Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers; the NFL’s high 10 quarterbacks going into 2022

Who are the very best quarterbacks within the NFL heading into the 2022 season?

With a little bit little bit of assist from NBC Pro Football Talk‘s Chris Simms, a former NFL quarterback, we run you thru the highest 10 QBs within the league in response to his newest rankings.

Disclaimer: While Tom Brady has seven Super Bowl rings and is the undisputed GOAT of the game, these rankings are a mirrored image of the highest NFL expertise on the place particularly trying in direction of the 2022 season.

10) Lamar Jackson – Baltimore Ravens

2021 stats: 64.4 completion share, 2,882 passing yards, 16 move TDs, 13 interceptions

Jackson’s contract subject has dominated the latter a part of the offseason, with the 25-year-old dual-threat quarterback nonetheless but to agree a brand new cope with the Ravens getting into into his fifth NFL season.

Jackson represents himself, and whether or not he’s angling for a deal like Deshaun Watson’s five-year, $230m absolutely assured cope with the Cleveland Browns, or maybe Russell Watson’s personal five-year, $245m extension signed with the Denver Browns is unclear, with Jackson repeatedly taking part in down the talks, saying his focus is on soccer.

On the sphere, the 2019 league MVP continues to be probably the greatest within the sport, though his play has dropped off a contact since that sensational season of his three years in the past, with accidents taking part in their half as Baltimore missed out on the playoffs in 2022.

Simms: “Last year wasn’t his best, there’s no doubt about it. But this is still the most electrifying quarterback in the NFL.

“I do not know there’s a man who, game-by-game, produces extra highlight-reel performs – up with these on the high of this listing.

“His physical ability is off the charts. And I’m not just talking about his ability with his legs. He has an incredible arm too – and that’s where people don’t give him his respect.

“He simply obtained a little bit grasping in video games final 12 months, and that is why you noticed extra errors from him. He was attempting to make massive performs an excessive amount of.”

9) Dak Prescott – Dallas Cowboys

2021 stats: 68.8 completion percentage, 4,449 passing yards, 37 pass TDs, 10 interceptions

Prescott had a truly terrific 2021, especially when you factor in the horrific compound fracture injury to his right ankle suffered in Week Five of the previous season.

Could he come back and play at the same level he had previously? Not only did he argue in the affirmative on that front, he was arguably better, setting career highs in completion percentage (68.8) and touchdown passes (37), to go with 4,449 yards passing.

His efforts won the Cowboys the NFC East, though their Wild Card defeat to the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs was a bitter pill to swallow.

Simms: “First of all, after I take into consideration Dak Prescott, I take into consideration his dimension and his psychological and bodily toughness. That’s the place he’s actually particular.

“He is a great leader and a good athlete. And he should be even better this year, with another year of health under his belt following that ankle injury.

“He has an excellent arm. Is it elite? No, however he is a good down-the-field thrower. And he’s aggressive in doing that. He makes so many extra nice throws than individuals give him credit score for.”

8) Tom Brady – Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2021 stats: 67.5 completion percentage, 5,316 passing yards, 43 pass TDs, 12 interceptions

If this list was based solely on Super Bowl wins, it would be no contest courtesy of Brady’s small matter of seven to his name – more than any other team has one in NFL history, let alone a single player.

Not only that, but the now 45-year-old – yes, 45! – led the league in passing last year with 5,316 passing yards and 43 touchdowns. Astonishing.

He subsequently retired. And then swiftly changed his mind and is now back for a 23rd season at quarterback.

Simms: “He’s 45 and is nonetheless a top-10 quarterback in soccer! His constant greatness, it is particular.

“He is the GOAT. I can’t deny that. His effect on the team is real, maybe as big as anyone in football. He gives his team confidence by just being Tom Brady – if they’re up against a good defense, it’s like ‘Brady will figure it out’.

“But essentially the most superb factor about Brady proper now’s that he’s extra aggressive as a playmaker on the quarterback place now than possibly he has been the earlier 5 or 6 years. He goes out swinging now. He has grow to be an much more assured, gunslinger kind of participant.

“And his end-of-the-game, clutch ability is still probably the best out of anybody in the sport.”

7) Russell Wilson – Denver Broncos

2021 stats: 64.8 completion share, 3,113 passing yards, 25 move TDs, 6 interceptions

Seeing Wilson in a Broncos uniform in 2022 and past going to take some getting used to.

Synonymous with the Seattle Seahawks since being drafted by the group in 2012 and profitable a Super Bowl solely a 12 months later – stuffing the Broncos, the truth is, 43-8 – Wilson now finds himself beginning over with a brand new group following his blockbuster commerce to Denver in March of this offseason.

