Mike Sando's QB Tiers List

[TheRealMcCoy]

Sando has been doing this list for years.

Since 2019 it has been on The Athletic, but before that it was on ESPN+, so its always been behind a paywall.

If you want to read the write-ups they are up on The Athletic.

But, here is an excerpt of the criteria:

The full 2022 Quarterback Tiers results are below for every veteran starter. The results reflect voting from 50 NFL coaches and executives, including six general managers, eight head coaches, 10 evaluators, 12 coordinators, six quarterback coaches and seven execs whose specialties include analytics, game management and the salary cap. The remaining ballot was put together by four members of one team’s personnel department.

The panel placed 35 veteran quarterbacks into one of five tiers, from best (Tier 1) to worst (Tier 5). Quarterbacks were then ranked by average vote and placed into tiers based on vote distribution, beginning with Aaron Rodgers, whose 1.00 average vote reflected his status as a unanimous Tier 1 selection.

The survey excludes rookies because voters have not seen them play in the NFL. More than one quarterback is featured for teams with unsettled starting jobs.

Anyways, without further ado..... here is the list:

Tier 1:

A Tier 1 quarterback can carry his team each week. The team wins because of him. He expertly handles pure passing situations. He has no real holes in his game.

1. Aaron Rdogers

2. Patrick Mahomes

3. Tom Brady

4. Josh Allen

5. Justin Herbert

6. Joe Burrow

Tier 2:

A Tier 2 quarterback can carry his team sometimes but not as consistently. He can handle pure passing situations in doses and/or possesses other dimensions that are special enough to elevate him above Tier 3. He has a hole or two in his game.

7. Matthew Stafford

8. Russell Wilson

9. Deshaun Watson

10. Lamar Jackson

11. Dak Prescott

12. Derek Carr

13. Kyler Murray

14. Matt Ryan

Tier 3:

A Tier 3 quarterback is a legitimate starter but needs a heavier running game and/or defensive component to win. A lower-volume dropback passing offense suits him best.

15. Kirk Cousins

16. Jimmy Garoppolo

17. Ryan Tannehill

18. Mac Jones

19. Baker Mayfield

T-20. Jalen Hurts

T-20. Carson Wentz

22. Jared Goff

23. Trevor Lawrence

24. Jameis Winston

Tier 4:

A Tier 4 quarterback could be an unproven player (not enough information for voters to classify) or a veteran who ideally would not start all 17 games.

25. Justin Fields

26. Tua Tagovailoa

27. Davis Mills

28. Zach Wilson

29. Trey Lance

30. Daniel Jones

31. Marcus Mariota

32. Sam Darnold

33. Mitch Trubisky

34. Drew Lock

Tier 5:

A Tier 5 quarterback is best suited as a backup.

35. Geno Smith

Thoughts?

Edited July 26, 2022 by TheRealMcCoy

[Hunter2_1]

Poor Geno...

[Hunter2_1]

Think it's fair for my team's QB, but also think it's pretty fair league wide. Not the worst list by any means

[candyman93]

1 hour ago, Hunter2_1 said:

Think it's fair for my team's QB, but also think it's pretty fair league wide. Not the worst list by any means

I agree with the list, but 7-9 are a little surprising. I thought they’d be tier 1. At least Stafford and Wilson anyways.

 

Punish Watson for off the field behavior and not making a super bowl appearance makes sense.

Edited July 26, 2022 by candyman93

[Soggust]

It's probably the best media list I've seen but a couple critiques - 

• Should be an extra tier to split Allen/Herbert/Burrow from Brady/Mahomes/Rodgers.
• Should also probably be a Cousins, Murray, Dak, Carr, Ryan tier
• Kirk Cousins about 4-5 spots too low
• Goff a couple spots low
• Geno isn't starter quality, but Lock is? 
• I'd prolly flip Brady and Mahomes

[BayRaider]

This list nearly mirrors the FF list we voted on to about 90-93% similarity. 

Some small changes I’d make like Wilson over Staff, and Cousins over Murray. 

I’m one of Carr’s biggest critics but I’m glad this list has him over Murray. Murray has not proved to be better than Carr or Cousins what so ever. 

[Hunter2_1]

Exactly, we're at the stage with this list where we're picking one or two personal changes. It mirrors the FF list pretty well. I'd say well done Sando, as you're never going to get everyone's preferences spot on.

[CP3MVP]

I don’t see how jameis is in a different tier than Mariota 

[August4th]

steelers have the 33rd QB while the rest of the div has a 10 QB. just lovely

[Broncofan]

I definitely think Nicholas Cage, er A-Rod should be #1 on this alone.   Awesome callback.  
 

 

[MSURacerDT55]

Its a pretty easy out to just put tiers but it would be next level to explain the "holes in their games" (especially tier 2)

[Duluther]

Matthew Stafford being a hair away from the elite tier / one spot below Burrow feels very gross.

Doesn't feel right for Kirk Cousins to be grouped in with those QBs. Significantly better than all of them.

[HoboRocket]

5 hours ago, BayRaider said:

This list nearly mirrors the FF list we voted on to about 90-93% similarity. 

Some small changes I’d make like Wilson over Staff, and Cousins over Murray. 

I’m one of Carr’s biggest critics but I’m glad this list has him over Murray. Murray has not proved to be better than Carr or Cousins what so ever. 

That's interesting. I have the three clumped together, with Murray just ahead of Carr but just behind Cousins as a passer. When you factor in his legs and improvisation skills, he's ahead of both. But I guess I'm a homer.

[Daniel]

Eh, I could nitpick it on a few guys, but it's not bad.  Stafford is way too high, but he's in the right tier.

Tier 3 has a pretty wide talent gap in it IMO.  Wenz is probably a high Tier 4 QB IMO.

[HoboRocket]

6 hours ago, candyman93 said:

I agree with the list, but 7-9 are a little surprising. I thought they’d be tier 1. At least Stafford and Wilson anyways.

 

Punish Watson for off the field behavior and not making a super bowl appearance makes sense.

I'd guess it's because when we last saw Wilson, he was playing way below his typical level. For Stafford, consistency has been a concern for much of his career. Dude's a great passer, but I'd take Burrow over him right now. They're probably about fair.