With the game’s most important position getting more attention than ever, quarterback rankings are a valuable statistic. While yards and touchdowns can tell the story of a player, a decent rating system should take completion percentage into account as well.
These quarterback ranking stats are good to know if you want to get into sports betting, if you’re interested in the NFL.
The top five are dominated by young gunslingers who can both throw and run. But there’s a veteran who’s in the conversation as well.
The Top 5 Quarterback Ranking
1. Jared Goff
Jared Goff, the 2022 NFL MVP, is one of the most talented passers in the league. The Rams signed him to a lucrative contract this offseason, which speaks volumes about their confidence in his abilities. His CPOE score was the highest in the draft class, and his scores in third- and fourth-down situations were also tops.
Those performances should help him excel at the next level. His aDOT score was below average, but it should be kept in perspective: Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes have higher aDOTs than Goff, and they both won back-to-back MVP awards. This is another reason that we use rate stats like CPOE in conjunction with Passer Rating and EPA to create our quarterback rankings. This gives a fuller picture of each player’s passing ability.
2. Matt Ryan
A long-time starter in the NFL, Matt Ryan has accumulated impressive numbers. The former league MVP has led his team to the highest scoring totals, throwing for some of the best receivers in the game. He has 38 career fourth-quarter comebacks and a top-10 quarterback rating.
He doesn’t do too great in red-zone quarterback rankings, but he’s been a reliable starter for the Atlanta Falcons. Ryan’s accuracy is superb and he can throw through tight windows.
He’s been durable and he’s been good against top-tier defenses. He’s a great leader who knows how to get the job done. He has a good offensive line and receivers to support him. He is a smart player who can read defenses. He is the kind of player that can win big games in a short period of time.
3. Sam Darnold
Sam Darnold, the third overall pick of the 2018 draft, looked polished and decisive in the pocket on a couple deep completions in Sunday’s loss to the Rams. His teammates will be hoping he can show that same poise every week.
But Pro Football Focus ranked him one of the league’s worst starters last year, ahead of only Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and Tampa Bay’s Jameis Winston. And NBC Sports NFL analyst Chris Simms isn’t convinced he’ll turn things around in Carolina.
Simms believes Darnold has the ability to be an NFL starter, but only in the right situation. That’s why he thinks the Vikings might be the perfect fit for the former Jets quarterback. They sign him to a $10 million contract to be their bridge quarterback this season.
4. Eli Manning
The narrative surrounding Eli Manning has been pretty clear for quite some time. Despite winning two Super Bowls, the New York Giants quarterback is widely considered to be one among the bottom spots of starting quarterback rankings of all-time.
He’s been below-average in most of his NFL seasons, though he hasn’t been as bad as some might think. And that’s because he’s thrown a lot of touchdown passes and been effective in some games.
It’s difficult to find exact comparables for Manning. He’s been able to build a fortune for himself with his NFL contract, brand endorsements and business ventures, but he was basically average in his 246 career starts. The closest analogue might be Don Drysdale, the most-average winning pitcher in baseball history. He had a career ERA+ of 121, which is a bit better than Manning’s.
5. Drew Brees
A team’s offense and entire game runs through the quarterback, and few players have ever been better at that position than Brees. The New Orleans Saints legend set single-season records for passing yards, completions and touchdown passes during his 19-year NFL career. He shattered John Unitas’s quarterback rankings for most games with a touchdown pass and has five 5,000-yard seasons to his name.
He has one Super Bowl ring and is the all-time leader in both completions and passing yards. He’s also second in the league’s history in passing touchdowns, trailing only Tom Brady.
While Super Bowl rings do matter when determining all-time quarterback rankings, so do other factors like playoff performance and winning percentage. That’s why Aaron Rodgers deserves to be higher on this list than many people might think.
