Where does Joe Burrow Rank Among The 32 NFL Starting Quarterbacks?
The NFL is a quarterback-driven league, even more so in today’s league. You need a QB that can compete with the best to win a Super Bowl, and we are seeing examples of that year after year. Now we are seeing teams trade up in the draft and spend astronomical dollars to sway top-tier players at the position. With college athletes developing, the league is filled with young, athletic, and talented Quarterbacks.
The Cincinnati Bengals found their guy in 2020 when they selected Joe Burrow with the 1st overall pick, and after leading the Bengals to the Super Bowl in just his second year, where does he rank among the other 31 Quarterbacks In the league?
NFL Quarterback Rankings 27-32
32. Drew Lock – Seattle Seahawks
Drew Lock may or may not be the starting quarterback for the Seahawks, but if he is, I think it’s only suitable to start at the bottom. He has yet to prove anything in the games he has started, but he has the talent to be very good. That’s if he can put it all together. He finally has his chance in Seattle.
31 Sam Darnold – Carolina Panthers
Darnold was a high draft selection, and he has the talent to be a good quarterback in this league. Still, the fact of the matter is he is already on his second team just a few seasons into his career, and he lost his job this past season to Cam Newton who was a free agent at the time.
The Panthers selected Matt Corral in the NFL Draft, and this is more than likely the future unless Darnold can show something early this season.
30. Jared Goff – Detroit Lions
Jared Goff is not a bad player by any means, but he isn’t the type of guy who will put a team on his back and win a shootout by the standards of his natural ability. Goff is a game manager; in the right system, he can be successful, but in the wrong one, it can be a trainwreck.
This could be Goff’s last chance at proving he can be a starting quarterback in this league, and he will have a lot more help with the addition of Jameson Williams and D.J. Chark to the wide receiving core. In addition, the defense got a lot better, adding a guy like Aiden Hutchinson.
29. Trey Lance – San Francisco 49ers
Trey Lance has a lot of upsides, and it seems as if he will be the starting quarterback for the 49ers this season, which is why I have put him on the list, not Jimmy Garappolo. But Lance has yet to play a snap, so you can’t have him too high just yet.
However, I think most teams would prefer to have Lance than a lot of the QBs on the list around this area due to his extremely high ceiling. He will have a chance to show that this year.
28. Mitchell Trubisky – Pittsburgh Steelers
Assuming the Steelers decide to start Trubisky over Kenny Pickett in Week 1, this is where Trubisky would wind up being ranked after being a backup all of last season in Buffalo. Trubisky is nowhere near as bad as some people try and portray. However, he hasn’t necessarily lived up to the position he was drafted in, which is why he gets stereotyped very poorly.
He’s led a team to the postseason before, and being in Chicago for most of his career, that’s not known to produce good offenses; it will be interesting to see Trubisky in another scheme and offense like Pittsburgh.
27. Justin Fields – Chicago Bears
Justin Fields has a lot of upsides and showed it at times last season when Matt Nagy gave him a chance to go out there and start. Especially a mid-season Monday Night game on the road against the Steelers where they lost, but he made multiple big-time plays and sustained some big hits yet got right back up on his feet.
There was so much Quarterback shuffling that he never got that comfortable situation. This will be the first year where he gets that opportunity.
NFL Quarterbacks Rankings 20-26
26. Trevor Lawerence – Jacksonville Jaguars
Trevor Lawerence was the first overall pick and had the highest amount of pressure after what he accomplished in college. The first year did not go anywhere near as planned as the Jaguars maintained the first overall pick for the second straight year.
He lost his college teammate Travis Etienne in training camp, and then his head coach got fired before the season was even over. Now, adding Etienne back and healthy and then Christian Kirk should give Lawerence some more options to work with.
25. Zach Wilson – New York Jets
Zach Wilson has superstar potential, but that is if he can sometimes fix his decision-making and ball placement. He reminds me of a more mobile Jameis Winston, and Winston also had that superstar potential, but he never corrected the turnover issue when he would force passes.
If Wilson can fix that problem, the skies are the limit for him in this league, but if he doesn’t, he could find himself in a similar situation to Winston. A good quarterback who just never really reached his potential.
