Welcome To The Three-Pronged QB Ranking System
Every time I see one of these top-10 lists I feel the need to stand up for my boy. So I've decided to make a new QB ranking system: The Three-Pronged Approach. Instead of a contextless list of QBs, I made three separate categories.
1. QBs that will put up big numbers this year: I think a QB can put up big numbers without being elite. Geno Smith had the 4th most yards in the league and a 70% completion percentage. Is he elite? No. Some QBs are on great rosters with great weapons, coaches etc and some are lucky enough to be in terrible divisions. Other QBs aren't as fortunate. Jared Goff wouldn't have put up the same numbers he had last year if he was playing for the Titans. Also, some QBs are forced to shoulder more offensive output if their run game and defense sucks. Makes sense, right?
2. QBs primed to have the most team success: One of the big media bullshit things is assigning wins as a QB stat. That's never been the case and never will be the case. The QB contributes more to team success than any other single player on the field, but that % is still less than a starter in a basketball game. Joe Burrow can have the year of his life and it doesn't really matter if the Bengals defense is giving up 50 billion points a game. Jalen Hurts can play a below average game and the Eagles will likely still win.
3. On the same exact roster with a league average HC, which QB performs the best: This, I think, is a very important thing to consider. Strip everything down, who is the most talented?
The only thing I'm a liiiiiittle skeptical on here is Goff. he is been in an offensive juggernaut of a system that just lost it's maestro. Does that mean the incredibly skilled players, especially on the offensive side of the ball, will suddenly suck ass? I don't think so. He's got a great line and even better weapons. If their defense takes a step back, that only means his volume will go up. If he is a top dog, then the quality of play shouldn't go down (see: Joe Burrow last year).
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The top dogs here are obvious. They're all faces you see in the playoffs every year and they all share two big features: A banger offensive line and a top defense. You'll see some guys here with 2024 team numbers that don't look that impressive (Purdy, Stroud). I'm betting on last year being more of a blip than a norm, especially for the 49ers.
The one thing Mahomes has had consistently over his career is coaching. He's played well with a bad line, good line, great WRs, average WRs, great defense and bad defenses. This is why he is, and will remain, the best. Lamar is the most electric QB in football but I give Allen a slight edge because of his arm/durability and I also feel he is a bit more interchangeable. Then we get to Joe Burrow. If you saw my blog on QBs a few days ago, I really had to give him his flowers after seeing his numbers vs playoff teams over the last 3 years ESPECIALLY considering how bad his line and defense have been. Justin Herbert comes next. I love my boy. Elite arm, accuracy, decision making, pocket presence and he can run great when he needs to. But he's just too much of a robot and doesn't have the adaptability other guys got.
Am I right? Am I wrong? Sound off in the comments and drink some Sierra Nevadas.