NFL Quarterback Depth Chart

Michael Vick recently said that he believes he was and still is a top 10 quarterback in the NFL.  This got me thinking who really are the top ten quarterbacks in the NFL, and is Michael Vick on that list?  The rankings rank the quarterbacks not by age, not how they were five years ago, and not what they will be five years from now.  This ranks the quarterbacks in what they are today and the order most teams would rank them on a depth chart for the 2010 NFL season.  Without further adieu Joxygen presents the top 30 quarterbacks in the NFL.

30.  Chad Henne – Miami Dolphins

The former Wolverine is less Tom Brady and more Drew Henson at this point in his career.  Henne took over the Miami starting job when Pennington went down in week 3.  Henne did a decent job as a fill in and is now the future of the Dolphins for now.  Henne has shown signs of being a serviceable QB with a strong arm.

29. Brady Quinn – Cleveland Browns

Brady Quinn is finding that his childhood team is a little bit tougher to play for than it was to play for the Irish in college.  His completion percentage is barely over 50% in an offense that has many problems.  Right as Quinn started to show signs that he could be the QB of the future in Cleveland, he was shut down due to an injury.  Quinn looks a little more comfortable now that the Browns have developed a running game and needs to at least give the deep ball a look every now and then.

28.  Ryan Fitzpatrick – Buffalo Bills

Fitzpatrick isn’t going to light the world on fire anytime soon with his quarterbacking skills in Buffalo.  The most successful thing Fitz accomplished last season was getting along with Terrell Owens.  Fitzpatrick is an OK quarterback to have for a team that isn’t planning on winning a super bowl anytime soon.  He is going to be able to hold over the Bills for now until they can build up the rest of the team.  A career 21 TDs to 27 INTs is just not gonna get the job done.

27.  Bruce Gradkowski – Oakland Raiders

Bruce Gradkowski really deserves to be the starting quarterback for the Oakland Raiders.  If it wasnt for JeMarcus’ monster number one overall pick money he got a couple seasons ago, I’m pretty sure he wouldnt even be the backup in Oakland.  Gradkowski did a good job taking over for Oakland after JaMarcus was benched and played well until he was struck with the injury bug.  In his final three games of the 09 season, Bruce recorded games of 200, 308, and 153 yards to go along with 4 total passing TDs and no INTs.  Bruce should be the future of the Raiders and could move up quickly on the NFL QB depth chart.

26.  Senaca Wallace – Seattle Seahawks

Senaca Wallace has had a couple chances over the past few years to prove himself with the Injury cursed Matt Hasselbeck at the helm.  Everytime Matt goes down Senaca steps in and does a good job as his replacement.  Senaca, like Gradkowski, is a guy that given the chance could be an above average QB in this league.  Over his short career, Senaca has completed 59.9% of his passes for 25 TDs and 14 INTs.  For about a season worth of games thats not a bad season statistically.

25.  Matt Moore – Carolina Panthers

Matt Moore came onto the Panthers scene with a bang last season throwing for 8 TDs and just 2 INTs in 5 games of work.  The Panthers also won 4 of these 5 games.  Moore looked great in his short season and would surely be higher on this list if he had a larger body of work.  If he can spread those five games of success over an entire season, he will be way up on this list this time next year.

24. Jason Campbell – Washington Redskins

Over the past four seasons Jason Campbell’s completion percentage, yards, and TDs has increased every season.  The only problem is he set a career high in INTs this year with 15.  Despite the rumors of a trade and pretty much everyone’s belief in him dwindling, Campbell had a pretty descent season and his best so far (minus a couple INTs)

23.  Joe Flacco – Baltimore Ravens

Joe Flacco took a huge step backwards from his incredible rookie year.  Although his completion percentage, yards, and TDs increased while his INTs stayed the same as his rookie year, the confidence of the coaching staff seemed to fade as the games grew more important.  Flacco’s historically bad playoff performance against the Patriots (4-10 for 34 yards with 1 INT) showed that Flacco did not take his game to the next level like ESPN’s Matthew Berry thought he would with his Wacko for Flacco campaign.