24. Davis Mills – Houston Texans
Davis Mills was the second-best Quarterback in the rookie class last season, and the numbers don’t lie. Until guy’s like Lawerence, Wilson, Lance, and Fields prove they can be better than Mills, it is only suitable that Davis is ranked above them for the time being.
23. Daniel Jones – New York Giants
This is a huge year for Daniel Jones. It is truly a make-or-break season for him. He needs to show the New York Giants why he is worth keeping and investing in him long-term, and he has yet to do that since entering the league. However, it is not only his fault. The Giants coaching staff and the surrounding cast have not put him in a position to be successful.
22. Marcus Mariota – Atlanta Falcons
Marcus Mariota can create plays with his feet, and that is how the Raiders used him last season. It has been a few years since he’s been the full-time starting QB, but with Atlanta, he has more natural ability to be successful than some of the other QBs behind him.
21. Tua Tagovailoa – Miami Dolphins
Tua has shown glimpses of what he can be, and now having Mike McDaniel as the head coach, this will be a crucial season for the Miami Dolphins to observe and critique his game. They are finding whether they need to go find a new QB or if Tua is the long-term piece they saw when they drafted him.
NFL Quarterbacks 15-20 Rankings
20. Jameis Winston – New Orleans Saints
Winston is coming off a gruesome Torn ACL, but he has never been in a better position than he is now with the talent surrounding him. He has an excellent offensive line blocking for him, Alvin Kamara alongside him in the backfield, and it is expected that he has Michael Thomas returning to the field this year. The Saints also selected WR Chris Olave from Ohio State and signed Jarvis Landry in free agency.
19. Carson Wentz – Washington Commanders
This could be Carson Wentz’s last chance as a starting quarterback in the NFL. And he wasn’t bad by any means last year with the Colts, but he needs to be seen as a QB that can lead a team to the postseason and then win some games.
Last year in Week 17, when it looked like the Colts were an easy lock for the postseason, Wentz had his worst game of the year vs. the Jaguars and lost. Then later ended up being eliminated from playoff contention. Washington is investing a lot of money and hopes into what Wentz can bring to the table for Ron Rivera and the offense, and so far, he has been raved about through OTA’s and Mini-Camp.
18. Mac Jones – New England Patriots
Mac Jones was the best quarterback out of the rookie class last season, and he may not have the most upside or natural ability, but he is under the right system, and that will benefit him in the long run for his game as a whole. I think 18 is a good spot for Jones to be placed at this moment.
17. Ryan Tannehill – Tennessee Titans
Tannehill is on the decline and did have a lousy postseason game but let’s not act like he didn’t lead the Titans to the number one overall seed in the AFC and had to manage games while they didn’t have their superstar running back Derrick Henry.
The Titans selected Malik Willis, and unless Tannehill puts on a show, this could be his last season as the starting QB in Tennessee.
16. Matt Ryan – Indianapolis Colts
Matt Ryan has had a great career, and I think this may be his best opportunity yet besides the year the Falcons made it to the Super Bowl. Ryan, with the right pieces around him, has the capabilities to put up MVP-type numbers.
He has one of the best offensive lines in the league, excellent coaching staff, and he has enough weapons around him to succeed. The Colts have an outstanding defense too, which makes it easier on the QB.
15. Jalen Hurts – Philadelphia Eagles
This is a massive year for Jalen Hurts, and some may have Jalen Hurts a tad bit slower than this, but a lot of the Eagles’ success had to ride on Hurts using his legs besides throwing to pretty much his only reliable weapon, Devonta Smith.
Now they have A.J. Brown and have one of the most talented duos in football on the outside. This is when Hurts truly needs to show what he is capable of with his arm.
NFL Quarterbacks 8-14 Rankings
14. Kirk Cousins – Minnesota Vikings
Kirk Cousins puts up the numbers of a top ten QB, but he has yet to have any success in the win column with the Minnesota Vikings, and that’s why he remains placed outside the top ten. He has the weapons to be successful, and he is being paid like a top-tier quarterback, but he still has a lot to prove that he can lead a team to the desired goal.
13. Kyler Murray – Arizona Cardinals
Murray can very well be a top ten QB in this league, but he still has to make certain progressions to get to that next level and put into the conversation with guys like Herbert, Burrow, Allen, and Mahomes.
He is looking for a long-term contract, and I’d expect him to land that sometime soon especially if he performs at a high level this year.
