In today’s NFL, if you don’t have a credible quarterback, you don’t have much of an offense, and it’s highly unlikely that you’ll ever see the inside of a Super Bowl stadium unless you can get your hands on a ticket. The 2015 Broncos were the last team to take home the Lombardi Trophy while dragging their quarterback (the last-ditch version of Peyton Manning) along for the ride, and it took a historically great defense to get that done. For the most part, the days of the 2000 Ravens and 2002 Buccaneers winning it all with pedestrian quarterbacks are gone.
Now, the quarterback rules the roost, and he can do it in several different ways. He can be a runner, or just mobile in the pocket. He can make deep throw after deep throw, or take a more limited skill set to a game more reliant on timing and accuracy. But no matter how it happens, these quarterbacks combine a sense of defensive intent with arm talent, composure under all kinds of pressure and rare mechanical refinement.
Other Top 11 lists: Running backs | Outside receivers | Slot receivers | Tight ends | Centers | Guards | Offensive tackles | Edge defenders | Interior defensive linemen | Linebackers | Safeties | Outside cornerbacks | Slot defenders
We are in the golden age of quarterback talent, and here are the 11 best as we head into the 2019 season.
11. Carson Wentz | 10. Baker Mayfield | 9. Matt Ryan | 8. Ben Roethlisberger | 7. Andrew Luck | 6. Tom Brady | 5. Aaron Rodgers | 4. Philip Rivers | 3. Russell Wilson | 2. Drew Brees | 1. Patrick Mahomes
11. Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles
In early June, the Eagles signed Wentz to a four-year, $128 million contract extension with over $107 million in guarantees that will ostensibly keep him with the team through 2024. Based on performance, there’s nothing wrong with that—with Wentz, the issue has been more about availability. He suffered season-ending injuries in both 2017 and 2018, but when on the field, he’s had more than enough franchise-defining moments to make the deal a must for general manager Howie Roseman and his staff.
In 2018, Wentz completed 69.6% of his passes for 3,074 yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions. His adjusted completion percentage of 78.7 tied for fourth-best in the NFL with Patrick Mahomes, and he was efficient — if not spectacular — as a deep thrower and under pressure. Through his first three NFL seasons, Wentz is tied for fifth in NFL history in combined passer rating behind Russell Wilson, Dan Marino, Dak Prescott and Jared Goff.
Wentz has the arm to make any throw and mobility reminiscent of Ben Roethlisberger’s, but his development has shown in his ability to run a complex offense, peel off and throw to his second and third reads, and sneak throws into tight spaces, making contested catches easier for his receivers. At this point, Wentz’s injury history is the only thing keeping him from the quarterback pantheon, and the Eagles obviously believe he’s there anyway.
10. Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns
There were a lot of questions about Mayfield’s NFL viability before and after the Browns made him the first overall pick in the 2018 draft. Some league insiders were turned off by his brashness, and others wondered if he would be able to adapt to more complex defenses after his time in Lincoln Riley’s hothouse offense. To complicate matters, the rookie had to go through the first half of his first season with a head coach in Hue Jackson who seemed blissfully unaware of his potential.
But when Freddie Kitchens took over as the team’s offensive coordinator, everything changed. Cleveland finished first overall in Football Outsiders’ opponent-adjusted passing metrics in the second half of the 2018 season after finishing 29th in the first half of the season, and Mayfield — who didn’t even start a game until Week 4 against the Raiders —set the rookie record for touchdown passes with 27 and proved to be a prodigy in just about every way.
Three-pick games against the Texans and Ravens dinged his efficiency to a degree, and there were some rookie issues to work out, but Mayfield completed 63.8% of his passes for 3,725 yards, 27 scores, and 14 picks. Seven of those picks came under pressure — often when he was trying to make too much out of a busted play under pressure — but eight of his touchdown passes happened under pressure. He had more deep passing touchdowns (11) than Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Andrew Luck, Matt Ryan, and Philip Rivers. Mayfield’s ball placement and accuracy on deep throws were particularly revelatory.
Especially in Kitchens’s offense, when things opened up for him, Mayfield displayed a sense of timing and anticipation on intermediate and deep passes that made Cleveland’s offense as dynamic and explosive as any in the NFL. There is a gunslinger element to his play that will lead to the occasional head-shaking mistake, but he’s more well-developed as a total quarterback than his detractors imagined.
9. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
Ryan’s severe drop in production from 2016 to 2017 was an object lesson in the importance of aligning a quarterback with an expansive offensive coordinator (Kyle Shanahan) as opposed to an overwhelmed one (Steve Sarkisian). In 2018, with Sarkisian still at the helm, Ryan proved to be more than a product of his system by completing 69.7% of his passes for 4,924 yards, 35 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. With Dirk Koetter now on board in Sarkisian’s former role, Ryan’s numbers could continue to move the needle, but 2018 was singularly impressive for the quarterback regardless of scheme.
Last season, Ryan was effective in every way — as a deep thrower, under pressure and with and without play-action; that was true regardless of how much time he had in the pocket. Of particular interest were his numbers on the move and as plays extended and broke down at times — he threw 15 touchdowns and two picks on plays lasting 2.5 seconds or more, and eight touchdowns to four interceptions when under pressure. Not quite the numbers he had with Shanahan scheming his targets open to an extreme degree, but better than one would expect after his 2017 regression.
