SPORT NEWS: Ranking NFL starting QBs after the first half of the season.giang

Trends in the NFL come and go, but the essential nature of quarterback play around the league doesn’t really change. Taking a quick look at the standings halfway through the year illustrates the point.

Those who have elite answers at the position also happen to be the best teams in the league. Wins aren’t necessarily a QB stat, but they often come a lot easier for teams when they have a signal-caller who can elevate the group around them.

Halfway through the season is a good time to step back and evaluate the current hierarchy of quarterbacks across the league.

Here, we’ll break down the current rankings for the starting QBs around the league. Metrics such as ESPN’s QBR, EPA per play and success rate were considered, while past production and current career trajectories also played a role in these rankings.

With half a season to go, here’s how the most important players in the league stack up.

These quarterbacks should be updating their LinkedIn profile. They aren’t likely to keep their job in 2025 for one reason or another.

32. Cooper Rush, Dallas Cowboys: To be fair, the Cowboys have never claimed Cooper Rush is a starter. He’s just filling in for Dak Prescott, but he reminded everyone why he’s a backup by completing just 13 of his 26 pass attempts for 45 yards in his debut as starter last week.

31. Mac Jones, Jacksonville Jaguars: Speaking of quarterbacks who are just filling in time until a franchise QB returns, Mac Jones got his first start as a Jacksonville Jaguar last Sunday. As it turns out, all those impressive preseason performances didn’t translate to regular-season action. He threw two picks and averaged just 1.5 adjusted yards per attempt.

30. Gardner Minshew II, Las Vegas Raiders: Minshew has always been a fun backup who could come in and win a few games in a pinch. The Raiders are finding out that doesn’t equate to an actual starting quarterback to build around.

29. Daniel Jones, New York Giants: Going back to last season Daniel Jones has thrown 10 touchdowns to 13 interceptions over his last 16 games. Even with an electric playmaker in Malik Nabers to rely on, he’s showing that his 2022 season was a mirage.

28. Jameis Winston, Cleveland Browns: Jameis Winston has only been starting two weeks, but the Browns already got to experience the full spectrum of the Winston experience. He threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns in his first start and followed it up with a three-interception performance the following week. Deshaun Watson isn’t the answer, but neither is Winston.

Outside of C.J. Stroud, the 2023 NFL draft quarterbacks have a lot of work to do. Two of the first-round picks have been benched already, and Will Levis’ job has been called into question.

27. Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts: The tools are still there for Richardson to become a viable starter in the league, but there’s a lot of development that has to take place. He is last in completion percentage over expected by a wide margin at -12.5 percent, per Next Gen Stats.

26. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers: The No. 1 overall pick has fallen well short of expectations and was officially benched in September, but Andy Dalton’s thumb injury has Young acting as the starter again. He’s looked much better in those three starts than he did at the beginning of the season, but there are still plenty of reasons for concern.

25. Will Levis, Tennessee Titans: Is it too early to give up on Levis? Maybe. But he leads the league in interception rate and taking sacks at a higher rate than anyone not named Deshaun Watson. The offensive line isn’t helping, but Levis looks lost at times.

Jayden Daniels has separated himself, but the other rookie quarterbacks in the 2024 class are still clearly working on building their reputation.

24. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos: The Broncos are winning games because they are playing great defense and Nix has done a decent job of keeping the ball out of harm’s way. His best attribute right now is his scrambling, and it’s a bit concerning that he’s ranked 29th among quarterbacks in EPA per play.

23. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears: Williams was supposed to be doing everything that Daniels is doing in Washington right now. As it turns out, his development might be a little slower than anticipated. The Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, and Williams has taken 4.2 sacks per game and ranks 29th in ESPN’s QBR.

22. Drake Maye, New England Patriots: It’s hard to make direct comparisons with such a small sample size, but Drake Maye has a higher completion percentage, more yards per attempt and better rushing production than Williams and with a worse supporting cast.

You can win with these guys, but you better have a strong supporting cast.

21. Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings: Darnold started off the season on fire, but the bloom is starting to fall from that rose. He has thrown five picks in his last two starts and leads the league in turnovers. Kevin O’Connell is one of the best coaches whom he could have to rein in his reckless side, but the other shoe is starting to drop.

20. Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets: Rodgers used to be a no-brainer for the elite category. It’s becoming more and more clear that he doesn’t belong in that group anymore. Even with Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams at his disposal, he just isn’t consistent enough to count on every week. He has more “money throws” than anyone in the league, per PlayerProfiler, but he’s also just 16th in True Passer Rating.

19. Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints: Carr lives on efficiency. He’s eighth in completion percentage over expected and has only thrown five interceptable passes this season. That being said, the Saints are still 20th in offensive DVOA, and Carr doesn’t elevate the unit’s potential.

18. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams: Being paired with Sean McVay and flanked by Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua have helped extend Matthew Stafford’s prime. That being said, the cracks are starting show as his 9:7 touchdown-to-interception ratio is far from elite.

17. Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers: Wilson has proved he’s still a capable starter in this league. His biggest impact comes on play-action passing and a deep ball that can still challenge secondaries, but the play-making and mobility are starting to fade.

16. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins: Ranking Tagovailoa is a complex proposition. From the unique environment that he’s in due to his concerning injury history, his place on this list is about more than how good he is on the field. All things considered, he’s still a top-half-of-the-league option, but one who will give you trust issues.

15. Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons: It was a widespread story that the Falcons just needed someone to give them league-average quarterback play to be competitive. Promises made, promises kept. Cousins’ steady play has transformed the Falcons into NFC South favorites.

14. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: After years of roaming the desert of inconsistency and questionable situation, Baker Mayfield seems to have found a home in Tampa Bay. He’s seventh in EPA per play and seventh in success rate. The fact that he’s continued playing well without Chris Godwin shows it just isn’t the surrounding talent that’s good.

13. Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks: The career renaissance of Geno Smith has been fun to watch over the last few years. Pairing one of the best arms in the league with an aggressive offensive coordinator such as Ryan Grubb is even more fun. Unfortunately, the Seahawks’ offensive line is terrible and Smith’s reaction to pressure often includes putting the ball in harm’s way.

12. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions: Goff keeps the trains running on time in the Detroit Lions’ dynamic offense. There’s a lot to be said for that. However, it’s also worth noting that the Lions have an elite offensive line, a great ground game and an offensive coordinator who has been working with Goff for four years now.

11. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers: Welcome to the league’s hardest evaluation. Purdy is an advanced metrics darling. He ranks seventh in ESPN’s QBR and ninth in EPA. But it’s hard to separate his production from his elite head coach and offensive weapons.

These players have the ability to be the league’s top quarterback any given week, but they have at least one limiting factor that keeps them out of the top tier.

10. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers: Love rounds out the Top 10 and it’s really because of what we saw him do over the back half of the 2023 season and his age (26). He has the arm and creativity to break into the elite category at some point, but his decision-making and penchant for turning over the ball is holding him back.

9. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders: It’s always a little dicey anointing a rookie as a top 10 quarterback in the league. It’s a position that relies so much on experience to operate an offense and read defenses. However, Daniels is in the top five in EPA per play, ESPN’s QBR and PFF grade. He’s also led an amazing one-year turnaround for the Commanders offense.

8. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans: The biggest knock on Stroud coming into the league was his ability to create under pressure when his protection breaks down. He’s getting plenty of practice at it in front of a suspect Texans offensive line. That being said, he’s operating at a high level with little to no protection and a brutal rash of receiver injuries.

7. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers: It has taken a while for Jim Harbaugh and new offensive coordinator Greg Roman to really allow Herbert to let it rip. When they’ve done that, he’s shown the pairing of the QB and the new coaching staff could be deadly.

6. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles: Hurts took a step back last season, but he is getting back to flirting with the elite tier again. He’s on pace to have the best completion percentage of his career, recently went five games without throwing a pick and has remained a vital element to the Eagles’ run game.

5. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals: Murray’s durability concerns always cast a shadow on his overall place in the league hierarchy. For now, he’s stayed healthy and shown what he’s capable of with a career-best 1.1 percent interception rate and a career-high 100.8 passer rating.

4. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals: The most frustrating aspect of the Bengals this season is that they are wasting one of the best years of Joe Burrow’s young career. According to The Athletic’s Betrayal Index, only Lamar Jackson has a bigger differential between his level of play and the help he gets from his defense and special teams.

Here’s your MVP race.

3. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills: Allen threw two picks last week…and it doubled his interception total for the year. The Bills QB cleaning up his turnover issues from last season is terrifying for the rest of the league.

2. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs: It hasn’t mattered who the Chiefs have trotted out at receiver every week. Mahomes still finds a way to give Kansas City enough offense to remain undefeated.

1. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens: Lamar Jackson is a two-time MVP and has still accessed an entirely new level this season. His 123.2 passer rating is nearly 10 points higher than his career high from 2019 (113.3)