12. Derek Carr – Las Vegas Raiders
When Derek Carr has some help, he is a very formattable and talented QB. He led the Raiders to the postseason and, in a battle with the Cincinnati Bengals, fell short.
However, The Raiders added the best wide receiver debatably in the league in Davante Adams, who was Carr’s college teammate at Fresno State. Carr could really take that next step this year and earn the respect of many across the league at one of the leagues best QBs.
11. Deshaun Watson – Cleveland Browns
There is still a significant question mark surrounding if Deshaun Watson is going to play or not, but if he does, he is easily a top ten level QB when he is at his best.
However, with sitting out the entire season last year, I find it disrespectful to put him above guys like Stafford, Wilson, or Prescott until he proves he’s the same Watson he once was.
10. Dak Prescott – Dallas Cowboys
Dak Prescott has proven he is elite in the regular season. But he still needs to show it in the postseason and string together some wins to move inside the top ten. Right now, I would place him at ten with the possibility of moving down if Watson picks up where he once left off.
9. Matthew Stafford – Los Angeles Rams
Matthew Stafford made a considerable leap after winning the Super Bowl and having the best career season debatably yet from a production standpoint for himself.
With the Rams keeping the majority of the core together, I expect him to keep up the same level of consistency throughout the 2022/23 NFL season.
8. Russell Wilson – Denver Broncos
Russell Wilson didn’t have the best season last year, but he is still one of the best in the league, and moving to Denver should put him in a better position.
The Broncos have an excellent offensive line, and he has better surrounding pieces that can benefit him.
NFL Quarterbacks Top 7 Rankings
7. Lamar Jackson – Baltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson is one of the more talented players at the position but a lot like Dak Prescott, postseason success is holding him back from creeping further than his current ranking.
Jackson is a former MVP, and he has transformed the position and the way it is viewed. He is an underrated and is not as appreciated as he should be as a passer but there are still some things he can improve on.
6. Justin Herbert – Los Angeles Chargers
Statistic wise Justin Herbert is a top five QB over the last two years. However, he has yet to make the postseason at all so far in his short career. Him and Joe Burrow is like splitting hairs. They are both so gifted and will be superstars at the position. But for now I believe Burrow has the upperhand after what he accomplished last year.
5. Joe Burrow – Cincinnati Bengals
Joe Burrow after his rookie season suffering a season ending Torn ACL would probably be placed in the 15-20 range. He showed promise but he needed to return to his normal self.
He did more than that. Not only did Burrow win Comeback Player of the Year, He led the Bengals to there first playoff win in over 30 years and beat the number one seeded Titans on the road and then managed to be the Kansas City Chiefs on the road who won the previous two AFC Championships. Burrow is a top five QB in the NFL no matter how close him and Herbert may be.
4. Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers
Aaron Rodgers did win MVP last year, so you could make the case for him to be in the top three, but he also lost in the first round of the playoffs after having one of the best teams throughout the season and didn’t necessarily play all that well.
Rodgers is a unamious first ballot Hall of Famer and is still currently one of the best QBs in the entire NFL. It will be interesting though to see how he fairs without superstar Wide Reciever Davante Adams.
3. Tom Brady – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tom Brady is the greatest QB to ever step foot on this planet and there is no case that can be made against him that is valid.
The accolades speak for themselves and the seven Super Bowls is just astronomical. Brady is in his mid 40s and is still one of the best QBs in the league.
He led the league in touchdown passes last season. It is hard to currently put him above Allen or Mahomes though.
2. Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen and homes might be inter changeable but at the moment Mahomes has Allens number. Allen has gotten the Bills to consecutive postseason bids and played debatably the best game that a team has lost this past year to the Chiefs in the Divisional Round.
Allen played out of his mind and somehow 13 seconds was enough for them to still lose the game. Allen will be playing with a chip on his shoulder this year and don’t be shocked when you see him in the MVP conversation.
1. Patrick Mahomes – Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes in the best overall QB in the NFL and I think he has compleley deserved to hold that label. He didn’t play his absolute best last year but still managed to get to the AFC Championship for the 3rd straight year and had a 10+ point lead in the game. Mahomes has a Super Bowl trophy and a long career ahead of him. His skillset and ability to make plays when nothing is there is the apitimy of what makes him so good. He finds a way always and seems to always have the Chiefs sitting at the top when it’s all said and done.