Ryan isn’t ever going to threaten defenses as a pure runner, but he’s got great pocket mobility — he has the footwork and field awareness to avoid pressure in short areas, and he’s great at stepping up away from pass rushers. And he has the arm talent to make deep accurate throws to all areas from different platforms. Ryan has been a smooth and accurate passer for a long time, but even in an offensive structure that has given him little in comparison to what he had under Shanahan, Ryan has expanded his excellence in the little things.
8. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
Last season, Roethlisberger managed a typically productive season despite Le’Veon Bell’s yearlong holdout and Antonio Brown seeming less than ideally interested at times. Things may be less dramatic in 2019 with both players off the roster, but Big Ben’s numbers may take a hit. Still, he completed 67% of his passes in 2018, led the league in attempts (675) and completions (452) and passing yards (5,129), and hit his targets for 31 touchdowns and a league-leading 16 interceptions.
The interception issue has been a thing over the last few seasons as Roethlisberger has scattershot tendencies in bunches, but as a deep thrower (15 touchdowns and two interceptions on passes of 20 or more air yards), he’s one of the best in the league. Throwing under pressure, formerly a Roethlisberger specialty as he’d make stick throws with defenders hanging all over him, has become a problem. Last season he threw eight picks and just five touchdown passes when under pressure.
When Roethlisberger stays within himself and his ideal mechanics, he’s still quite able to make any throw, including the toughest ones — but there is a rogue element to his game that will have him testing lurk safeties on skinny posts when he really shouldn’t. Regardless, he’s still got enough to transcend the loss of two of the league’s most prominent offensive weapons.
7. Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
The Comeback Player of the Year last season after missing the entire 2017 campaign following shoulder surgery, Luck had little trouble getting back on track in 2018, completing a career-high 67.3% of his passes for 4,593 yards, 39 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Luck flourished in Frank Reich’s offense, the most diverse and effective he’s has since Bruce Arians ran things early in his career, and though he was a bit cavalier with interceptions on deep throws and under-pressure plays, he was good enough overall to rank seventh in Football Outsiders’ opponent-adjusted quarterback metrics, and ninth in per-play efficiency.
Luck came into the league as gifted as any other quarterback of his generation, and he’s developed those skills beyond his Stanford days. Mobility in and out of the pocket, preternatural understanding of defensive structure, and the kind of not only arm strength but arm talent that allows him to make throws other quarterbacks can’t? When he’s healthy, Luck has it all, and he has the capability to singe defenses as well as any quarterback in the NFL.
6. Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Brady will turn 42 on Aug. 3, and as he gets older, it seems some analysts want to bury him as a player before the all-timer is ready to bow out. Before we do that — and this is not to specifically malign Chris Simms, who actually logged time in quality control with the Patriots — let’s take a look at what Brady did last season. He completed 65.8% of his passes for 4,355 yards, 29 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Ad after a slow start, he eventually outsmarted one of the NFL’s best defenses to pick up his sixth Lombardi Trophy. Brady might not be at his peak, but anyone who thinks he’s holding the team back at this point in his career is simply misinformed.
Think his deep ball is gone? Nope. Brady threw 10 touchdowns and just two picks on throws of 20 or more air yards. Think he can’t handle pressure at the same rate? He thrives in a quick passing game, but Brady also threw nine touchdown passes under pressure (though his five pressured interceptions represent a slight red flag). And he was nearly as efficient on long-developing plays as he was on three-step-and-throw stuff.
Brady wins in the pre-snap phase better than any quarterback in NFL history, and his pocket movement has been a master class for years. As was the case with Drew Brees, Brady worked strength training and mechanical improvement into a greatly improved intermediate and deep-passing game once he got into the NFL, and even as time has taken a bit of the edge off, Brady has more than enough left in the tank to dominate for a few more seasons.
5. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
The last two seasons have been rough for Rodgers. Between injury issues and the nadir of the Mike McCarthy era, it’s seemed like he’s outside the discussion more and more when we talk about the NFL’s best passers. Things should improve schematically for Rodgers as soon as he gets on the same page with new head coach Matt LaFleur, and the hope is that Green Bay’s young receivers will take the proverbial step — outside of Davante Adams, who’s already a top-five talent.
Still, as disconnected from his offense as he may have been last season, Rodgers still threw just two interceptions in 597 passing attempts. His 62.3% completion rate and 25 touchdowns weren’t exactly all-time, but Rodgers is still perhaps the most gifted pure passer in NFL history, and we’ll see that again if his passing game can crawl out of the Paleolithic Era.
From a purely physical perspective, there is no better quarterback than Rodgers, and that’s been the case for a number of years. Tom Brady once said that Rodgers would throw for 7,000 yards in a season if he had the benefits of Brady’s offensive system, and that might not be an exaggeration. Nobody in the game today — and perhaps ever — can match Rodgers’ ability to make ridiculous tight throws under pressure and on the run. Living in McCarthy’s regressive offense has given Rodgers a bit of balkiness when it comes to committing to his reads at times, so one hopes he’ll get over it under LaFleur, and that he’ll have the kind of offense that can match his superlative talents.
4. Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers
Rivers led the league with 21 interceptions in the 2016 season, and at that point in his career, he seemed to be an especially and disconcertingly random quarterback with little consistency. Things have improved considerably over the last two seasons — Rivers threw a combined 22 picks in 2017 and 2018 — and his 2018 tape showed a guy who was certainly on the ball enough to be considered a premier player at his position.
In 2018, Rivers completed 68.3% of his passes for 4,308 yards, 32 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Five of those picks came on deep throws, but he also threw eight touchdown passes on plays of 20 or more air yards, and he maintained an impressive composure under pressure.
Rivers has always had an unconventional three-quarters delivery, and he pushes the ball to a point, but he’s made his mechanical idiosyncrasies work for him. He’ll never be the subject of a “How to Play Quarterback” guide from that perspective, but most quarterbacks would do well to emulate his accuracy, ability to find targets in tight spaces to all areas of the field, and toughness in the pocket.
3. Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
Wilson led the NFL with 34 touchdown passes in 2017 and came back in 2018 with 35, but there could have been more in an offense less risk-averse than Seattle’s. He did benefit from a functional offensive line for the first time in years last season, though he was still pressured on 39.2% of his throws; only Josh Allen, Deshaun Watson and Josh Rosen had a higher pressure percentage. Typically, Wilson thrived when others would wilt, throwing 10 touchdowns and just three picks when pressured.
Wilson was also the NFL’s most prolific and efficient deep passer last season, with 15 touchdowns and just one interception on throws of 20 or more air yards. And he accomplished all this on just 427 pass attempts — it’s almost as if Pete Carroll and his staff should make him a more featured part of Seattle’s offensive plan. Give this guy 600 passing attempts in a season at this point in his career, and we’re having a different MVP discussion.
At times, Wilson will bail out of the pocket when he still has time, running himself into sacks and denying himself opportunities. This is likely a response to an NFL career in which he’s been running for his life behind some really bad protections. When he’s on, there’s no quarterback in the league who makes more out of a scramble drill, has a better sense of how to direct his receivers on plays outside of structure, and nails deep throws on time and on target. And for his height, Wilson maintains the ability to make stick throws from the pocket as he has since his college days.
2. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
As is the case with Tom Brady, people have been wanting to throw dirt on the idea of Peak Brees for a few years now. Brees will turn 41 in January, and at this point in his career, he seems bound and determined to pick away at every naysaying argument at a Hall of Fame level. In 2018, he completed an absolutely insane 74.4% of his passes, breaking his own NFL record from 2017 by 2.4 percentage points. In fact, Brees has four of the top five completion percentage seasons in NFL history, and the two best seasons happened in the last two years.
Given the narrative that his deep arm is shot, you might assume that Brees is inflating these numbers with nothing but dink-and-dunk throws. Not really. Last season, he completed 31 of 64 passes of 20 or more air yards for 977 yards, and those numbers may have been even more impressive were it not for a mysterious drop in effectiveness that beleaguered him late in the season. We’ll see if that moves into 2019, but if it doesn’t, it’s clear that Brees is anything but washed up.
Listed as a generous 6 feet, Brees is able to transcend any height concerns in and out of the pocket because he’s so aware of his line splits, and how the timing of blocking openings corresponds to the timings of his receivers’ routes. He understands and reads defenses at a scientific level, and when he’s healthy and mechanically sound, he can rip those defenses apart with timing throws to every area of the field.
1. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
As a rookie in 2017, Mahomes completed 22 of 35 passes for 284 yards, no touchdowns and one interception … so, of course, we all saw one of the most statistically impressive seasons in NFL history coming in 2018, right?
Probably not, unless your name is Andy Reid.
Mahomes completed 66% of his passes last season for 5,097 yards, 50 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions. He joined Peyton Manning and Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks ever to throw 50 or more touchdown passes in a season, and given that this was his first time as a game-to-game NFL starter, the ways in which he did it were truly remarkable. We all know about his eye-popping mobility and impressive proclivity for trick passes most NFL quarterbacks wouldn’t dream of attempting,
Mahomes had by far the most deep-ball attempts in the 2018 season with 108, and he completed 48 of those passes for 1,658 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. Eight of his interceptions came under pressure, but 10 of his touchdown passes did, as well. His “adjusted net yards per pass attempt” of 8.89 was the sixth-highest in NFL history, and he led the league in Football Outsiders’ play-by-play and cumulative quarterback efficiency metrics. Not bad for a guy who will turn 24 in September.
Mahomes has a stunning trick-shot ability to make accurate throws to moving targets from all kinds of platforms, but he wouldn’t be No. 1 on this list if he were just a gimmick guy. He brings an uncanny sense of timing and accuracy for his age and experience, his throwing ability on the run is positively artful at times, and there isn’t an NFL throw he can’t make. There’s a lot of talk about how Mahomes will inevitably regress in 2019 and beyond, but it would be a fool’s errand to bet on that.
