NFL quarterback rankings: Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson at No. 1?

NFL quarterback power rankings

9. Detroit Lions (Matthew Stafford)

Matthew Stafford has had to deal with injury, and the teams placed around him have constantly toed the line of mediocrity. In the regular season, he is 69-79-1.

Stafford’s career is bogged down with negativity and the dangerous conversation of “what could have been?”

Since his debut in 2009, his 41,025 passing yards and 256 touchdown throws are both top 10. Keep in mind, he only played in three games in 2010 and eight last year.

Of course, a back injury to a 32-year-old quarterback is concerning. But Stafford appears to still have some football left, and his arm has yet to diminish. He has always boasted one of the stronger arms in the league, and he looked great under offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell in those eight games he played in last year.

8. Atlanta Falcons (Matt Ryan)

Unfortunately for Matt Ryan, his career will forever be overshadowed by the Super Bowl disaster he and the Falcons endured in 2016. Still, Ryan was phenomenal that season. He threw for 4,944 yards and tossed 38 touchdowns. He won MVP and was an All-Pro and Pro Bowler.

Following that devastating Super Bowl loss, Ryan struggled in before throwing for 4,924 yards and 35 touchdowns in 2018. Ryan has been one of the better pocket passers in the NFL, and he will continue to be for years ahead.

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Tom Brady)

After 20 years, 14 Pro Bowls, six Super Bowl wins and three MVP awards, Tom Brady is no longer the quarterback for the New England Patriots. Rather than departing on a high note, Brady’s last throw for the Patriots resulted in a pick-six that capped the team’s final game of 2019 in the Wild Card round against the Tennessee Titans.

Brady has since signed elsewhere, going down south to Florida to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

At age 42, he has fallen a few spots back in the rankings. Last season was not Brady’s best year. He completed just over 60 percent of his passes and threw 24 scores with eight picks with 4,057 passing yards.

Outside of obvious physical regression, part of Brady’s struggles in 2019 were largely due to the talent he was dealt at the skill positions. In Tampa Bay, Brady will not have to fret about that.