The Seahawks traded Wilson away and a fourth-round draft choose in trade for 2 first-rounders, two second-round picks, a fifth-round choose, in addition to quarterback Drew Lock, defensive lineman Shelby Harris, and tight finish Noah Fant. And, solely, simply this previous week, Wilson signalled his dedication to his new group long-term by signing a five-year, $245m extension.

Simms: “He is still one of the best big-play QBs in the NFL. And he of course has play-making ability to scramble and run with the ball. Has that dropped off a little? Yes, it has, but it’s still really good.

“He is a good chief. Every group thinks they’ll win once they’ve obtained Russell Wilson at quarterback.

“His decision-making is still pretty good, but it’s not perfect. He can, at times, be too conservative, especially when it come to throwing the football over the middle. That’s something I need to see from Wilson for him to be higher than seven on the list.”

6) Matthew Stafford – Los Angeles Rams

2021 stats: 67.2 completion share, 4,886 passing yards, 41 move TDs, 17 interceptions

Your defending Super Bowl champion.

After 12 painful seasons with the Detroit Lions through which Stafford himself shone however the group made the postseason solely 3 times and did not win a playoff sport, Stafford confirmed final season he simply wanted a bit extra assist round him to fulfil his potential.

Having been traded to the Rams within the 2021 offseason, Stafford tasted rapid success in Los Angeles, main his group all the best way to the Super Bowl the place they defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 – their quarterback finishing 26 of 40 passes for 283 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Simms: “Stafford is one of my favourite rankings of the whole process – because I have been telling everybody about this guy’s talent for the last six years. I thought about making him top five.

“The man has all the time been a Super Bowl calibre quarterback, and he lastly obtained a group that matched up together with his capacity – and guess what he did in 12 months one? He wins the Super Bowl.

“Did he go through a rough patch at one point in the season? Certainly. But he is tough as hell. His ability to handle mental and physical pressure is top-notch.

“And he nonetheless has one of many biggest arms within the sport. He can throw it at loopy angles, up there with Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, who’re the very best within the sport at that stuff.”

5) Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers

2021 stats: 68.9 completion percentage, 4,115 passing yards, 37 pass TDs, 4 interceptions

Rodgers, along with the now retired Peyton Manning, is the biggest threat to Brady’s GOAT status among that generation of quarterbacks. But where they fall short is on the number of rings they have collected over the years.

The stats are all there, the highlight-reel plays are arguably in greater supply, but Rodgers has only one Super Bowl win – back in 2011 – to show for his stellar body of work.

Desperate to change that, Rodgers has led the Packers to the best regular-season record in the league in both of the last two seasons, clinching back-to-back league MVP crowns in the process, but they have fallen agonisingly short in the playoffs on each occasion.

Simms: “I did not go into this considering Aaron Rodgers can be quantity 5. He is my favorite quarterback – all time. But, at his age, to even be within the high 5 is fairly superb.

“He still has one of the best arms in the game. He still throws lasers all over the field and is an incredible decision-maker – he manages the game probably better than anybody in football.

“He is nice at executing the offense. But can you actually make it to the Super Bowl by simply out-executing groups and never making errors? That’s why he’s at 5.

“The other four guys in front of him wouldn’t go down like that. If they were up by two touchdowns, they would look to make a play and try to be up by three touchdowns. He’s too good to not take advantage of that.”

4) Joe Burrow – Cincinnati Bengals

2021 stats: 70.4 completion share, 4,611 passing yards, 34 move TDs, 14 interceptions

Burrow, undeniably proficient although he’s – the primary total choose within the 2020 NFL Draft – succeeded all expectations final season in main the Bengals to the Super Bowl in solely his second 12 months within the league. And that is after a devastating ACL and MCL tear in his left knee ended his rookie marketing campaign.

Many fearful whether or not he would ever be the identical participant as he made his return from harm? He was even higher.

Burrow carried the Bengals by means of the playoffs in some model, firstly edging out the Las Vegas Raiders 26-19, by some means surviving an onslaught from the Tennessee Titans protection in a nervy 19-16 win after which bettering Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24 in additional time at Arrowhead, having at one time trailed 21-3 within the first half.

The Super Bowl and the Rams was one mountain too many, however Burrow nonetheless performed brilliantly in defeat, finishing 22 of 33 passes for 263 yards and a landing.

Simms: “The guy can just play. When he was coming out of the 2020 Draft, I think I called him ‘the natural’. It’s just one accurate, perfect throw after another.

“I do not suppose there’s one space of his sport I take a look at and go ‘he is the very best within the NFL’, however in each space he’s in direction of the highest. He is within the high 5 of mainly each vital class in soccer.

“This is where he’s special… he went to last year’s Super Bowl with the worst offensive line to reach that game in the history of the sport. They got there for one reason: Burrow’s smarts.