22.  Vince Young – Tennessee Titans

Vince Young has one thing that some of the most talented quarterbacks don’t have, the ability to straight win games.  Vince Young showed he was a winner at Texas and now again in the NFL for the Titans.  Vince Young has an 18-11 career record and recently went 8-2 after taking over the starting job from Kerry Collins and the 0-6 Titans.  Vince doesnt have the great stats (more INTs than TD’s) but that doesn’t much matter if your winning games.

21.  Mark Sanchez – New York Jets

Sanchez, in just his rookie year, is similar to Vince Young in that he can win games.  In his second career game vs the possible team of the decade in the New England Patriots, Sanchez controlled the game and made plays when he had to to get the 16 – 9 victory. Yes Sanchez showed that he is just a rookie with a 5 INT game and a 4 INT game but he also showed that he is a gamer.  Taking down the Bengals and the Chargers in back to back weeks in his first ever playoffs and putting up a valiant effort against the should be undefeated Colts is a good way to end your rookie season.  Mark’s playoff totals were 4 TD 2 INT 539 yds a rating of 92.7, and 2 wins.

20.  Matthew Stafford – Detroit Lions

Matthew Stafford went number one overall to the Lions and played like a rookie.  He reached 20 INTs and made all kinds of mistakes throughout the season but showed that it is highly unlikely that he will be a flop.  Stafford proved that he belongs higher on the Depth Chart than fellow rookie Mark Sanchez after his week 10 showdown with Brady Quinn and the Browns.  After seperating his shoulder on a hail mary Stafford got back up and threw a TD on the final play of the game to win it after a pass interference was called in the end zone on the previous play.  In a lost season for the Lions; Stafford showed that despite only having 1 win at the time, he risked his health and safety to get a win for the franchise.

19.  Matt Cassel – Kansas City Chiefs

Matt Cassel is paid like a top 3 quarterback but plays like the middle of the road QB that he is.  Cassel did a great job filling in for Tom Brady in a offense groomed for success.  Once he left for KC we got to see the real Matt Cassel.  Playing in KC will drop every QBs stats and thats exactly what happened to Matt.  Cassel had a mediocre season and is in no serious threat of losing his job.

18.  David Garrard – Jacksonville Jaguars

Two seasons ago (18 TDs 3 INTs) I would have taken Garrard over most QBs in the league.  Two years later and we are singing a different tune.  Garrard and the Jaguars played well below expectations this season.  Garrard had a respectable season with 60% completion, 3500 yards, 15 TDs, and 10 INTs.  Nothing to write home about but nothing to panic over either.  If this type of season becomes the norm he could see a couple rookies jump him in the rankings soon.

17.  Matt Hasselbeck – Seattle Seahawks

Hasselbeck has the skills to be a top 15 QB or even top 10 but the injuries keep him at the lower end.  Hasselbeck’s back just doesnt want to cooperate with him and may end his career in the not so distant future.  Hasselbeck played through injury and his stats showed it; throwing for twice as many picks (10) than TDs (5) in 2008 while injured really showed how injuries can completely change how a guy plays.  Just two seasons ago (his last mostly healthy season) Hasselbeck threw for 28 TDs and 12 INTs.  A healthy Hasselbeck I really, really like but thats not what you get anymore with Matt.

16.  Kyle Orton – Denver Broncos

Kyle Orton got clowned every single day of his Chicago Bears quarterbacking career while Jay Cutler got praise in Denver.  The significance of this is the two QBs swapped teams and so did their critiques.  Orton was getting praised as a decent QB who wins games while Cutler was throwing INT after INT in Chicago and kept the Monday morning QBs in Chicago busy each and every week.  Orton is not the most accurate, strongest, fastest, or marketable QB on the list but he is becoming a guy you can trust.

