The quarterback position is the most important position on the football team. If you want to contend for Super Bowls, you have to go grab you a franchise quarterback. That’s widely accepted as common knowledge, so it’s not like I’m telling you anything you don’t already know. But, just to further illustrate my point, look at the last five Super Bowl champions. Outside of a Nick Foles led Philadelphia Eagles team, it’s been Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Russell Wilson winning Super Bowls. And, Foles may yet prove us wrong about him not being a franchise quarterback.
So, let’s look around the NFL at the next crop of up and coming quarterbacks. Who could be the next guy to step up and become a Super Bowl winner? I’m defining ‘young’ as age 25 or younger. So, we’re looking at the guys who are just entering the league. Some on the precipice of reaching their prime, others with work left to do. But, the entire list is based on the question, “if I’m starting an NFL franchise today, who do I want to be my quarterback?”
Honorable Mentions: I wanted so badly to put Mitchell Trubisky (23) on this list, but just couldn’t make room for him. love what the Chicago Bears are doing – they quietly had one of the better defenses in football last season, and they made the effort to surround Trubisky with talent during the offseason. His rookie numbers aren’t going to impress anyone, but this kid certainly looks the part.
I can’t get a real read on Jameis Winston (24). Sometimes, it looks like he’s going to take the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the promised land. Others, it looks like he’s holding the franchise back. Mix in the character concerns, and Winston falls out of the top five, where he placed a season ago. Finally, shout out to Jacoby Brissett (24) for piecing together the career he has so far. If he could find a team to commit to him long-term, who knows what he’d do?
The Top 5 Young Quarterbacks in the NFL
5. Marcus Mariota (24) – He went out and posted 13 touchdowns to 15 interceptions in 2017. Folks, that is not good. But, Mariota has still yet to even sniff of his true potential in the NFL. He’s dealt with injuries, sure, but he also dealt with an archaic offensive system under Mike Mularkey and former offensive coordinator Terry Robiskie. I thought for sure that 2017 would be the year Mariota announced himself to he NFL fandom, but maybe I was a year off. Working with Matt LaFleur, who helped engineer that dynamic Los Angeles Rams offense, should give Mariota a boost. Mariota slips from #3 on this list a year ago.
4. Dak Prescott (24) – I wouldn’t give up on Prescott just yet. He still boasted a 62.9% completion percentage (13th in the NFL), and threw 22 touchdowns to 13 interceptions in a year that was a considerable step back for the Dallas Cowboys. That offensive line isn’t going anywhere, and they’ll have Ezekiel Elliot back for 2018. I expect Prescott and the Cowboys to return to their winning ways in 2018. Still, he slides from #2 on this list last year.
3. Deshaun Watson (22) – He was simply electric through October last season, before going down with a torn ACL. Five straight multiple-touchdown games had him in the drivers seat for the rookie of the year honors. Not only that, but he had the Houston Texans looking like the favorites in the AFC South. If he can return to form, he’s going to be the most dynamic play-maker at the quarterback position since Michael Vick.
2. Jared Goff (23) – I completely blew off Goff after his disastrous rookie season in 2016. Guilty as charged. But, boy – have he and Sean McVay proven us all wrong? 3,804 passing yards, 28 touchdowns to just seven interceptions for an offense that averaged 29.9 points per game (most in the NFL). As long as Goff and McVay are together, they are going to make sweet beautiful music. Count me among those buying in hard in 2018.
1. Carson Wentz (25) – He went down with a torn ACL to conclude the 2017 season, but there’s still no other young quarterback I’d rather have. Despite missing the last three games of the season, Wentz still finished with 33 touchdowns (2nd only to Russell Wilson’s 34). He was a bona fide MVP contender and had his team in contention for a Super Bowl, that they eventually did indeed win. This guy is only going to grow more and more prolific as time passes.
So, what do you think, SoBros Nation? You’re starting a franchise, who do you pick?
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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