Leading up to the NFL draft, the discourse about the Minnesota Vikings taking a quarterback of the future was the most popular talking point. Why? Because most didn’t believe Kirk Cousins was that guy.
As we approach training camp, there isn’t a lot of news happening. This is the time to explore how the NFL landscape looks.
With less than three weeks until the Vikings report to training camp, I set out to rank all 32 starting quarterbacks. How does Kirk Cousins rank?
Tier 7: Rookies
32. Bryce Young
31. Anthony Richardson
30. C.J. Stroud
These guys are projected starters as rookies and it’s impossible to rank them until they take a snap, so they will be ranked as I had them in the draft.
Tier 6: Think about replacing
29. Jimmy Garoppolo
28. Sam Howell
27. Desmond Ridder
26. Mac Jones
25. Ryan Tannehill
24. Baker Mayfield
These quarterbacks are either over the hill, unproven or in the case of Jones, there isn’t any real upside. These are guys that you want to replace in the near future.
Tier 5: Unproven with potential
23. Jordan Love
22. Kenny Pickett
21. Trey Lance
These quarterbacks were first-round picks in 2020, 2021 and 2022, but are still mostly unproven. They all have potential, but massive questions remain about their long-term success.
Tier 4: The unknown
20. Russell Wilson
19. Derek Carr
18. Daniel Jones
17. Jared Goff
16. Matthew Stafford
This is an interesting group of quarterbacks. For their own unique reasons, there are questions about each one. From injuries to age or being able to replicate an outlier season, they all have a major question to answer.
Tier 3: Really good, but not great
15. Kyler Murray
14. Deshaun Watson
13. Justin Fields
12. Geno Smith
11. Kirk Cousins
10. Tua Tagovailoa
Some will call this group the Kirk Cousins tier, but that’s not entirely fair, especially with him being second on this list. This group is all really good, but they either haven’t yet or don’t have that extra gear to take over a game. You can win with these guys right now, but not because of them.
Tier 2: Great
9. Aaron Rodgers
8. Trevor Lawrence
7, Jalen Hurts
6. Dak Prescott
This is a very talented group of quarterbacks that are ascending with the exception of Rodgers who is on the downside of his career. These are players that you can win because of but are slightly below the top tier.
Tier 1: Elite/Perennial MVP candidates
5. Justin Herbert
4. Lamar Jackson
3. Joe Burrow
2. Josh Allen
1. Patrick Mahomes
Anyway you rank these guys, they are the best quarterbacks in the NFL. While Mahomes is arguably in a tier of his own, these quarterbacks have shown on multiple occasions the ability to hang with him and the Chiefs. Every year, these quarterbacks are MVP candidates and can change the course of a game with one play.
