It's that time of year.
On Thursday's Marks and Reese, I filled in for Jon Marks. That meant co-hosting with Ike Reese, which always leads to a debate (or two) about Carson Wentz. We got into some quarterback talk when I unveiled my up-to-the-minute NFL quarterback rankings.
Here's how I rank the top 16 (I added one more since doing it on the air) quarterbacks in the NFL for 2020. This isn't a historical ranking. It's not based on the next five years (so age doesn't matter that much). It's just based on who I believe are the top half of NFL quarterbacks right now heading into the coming season based on recent track record, supporting cast and where each player is on his career trajectory.
Here's the list, and where I see Wentz among the NFL's best today.
1. Patrick Mahomes: The best. Has a chance to end up as one of the five best to ever play the position.
2. Russell Wilson: All he does is win, play every game and put the Seahawks in position to compete for the postseason. Lock Hall of Famer.
3. Lamar Jackson: The reigning NFL MVP. We're watching everything Mike Vick was supposed to become manifest itself in this kid. The sky's the limit when you add in a smart and creative Ravens coaching staff.
4. Drew Brees: It's been a rocky week for the NFL's all-time leading passer, but let's not forget that we're talking about one of the most efficient quarterbacks ever. His arm is in decline, but still managed to complete 74.3 percent of his passes last year.
5. Deshaun Watson: This is where the list got tricky. Watson begins a new tier (and one that likely would have belonged to Andrew Luck if he was still in the NFL), and it comes well-earned after a comeback playoff victory last season.
6. Aaron Rodgers: He's morphing into more of a game manager that shies away from taking chances, but a 26-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio and 95.4 passer rating is still pretty darn good.
7. Dak Prescott: It's OK to admit Prescott is good, and coming off a really good season. When you factor in the weapons he has and the upgrade Dallas made in the coaching department, having him outside the top 10 for 2020 would be foolish.
8. Jimmy Garoppolo: Postseason performance (especially in wins) typically elevates quarterbacks in these kinds of conversations, but run-heavy 49ers wins over Minnesota and Green Bay somehow made fans think less of signal caller with a 21-5 record as a starter. Garoppolo finished the 2019 regular season ranked third in yards per attempt, fourth in completion percentage, tied for fifth in touchdowns and tied for sixth in yards per completion. If you think he's a game manager, you missed his regular season performance for the NFC's No. 1 seed.
9. Matt Ryan: Here's where Ryan ranks among all quarterbacks over the last four seasons.
Passing touchdowns: 2nd
Passer rating: 4th
Yards: 1st
Yards per attempt: 5th
Wins: 5th
Any list that has Ryan outside the top 10 is ignoring how good he's been and continues to be.
10. Kirk Cousins: He's not flashy. He's not exciting. Yet all this guy does is perform. Only five quarterbacks have won more games over the last four years. Only five have more touchdown passes. Only one (Brees) has a higher completion percentage. The perception of Cousins isn't reality, and last season's playoff win in New Orleans was a signature moment in a good career that was lacking one.
11. Tom Brady: If this list was about the next five (or even three) years, Brady would be far down. I think he's got about one year of pretty good football left.
12. Jared Goff: Go ahead. Laugh all you want. I'm a Goff guy, and believe he'll bounce back behind better blocking up front. He's like a Ryan-Cousins mix. Even in a down year, the Rams went 9-7.
13. Carson Wentz: This is where Wentz fits. Good, not great. The talent is there to be more if he can stay healthy and refine his weaknesses. If this list was about raw physical tools, we might be talking about a top-five quarterback. Wentz excels in making plays few quarterbacks can (like the Miles Sanders throw vs. Washington), but still has trouble with routine throws and needs to clean up significant fumbling issues. I view Wentz like the big league starter that throws 99-100 MPH, but has a 3.80 ERA. The "stuff" says ace, but the performance isn't consistent enough.
14. Ryan Tannehill: The hardest quarterback to rank. If this was just based on last year (Tannehill became the first quarterback since Joe Montana in 1989 to complete at least 70 percent of his passes while averaging at least 9.0 yards per attempt), we'd be talking about a top-six guy.
15. Matthew Stafford: The long-time Lions star was on track for an incredible year before a back injury derailed his season.
16. Kyler Murray: If there's a 2020 version of Lamar Jackson, it will be Murray.