15.  Michael Vick – Philadelphia Eagles

I tried Mr. Vick but I just couldn’t put you in the top 10 after one season in prison followed by another as a gadget guy in Philly.  Top 15 isn’t bad though is it?  Michael Vick was the face of the Falcons and brought them to the playoffs in 2002 and 2004 winning one game each year including officially ending the Rams dynasty years.  Usually I don’t look at a QB’s running skills when evaluating them but you have to in Michael’s case.  In his last full season as he was still developing, Vick ran for over 1,000 yards and passed for over 2,500.  Vick picks up believers every where he goes since his dog fighting debacle which has me believing in him as well.

14.  Jay Cutler – Chicago Bears

Jay Cutler was the next big thing in Denver and they promptly traded him away to the Bears.  In Chicago Cutler was asked to do just about everything as the line was terrible pass blocking and even worse run blocking.  Cutler had the city on his shoulders and you could see the pressure in the way he played the game.  Forcing throws all over the place resulted in a league leading 26 INTS on the season.  Get this guy some Wide Receivers taller than 6 foot, an offensive line, and an average running game and Cutler will look more like Denver version than Chicago.

13.  Matt Ryan – Atlanta Falcons

The savior to a franchise that looked closer to the Lions than a playoff team; Matt Ryan has shown great leadership abilities and QB skills in just two years of football.  Matt Ryan has been compared to Tom Brady (maybe a stretch) in terms of what he can be in the future.  His second season was not a huge improvement from his rookies season but it showed us that he is a guy you can bank on having a long successful career in the NFL.

12.  Carson Palmer – Cincinnati Bengals

Carson lead a surprising Bengals team to the playoffs coming off an injury plagued 2008 season.  Palmer has transformed his game (result of a better all around team not needing 50 points to win) away from putting up huge stats and is now a game manager more than a game changer.  Part of this is probably still due to his past injuries and the dominate running game the Bengals unveiled to the league.  This next year will be a big year in determining if Palmer is back at the elite level or just a good quarterback.

11.  Brett Favre – Minnesota Vikings

Brett proved two things this season.  One – the Vikings really were a good quarterback away from being a very good team and Two – Age is truly relative.  Favre, grey beard and all, had one of his best seasons of his career and had a very good argument for MVP.  After holding Favre back for the first couple games (maxing out at 155 yards in a game) Favre was unleashed on the NFC and finished with 33 TDs and a career low 7 INTs.  Favre may or may not be back next season, but if he isn’t he will be leaving a lot of skills on the table (and some playoff INTs as well).

10.  Eli Manning – New York Giants

Eli was supposed to have no quality receivers this season.  If that is true than Manning just made Steve Smith (pro bowler), Mario Manningham, and Hakeem Nicks the next great trio of WRs.  Manning lives in his big brother and even father’s shadow even after winning himself a Super Bowl ring over the then undefeated Patriots.  No matter how Eli is playing he will always get knocked back a bit for the simple fact his last name is Manning.

9.  Donavan McNabb – Philadelphia Eagles

If you are a Philly fan reading this you probably think this guy is somewhere ranked in the 40’s, but for all you sane or relatively sane people you know that McNabb is a really good QB who goes to the playoffs more than most QBs in the NFL year in and year out.  McNabb finished with his second highest TD total (22) in the last 5 seasons and showed that he can conduct a high powered offense with a very young team; his only healthy running back (McCoy) a rookie, best wide reciever (DeSean Jackson) second year man, and number 2 WR (Jeremy Maclin) rookie.  McNabb may not be appreciated in Philly but he is here at Joxygen.

8.  Tony Romo – Dallas Cowboys

Ah, the golden boy.  Tony Romo, the face of the Dallas Cowboys and Jerry World, shut his critiques up leading a dominate looking Cowboys team to impressive wins leading up to the playoffs and a whooping of rival Philly in the playoffs.  Romo cut down his INTs to just 9 this season while still throwing 26 TDs with a TOless receiving core.  Along the way he also made Miles Austin a household name.

