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NFL Quarterback Rankings: An Armchair Quarterback’s Guide

By Lyle Graversen

Sep 8, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) reacts after running back Eddie Lacy (not pictured) scored a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth quarter at Candlestick Park. The 49ers defeated the Packers 34-28. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 8, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) reacts after running back Eddie Lacy (not pictured) scored a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth quarter at Candlestick Park. The 49ers defeated the Packers 34-28. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 23, 2012; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Jake Locker (10) runs with the ball against the Detroit Lions during the second half at LP Field. The Titans beat the Lions 44-41 in overtime. Mandatory credit: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 23, 2012; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Jake Locker (10) runs with the ball against the Detroit Lions during the second half at LP Field. The Titans beat the Lions 44-41 in overtime. Mandatory credit: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports /

23. Jake Locker – Tennessee Titans

I think Jake Locker gets unfairly lumped in with some of the other QB flops from his draft class like Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder. Locker only has a little over one season’s worth of career starts and still has a 22/15 TD to interception ratio and a QB rating over 80. If he can stay healthy and get some help from his supporting cast I think there is still hope for Locker.

24. Carson Palmer – Arizona Cardinals

Carson Palmer is probably better than the 24th rated QB in the NFL, but the problem is there just isn’t much upside left. He can rack up some yards and TDs, but he’s past his prime, has an injury history, and has averaged 18 interceptions per season over the past four years.

25. Geno Smith – New York Jets

While there appears to be some that have already written Geno Smith off as a bad QB, I’m still a believer. While his numbers as a rookie weren’t real pretty, the Jets simply had no offensive playmakers for him to work with. I’m not sure any QB could have looked great on that team. I still think talent is there.

26. Teddy Bridgewater – Minnesota Vikings

The thought of putting so much on the line with a rookie QB scares me to death, but at this point there just aren’t any guys left that I see having enough upside to pass up Bridgewater, who I think is the best of the rookie QBs. At this point you’re rolling the dice, so I’ll roll with someone who I think has some upside.

27. Johnny Manziel – Cleveland Browns

Much like I said with Bridgewater, at this point you might as well gamble on someone with some upside and see if you can catch lightning in a bottle. Manziel likely won’t set the NFL on fire as a rookie, but I’ll take his “Johnny Football” magic over the Brian Hoyers and Josh McCowns of the NFL.

28. EJ Manuel – Buffalo Bills

I’m not a believer in Manuel. I don’t think he’ll ever have the accuracy and ability to read a defense needed to be a really good NFL QB. I hope he proves me wrong and there is definitely some physical upside there, but I’ll let someone else roll the dice with him.

29. Josh McCown – Tampa Bay Buccaneers

We’re scraping the bottom of the barrel at this point. I don’t like any of the other rookies to play well in their first year and there just isn’t a lot of upside left in the other veterans. McCown is a vet and showed he could play well while filling in for Cutler last season. I have questions about his ability to play like that long-term, but at this point he’s worth a shot.

30. Matt Schaub – Oakland Raiders

I don’t like Schaub. I think he has physical limitations and completely goes off the rails when things start to go bad. He has QB’d winning teams in Houston, so I guess at this point you can hope he can recapture that, but if I’m betting my life on Matt Schaub I am not going to sleep well at night.

31. Mike Glennon – Tampa Bay Buccaneers

While Glennon didn’t set the world on fire as a rookie and may have lost his job already to NFL journeyman Josh McCown, he did complete almost 60% of his passes with a 19/9 TD to interception ratio. As my 31st QB, that’s enough upside for a 2nd year QB to take a flier on.

32. Thad Lewis – Buffalo Bills

Guys that I considered for this final spot included Michael Vick, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Blake Bortles, Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallet, Derek Carr, Kirk Cousins, Chad Henne, and Matt Cassel. Ultimately, I went with a personal favorite of mine, Thad Lewis. I actually think if given a fair chance that Lewis might be better than starter EJ Manuel in Buffalo. If you literally are the last team to pick your QB, you’re in trouble anyway so you might as well take a guy you like, right?

So first off, sorry to fans of the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars who didn’t have a QB make the list. I’m sure I may get some angry comments below about how I did your team wrong. Actually, I’m guessing there will be a lot of fans upset that the QB of their favorite team wasn’t rated higher. I’m happy to hear your arguments.

Is Alex Smith too high?

Are Super Bowl winners Joe Flacco and Eli Manning too low?

Is Tony Romo too talented to be rated #13 on this list?

What did you think of the premise of this list? Did it make you change how you thought about ranking these QBs?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. In fact, I’d really love to see what your list would be if given the situation I described above, so feel free to post your list in the comments as well.

I’m off on vacation the next two weeks, so look for the Armchair Quarterback to return in July as the countdown to training camp begins.

Thanks for reading.

Follow me on Twitter: @LyleGraversen

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