“He has brains, brawn, energy, accuracy and contact. It’s all pure, and he is clutch. He has an aura round him.”

3) Justin Herbert – Los Angeles Chargers

2021 stats: 65.9 completion percentage, 5,014 passing yards, 38 pass TDs, 15 interceptions

Just edging out Burrow in these rankings is Herbert, a man who was taken five picks later than him in the 2022 draft and who doesn’t yet have a playoff appearance to his name. But his talent is undeniable.

Herbert joined an elite club of only nine, nine players in the history of the NFL who have thrown for more than 5,000 yards in a season when he tallied 5,014 in 2021 – to go along with a massive 38 touchdown passes, including that throw against the New York Giants in which he found Jalen Guyton in the endzone with a pass that travelled a massive 65 yards through the air!

He may not have been able to fire the Chargers into the playoffs just yet, but that could all change this year. This team look ready to challenge in 2022.

Simms: “Herbert might be the very best pure thrower of the soccer within the NFL. I do not know if there’s anyone higher than hitting the bullseye with any type of throw.

“He has an incredible arm. And that’s where he separates himself. Also, the decision-making and ability to throw the ball into tight windows is off the charts.

“We know he is a good athlete. But that is likely one of the issues I’d say is a little bit little bit of a detrimental; he wants to make use of his athleticism extra.

“But he is a phenomenal football player and only going on an upward trajectory. He’s a superstar who will be around for a long time.”

2) Patrick Mahomes – Kansas City Chiefs

2021 stats: 66.3 completion share, 4,839 passing yards, 37 move TDs, 13 interceptions

Has anybody ever put collectively a extra spectacular résumé of their first fours seasons as a starter within the NFL than Mahomes? The reply isn’t any.

He was league MVP within the first of these, in 2019, when throwing for five,097 yards and a very astonishing 50 touchdowns. He adopted that up with a Super Bowl win in his second season and reached the massive sport once more in his third, solely to be bested by Brady and the Bucs, earlier than Burrow and the Bengals obtained the higher of his Chiefs within the AFC Championship sport final 12 months.

2021 arguably wasn’t Mahomes’ finest marketing campaign of that bunch, struggling at occasions in his restoration from a toe harm that impacted his elusiveness. But he nonetheless managed to throw for 4,839 yards and 37 TDs in a supposed ‘down’ 12 months. He is simply that good.

Simms: “Already a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer and, to me, one of the greats of the game – he’s already there.

“He is the good quarterback within the NFL, and possibly essentially the most enjoyable to observe. His creativity and the best way he performs is in contrast to anyone else within the sport. You can watch 10 throws in a row of his and he will not throw any the identical manner – side-arm flick, throughout his physique, left-handed, his legs far and wide. But it does not matter.

“And when you have Mahomes, you could be down by a touchdown with only 4.2 seconds left on the clock and yet you’d still feel like you have a chance. It’s Mahomes.”

1) Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills

2021 stats: 63.3 completion share, 4,407 passing yards, 36 move TDs, 15 interceptions

The Bills are many individuals’s favourites for the Super Bowl this 12 months, largely as a consequence of their famous person at quarterback.

Many would possibly suppose Mahomes deserves a everlasting residence atop these rankings contemplating his stellar physique of labor over his first 4 years as a starter and as a consequence of his Chiefs dashing Buffalo’s goals within the playoffs in every of the final two seasons. But Allen confirmed of their basic contest from final 12 months, his play has gone up a notch.

In the 38-24 AFC Championship defeat from two years again, Allen threw for 287 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception. In final season’s divisional spherical epic, these numbers bumped to 329 yards and 4 touchdowns, no picks.

He matched Mahomes stride for stride, answering each landing move with one in every of his personal – most notably in a loopy last two minutes through which an unbelievable 25 factors have been scored by the 2 groups. It went to additional time, with Kansas City in the end profitable out 42-36 courtesy of profitable the coin toss and scoring first – a rule which has since been modified.

Can Allen lastly take the Bills to the Super Bowl this 12 months and ship this hopelessly devoted fanbase in Buffalo a primary ever title?

Simms stated: “We’ve got a new king. Josh Allen is the best quarterback in the NFL right now. There is no doubt.

“He is the man I’d take over everybody. No-one has needed to carry their group extra on a weekly foundation than Allen.

“Of the top four quarterbacks on this list, he is surrounded by the least talent. It is not even close. Stefon Diggs is the man, we know that, and Gabriel Davis is good. But there is no-one else.

“And the place he separates a little bit from Mahomes proper now’s, he can play throughout the offense a little bit bit extra constantly than Mahomes, who’s just a bit bit too grasping at occasions – searching for the massive, splash play.”

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