With the upcoming season quickly approaching, I’m going to be taking a look at the landscape of the NFL, position by position, over the course of the next several weeks. We’ll be talking about the who’s who of the NFL in our own little version of the NFL Network’s “Top 100 Players” bit they do every year. Up first, we have the quarterbacks!
THE TOP 10 NFL QUARTERBACKS FOR 2019
10. Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns – Maybe it’s too early to put Mayfield in the top 10 quarterbacks. Maybe I’m drinking the Browns Kool-Aid. Or, maybe I’m catering to our boys Jack and Justin in Cleveland. But, I love what a play-maker Mayfield is. I know he averaged an interception a game during his rookie season, but I’m looking at the bright spots as indicators of the future – like that 151.3 rating in the win over the Atlanta Falcons last season. With another offseason to develop, the continuity of keeping Freddie Kitchens in-house, and the upgraded offensive weapons around him, I see Mayfield climbing into the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacks in 2019.
9. Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles – When he’s healthy and playing well, Wentz is a legitimate MVP candidate. He’s supposed to be healthy in 2019, so it stands to reason that he’ll probably play pretty well in 2019, too. He had 3,074 yards and 21 touchdowns in 11 games last season.
8. Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers – Rivers is the new Dan Marino – probably the greatest quarterback of his era to NOT win a Super Bowl. But, this Los Angeles team is loaded. They were actually my pick to win the AFC in 2018, before getting blowed out by the New England Patriots. There are plenty of reasons to expect another solid year from Rivers and the Chargers offense.
7. Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks – Maybe I jumped the gun on calling Wilson the best quarterback in the league a year or so ago. But, I still think he’s in the discussion after seeing the Seahawks franchise hitch the wagon to Wilson and return to the playoffs. It’s his show in Seattle now, and he could very well be in the MVP running if the Seahawks are Super Bowl contenders.
6. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons – Ryan’s 2018 was quietly good. It’s like a lot of his career – he seems to fly under the radar. The Falcons invested in improving their offensive line. Julio Jones is still Julio Jones. He was the 4th highest rated quarterback in 2018. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get there again in 2019. At this point, Ryan feels like a lock for 30 touchdowns.
5. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints – The Saints offense is tailor made for Brees to succeed at this stage of his career. With Michael Thomas at receiver and that run game going, I don’t see him slowing down in 2019 at all.
4. Tom Brady, New England Patriots – Every year, we remind ourselves that “Father Time is undefeated,” and yet, every year, Brady winds up on this list. I don’t see it changing in 2019 – Brady is going to have the Pats contending in January.
3. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers – There’s reason to be nervous about the relationship between Rodgers and new Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. But, Rodgers is still, overall, the most talented quarterback in the league. It’s only a matter of time before he reminds us of that.
2. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs – What we saw in 2018 was spectacular, but we only saw it for one season. Let’s get at least two of those seasons before we anoint him as the greatest on a regular basis. What are the odds the old cliche about defenses “figuring out” a young quarterback applies to Mahomes in 2019?
1. Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts – Imagine I’ll catch some flack for this considering our audience is largely comprised of Titans fans, but I think this is going to be Luck’s year. If not for Mahomes’ gaudy 2018, I think Luck had a legitimate claim to the MVP honors. One of if not the best offensive lines in the business, one of the more underrated elite receivers, and another year working with a head coach who appears to have had a lot more to do with that 2017 Eagles Super Bowl win than we initially thought. Luck’s going to be #TheGuy in 2019.
OTHER 2019 NFL TOP 10S
Coming Soon
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, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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