7.  Matt Schaub – Houston Texans

Schaub continues to be the most underrated player in the NFL.  Maybe its because he hasn’t seen a minute of playoff action or that Peyton Manning (more on him soon) dominates the headlines in the AFC South but whatever the reason it needs to stop now.  Schaub threw for over 4,700 yards (lead all of football) and 29 TDs in a tough AFC.  Somehow it took Phillip Rivers, Tom Brady, and Peyton Manning (super bowl priorities) to miss the Pro Bowl for Schaub to get the nod (where he promptly won the game and the MVP).

6.  Ben Roethlisberger – Pittsburgh Steelers

Big Ben reached the 4,000 yard plateau for the first time in his career despite not making the playoffs a year after winning the Super Bowl.  Roethlisberger is a winner and seems to will his team to victory which most guys, maybe no one, else does in the NFL.  Ben keeps more plays alive than probably every other quarterback combined with his feet and heads up play.  Big Ben will have his Steelers back on track next season and back on everyones minds as a great QB.

5.  Philip Rivers – San Diego Chargers

Despite my near hatred for this guy I gotta give credit where credit is due.  Philip Rivers is a really good quarterback.  This season he lead his Chargers to 11 straight victories while throwing  for a career high 4,254 yards 28 TDs (second best of his career) and a career tying low 9 interceptions.  The only thing bigger than Rivers game is his mouth, and his mouth is going to have to grow to keep up with his game in the near future.

4.  Tom Brady – New England Patriots

Tom Brady’s ability to lead teams, win games, win Super Bowl games is certainly not in question here.  What is in question is his percieved dominate career stats (again not career wins and super bowls).  Yes he had one of the best seasons of all time (thanks to some late game “statement” TDs in the undefeated season) but besides that year he doesn’t always put up seasons that fantasy nuts should drool over.  Yes he is better than most with his stats but taking out that 4,806 yard 50 TD 8 INT season Brady averages 25 TDs, 13 INts and about 3,600 yards a season.  Good seasons but not off the  charts.  Despite all this Tom Brady is one of the greatest Quarterbacks of all time (that will be another list) and one of the top guys at this point in his career.

3.  Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers

Aaron Rodgers is making a lot of cheese heads forget, or at least get over, Brett Favre quickly.  Rodgers had a career year and brought a hot Packers team into the playoffs only to get beat by a soon to be Hall of Famer in Kurt Warner in a classic shootout.  Rodgers completed nearly 65% of his passes, nearly 4,500 yards, exactly 30 TDs and only 7 INTs.  This all while surviving 17 games behind the worst statistically ranked pass blocking line in the NFL. Rodgers is an elite QB and is only topped by the two Super Bowl Quarterbacks at 1 and 2.

2.  Drew Brees – New Orleans Saints

Its a good thing Philip Rivers has become the QB that he has because the Chargers would really be kicking themselves if he did not.  Brees has the city of New Orleans on his shoulders heading into the Super Bowl and it looks like he loves it.  Like Flutie, his size was questioned entering the NFL and like Flutie he has proven his critiques wrong.  A year after missing the all time single season passing yards record by a air mailed pass over an open receivers head, Brees has put up another amazing year for a legendary team.  Brees completed an incredible 70.6 percent of his passes this season for over 4,300 yards, 34 TDs, and just 11 interceptions.  Brees has made New Orleans one of the best home fields in America and has turned the Saints into America’s team.

1.  Peyton Manning – Indianapolis Colts

You saw it coming the whole way, you were not even close to fooled when you saw the name Manning back at number 10, and now it has come.  Peyton Manning is Joxygen’s number 1 QB in the NFL.  Peyton won his record 4th MVP en route to a near undefeated season (probably would be undefeated if they tried to win them all) and a bid at winning a second Super Bowl in the past four seasons.  Manning hit exactly 4,500 yards for the season to go with 33 TDs and an unusually high 16 INTs.  The INTs are more than likely contributed to the young and inexperienced WRs of Collie and Garcon.  Either way Manning has the unique skill set of pretty much managing an entire game plan by himself on the fly and putting up elite numbers at the same time.  I don’t even want to attempt to think what goes through this guys mind during a given game of football.