With the retirement of Tom Brady and trade of Russell Wilson out of the NFC, the top 5 QBs look a little different nowadays. Aaron Rodgers is the king of the NFC and that has never been more clear as it is now. However 2-5 may look a little different than expected, especially given the second half of last year:
#1 Aaron Rodgers:
The back to back reigning MVP is back in Green Bay for what looks like a long term deal. He is widely regarded as the best regular season quarterback of all time. Get him another ring or two and he will go down as one of the best ever. It sounds like Rodgers will agree to a long term “team friendly” deal that could keep the Packers competitive at all positions.
#2 Matthew Stafford
After the season Matthew Stafford just had, there is no QB in the NFC better than him expect Rodgers. He has the offense and the coach around him to succeed for years to come. We will see however, if his success continues given the multitude of changes that is expected to happen. Stafford overcame so much on the road to the Super Bowl with injuries around him, but we will see how season long changes impact his ability to remain on top.
#3 Dak Prescott:
Dak Prescott had one of the best comeback seasons of recent memory in 2021. Ironically he may have been bested by Joe Burrow’s comeback season last year. That being said he had a near 69% completion rate, 4,449 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. The Cowboys finished with a 12-5 record and looked to be one of the teams to beat going into the playoffs. Look for Dak to have yet another great season even if Amari Cooper leaves given the sub par division and multitude of other weapons Dallas has.
#4 Kirk Cousins:
Kirk Cousins consistently gets overlooked as a top QB in the NFC. It may be due to his inability to close out games late. Maybe it is due to his horrendous record during prime-time games. However one thing is certain, he puts up consistent numbers year after year that other NFC QBs don’t. Kirk’s last 3 seasons finished with a QB rating over 100. Kirk Cousins threw for an average of 4,029 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 9 INTs over those three years. Additionally he had an average completion percentage of 67.3% over those three years. Kirk plays the QB position well and is as consistent as they come. There are constant trade rumors circling Cousins after the Rodgers news so we will see if he stays in Minnesota.
#5 Kyler Murray:
If this article came out during the first half of the 2021 season, he may be #2 on this list. It is hard to remember the last time we saw a second half collapse as bad as Kyler Murray had last year. Nonetheless he is the best dual threat QB in the NFC with Russell Wilson’s departure (he may have been even before Wilson left). He also has a monster of an arm and is as elusive in the pocket as we have seen in recent memory. If Kyle Murray can avoid another second half collapse he will climb this list easily.
Honorable Mention – Matt Ryan:
Matt Ryan has never really lived up to his 2016 MVP season. With that being said he has thrown for over 4,000 yards every year since 2011 with the exception of 2021 (3,968 yards). This is yet another QB who is rumored to be on the trade market. At the very least he will draw interest from multiple teams.
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