Are they Elite? Quarterback Edition

I feel the word “elite” is thrown around way too often in the NFL today when talking about quarterbacks. Everyone wants to think their team’s quarterback is elite when in reality, there's only a few truly elite ones in the league today. With that being said, which ones are elite? Obviously there is Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. They are unquestionably elite. After them, there is a huge drop off. So, let’s go over some guys that are on the fence.

Ben Roethlisberger

2016 stats: 3819 yards, 29 TD, 13 INT, 64.4 Comp%, 95.4 Rating, 10-4 record

Is he elite? No

Big Ben is a great player, don’t get me wrong. He’s a winner, he has some rings and when the season is over, his stats always look nice. However, there’s a few things that hold him back from being a true elite quarterback. The first is his inability to stay on the field. He has played all 16 games just 3 times in his 13 year career. You can almost guarantee he will not play a full season, which is huge. Along with that, Big Ben has a very concerning home/road split. Last year he had a beautiful 116.7 rating at home and a brutal 78.4 rating on the road. He tossed just 9 TD to 8 INT when not playing in PIT. It’s simple, if you can’t stay healthy and you only show up in half of your team’s games, you are not elite.

Drew Brees

2016 stats: 5208 yards, 37 TD, 15 INT, 70 Comp%, 101.7 rating, 7-9 record

Is he elite? Yes

Brees is one of the best of all time and I didn’t think I had to put him on this list but upon asking some friends, a few of them didn’t place him in the elites, so here he is. There is not much to be said about Brees. He is just consistently great. He has topped the league in yards 5 of the last 6 years and has finished top 5 in TD in all of those years (including 2 league leading seasons). People like to knock him because of how many passes he throws, but the guy has the highest completion percentage of all time so there is a reason he throws the ball so much. Sure he doesn’t win as much as people would like, but he always has a trash team around him. The last 3 years, the Saints’ defense has finished within the bottom 5 in the league in PPG including a league worst 29.8 PPG in 2015 and second worst 28.4 PPG in 2016. He is one of the best statistical QBs of all time and continues to thrive despite the dumpster fire organization around him, known as the New Orleans Saints.

Matt Ryan

2016 stats: 4944 yards, 38 TD, 7 INT, 69.9 Comp%, 117.1 rating, 11-5 record

Is he elite? No, but he could be soon

Matt Ryan turned in a ridiculous 2016 season, taking home the MVP award. It is tough for me to say he is not elite, but he just has not done it long enough for me. If he has another great season in 2017, which is definitely possible, I will happily put him up with the elites. As of right now though, Ryan has been good but not great for years. I need more than one elite season to move him up the ranks. I will not hold his record against him during those years, because like Brees he has not had a great team around him, but the stats from 2008-2015 don’t exactly jump off the page. I love Matt Ryan, but at this point he is just a step below the elites, though he could definitely have his name up there with them in the near future.

Andrew Luck

2016 stats: 4240 yards, 31 TD, 13 INT, 63.5 Comp%, 96.4 rating, 8-7 record

Is he elite? No

Luck was once thought to be the next big thing in the NFL but heading into his 6th season, he is still not on elite level. That’s not to say he won’t get there, but right now he is not. Though 2016 was a good season, his career numbers are close to those of Colin Kaepernick. His TD/INT ratio is actually below 2, which is awful. His career rating of 87.3 is actually below Kaepernick’s and his horrendous playoff stats are an eyesore. He’s completed just 59.3% of his career passes (again, a mark lower than Kaepernick’s) and even his career high of 63.5% is not exactly a great number, ranking him outside the top 10. Andrew Luck’s ceiling is definitely a tier 1 QB, however to this point I feel he has been incredibly overrated and actually been a below average player for the most part.

Russell Wilson

2016 stats: 4219 yards, 21 TD, 11 INT, 64.7 Comp%, 92.6 rating, 10-5-1 record

Is he elite? Yes

Last season was Wilson’s worst of his career and yet, the numbers and wins were still there. I would not say his 2016 stats are elite by any means, however I would say his combination of great stats and wins to this point in his career would make him elite. I will say though, he is the worst of the elites in the NFL. Still, his career 99.6 rating, his TD/INT ratio of nearly 3 and his 3 straight seasons with 500+ rushing yards (2013-2015) make him one of the best playmakers in the league. He also has made playoff every year (though due in part to his great team) and does have a win in the big game. Wilson is efficient and he is a winner. The sky's the limit for him and if he can improve slightly as a pocket passer, he could have a few more rings before it is all said and done.

Kirk Cousins

2016 stats: 4917 yards, 25 TD, 12 INT, 67 Comp%, 97.2 rating, 8-7-1 record

Is he elite? Yes

SURPRISE! Kirk Cousins is elite! He has completed 68.3% of his passes during his first two seasons as a starter, has thrown 54 TD to 23 INT, racked up over 9000 yards and has a rating of 99 which is higher than Aaron Rodgers over that period. He is easily the most underrated passer in the game today and if he can take a huge step forward this season, I won’t seem as crazy. I know this seems slightly hypocritical given my argument that Ryan hasn’t done it long enough however there is a main difference between them. Ryan has 8 good seasons to his resume and just one truly great season, making me think his MVP season was partially a fluke. Cousins on the other hand has just two seasons as a starter to his name, and both were very good.

On their way: Derek Carr and Marcus Mariota

Both of these guys are young studs. Neither can be considered elite yet, but they are surely on their way to being there. They are talented, efficient and have already succeeded at the NFL level. It would be far from a surprise to see them rise into the top 5 in a few years, once Brady and Brees have retired