Ranking the Superstar Quarterbacks Under 30; Next Brady vs. Manning?
By Bobby Burack
The most exciting thing in the NFL this season has been the showcase of young quarterbacks the league has presented. While quarterbacks like Dak Prescott, Cam Newton, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Deshaun Watson have all had their periods of success in the past, they do not sit here today as superstar quarterbacks.
Here are the top 5 quarterbacks under 30 …
5. Jared Goff
In the midst of shredding defenses, Jared Goff remains criminally underrated due to the genius of Sean McVay. While McVay is certainly a factor, Goff has all the tools to be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Goff is leading the NFL in passer rating this season and also leads in completion percentage and passing yards. Matt Ryan is an MVP winner and did enough to win a Super Bowl, and he is a poor man’s Jared Goff. Most importantly, the Rams have surrounded Goff with an embarrassment of choices enhancing his performance greatly. Goff may not make the most “wow” plays, or have the biggest arm on this list, but he projects as an eventual multi Super Bowl-winning quarterback.
How you do, Jeff Fisher?
4. Andrew Luck
Andrew Luck has never had a decent team, yet continues to make the Colts decent at worst. Luck has no run game behind him and no secretary blanket to rely on it, but that did not stop him from making clutch play after clutch play this past weekend. What prevents Luck from ranking higher on this list, or even at the top, is his health. Since returning this year, it has been impossible not to notice his lack of arm strength. There must be a serious level of concern going forward whether or not he can ever make it back to the level he once was at.
Yes, Luck still turns the ball over more than he should, but the Colts are almost always in a position of needing points immediately. Andrew Luck is the best quarterback pre-snap under 30 and, quite frankly, it is not even close.
3. Russell Wilson
The Seattle Seahawks have the third best quarterback under 30 but are once again doing their best to lower him on the list with another putrid offensive line. Even with a line that forces Wilson to speed read every play, he is one of the league’s most effective players. Wilson does more with less than any other player at the position. Last season, he was forced to lead the Seahawks in both rushing yards and touchdowns … from the quarterback position.
2. Carson Wentz
Carson Wentz was the best player in the NFL last season until he was injured, and has the talent to one day prove he is the best. If one was building the perfect quarterback physically, it would look much like Wentz looks today. Wentz was the clear leader last season in both raw and total QBR indicating he had the most productive impact from the position. Factoring in age and what he has already proven, going forward there is not a better option to build a franchise around. Right now, Wentz may trail one quarterback, but has the skill set and upside to create the next Brady vs. Manning.
1. Patrick Mahomes
If Patrick Mahomes continues this level of play, he will be the greatest quarterback of all-time. That does not seem realistic, but neither does his start to this season already. It has become awfully difficult to watch Mahomes this season and not envision him as the next great thing. Caught somewhere between this era’s Brett Favre and the NFL’s Steph Curry, Mahomes is able to do things the rest of the world simply can not. Mahomes can do things that only Aaron Rodgers has shown he can do, and Rodgers has played the position at the highest level it has ever been played at.
Mahomes’ 14 -0 touchdown-interception ratio and 126.5 passer rating is just part of the 2018 myth that includes a primetime comeback win on the road against a divisional foe and overcoming a defense nothing short of horrific.