehill, Cousins):
Carr just barely missed out on Tier 2 for me, too. Still think his MVP-caliber season was more a product of his supporting cast than Carr himself. I could see him (along with Winston and Mariota) establishing himself as a bona fide top-10 guy in 2017.
*looking at the rest of the list*
Dak, yep. Bradford, totally agree. Cousins, OK. Palmer, should have been in Tier 2 but all right. Smith … ALEX SMITH?!?!? Nope. Terrible. You guys should be ashamed. The Chiefs traded up for a QB for a reason. He’s a Tier 4 QB; you can’t convince me otherwise. He can’t (and won’t) throw deep, is afraid of the pocket and consistently misses receivers running wide open. Ugh, let’s just move on before I break something.
Tier 4 (Below average): Carson Wentz, Tyrod Taylor, Ryan Tannehill
Luke: (Wentz, Taylor, Tannehill):I suppose Tannehill will be a point of contention for many, but I’m really not sure why. He’s been 18th, 25th, 16th, 27th and 24th in QBR since coming into the league. Enough is enough, Miami. This isn’t your guy. Start again.
Charles (Wentz, Taylor, Tannehill):
If I’m a betting man (and we know I am), I want to throw some hypothetical money on Wentz going up a tier by the end of 2017. I know how bad he was at the end of last season, but there’s room to grow. Also, really Steven? Tannehill was in your Tier 3? [Insert thinking face emoji here.]
Steven (Wentz, Taylor, Smith):
You guys are sleeping on Tannehill. This is going to look foolish (it already does) next season. I’d take him over at least three guys you have in Tier 3. Wentz is just barely made it in Tier 4 for me. His mechanics are problematic and I don’t think he sees the field very well. If there was a Tier 4.5, that’s where I’d put him. As for Taylor, I really wanted to put him in Tier 3, but just couldn’t. He’s a Tier 3.5 guy for me.
Tier 5 (Bad): Josh McCown, Cody Kessler, Blake Bortles, Trevor Siemian, Jared Goff, Brian Hoyer, Mike Glennon, Deshaun Watson
Luke (McCown, Kessler, Bortles, Siemian, Goff, Hoyer, Glennon):Watson dragged Clemson to two consecutive National Championship games and toppled Alabama to win one. Does he need to improve? Undoubtedly, but he’ll figure it out fast. Serial winners tend to do that. Nick Saban couldn’t speak more highly of Watson at the draft, saying he was one of the most talented quarterbacks he’s ever faced. Apparently that’s not enough for Steven and Charles.
Charles (McCown, Kessler, Bortles, Siemian, Goff, Hoyer, Glennon, Watson):
Luke, the only argument you had for Watson is that he was a “winner”? C’mon. This part of the list seems perfect, although we’re not factoring in some of the quarterbacks who could replace these names soon enough, and even then, I don’t think they’d be called up to Tier 4.
Steven (McCown, Kessler, Bortles, Siemian, Goff, Hoyer, Glennon, Watson):
Guys who have a chance of playing their way out of the bottom tier: Goff and Winston. The rest should not be starting in the NFL. I have no idea why the Jaguars didn’t at least look for some competition for Bortles.
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