Top 5 most underrated QBs in the NFL right now ft Jimmy Garoppolo and Ryan Tannehill
It doesn't take much for a quarterback to drop down in the estimations of fickle fans and analysts: a short-throw here; an overthrow there; and a couple of sacks too many is generally all it takes for a once heralded signal-caller to go from America's great hope to an also-ran on the trade heap.
But it's not always the QBs at fault: look at Patrick Mahomes at the Super Bowl: he couldn't have done any more to try and help the Chiefs win that game; he was heroic! But it didn't matter: three members of his offensive line were out; the Bucs defense crashed the pocket at will and just chewed the supremely skilled QB out of the game -- that's how it is in football; it's not all about the QB.
Mahomes got a pass in that game as he really is just that good.
But, try as they might, for one reason or another, some QBs in the National Football League simply don't get the respect they deserve.
Take a look at the top 5 most underrated QBs in the NFL.
(in no particular order)
1. garoppolo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers
He might not be the flavor of the month for a reported half of the 49ers fanbase at present, but QB Jimmy Garoppolo has shown more than enough ability in his career to warrant another shot as QB1 on a roster somewhere.
The former Patriot spent a majority of 2020 on IR. When he did feature for San Francisco, he was clearly impacted by that same high ankle sprain that would eventually cut short his season. It's impossible to judge "Jimmy G" on 2020 alone.
In 2019, Garoppolo threw for 3,978 yards, 27 TDs, and just 13 interceptions. His 102.0 passer rating that year was the 8th highest in the NFL, and Kyle Shanahan's 49ers rode that good form all the way to a Super Bowl final.
The only major blemishes in Garoppolo's career thus far have been getting stuck behind G.O.A.T. Tom Brady on the depth chart in New Ethere; and the consistent injury problems since leaving for San Francisco.
Besides that, the guy is underrated!
2. Mitchell Trubisky, Buffalo Bills
Like many, I was a little surprised to a) see the Bears replace their former No.2 overall pick in the 2017 draft with the veteran Andy Dalton, and b) that Trubisky would choose to go play second-fiddle behind Josh Allen in Buffalo as a result.
I honestly think Trubsiky is much better than a backup QB. The Bears did the dirt on the former North Carolina star when they brought in Nick Foles to take his job at the start of the 2020 campaign and now the fans are paying the price: the relationship between Trubisky and the Bears ended last offseason.
Foles, a Super Bowl-winning gunslinger for a QB in his own right, had no more success with Matt Nagy's misfiring offense than Trubisky did, finishing the year with just 1,852-yards, ten TDs, and eight picks from the nine games he started.
It was only when Nagy reintroduced Trubisky to the fold in time for the Week-14 clash vs. the Houston Texans that Chicago was able to find the form required to eke their way into the playoffs. Trubisky was a crucial component in the Bears' late surge, throwing seven TD passes and just two picks in the final four games of the year.
Trubisky might not have yet got it done in the playoffs, but you could say that about a hundred quality QBs in NFL history.
By my reckoning, the new Buffalo man is underrated and deserves another crack of the whip as a number one QB with another team, preferably one with better offensive play-calling than Matt Nagy's Bears.
3. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
He may have recently been traded to the Rams, but Matthew Stafford spent the entire first 12 years of his career as the signal-caller for what has primarily been a weak Detroit Lions team.
In that time, the QB racked up 45,109-passing yards and 282 TD passes. Statistically speaking, Stafford has been one of the very top performers in the NFL over the past decade, and was even in MVP caliber form in 2019 before injury cut his season short, having thrown for 2,499-yards and 19 TDs midway through the football year.
ESPN analyst Louis Riddick explained it best when appearing on the GetUp show last year:
“You understand they haven’t put much around this young man at all. From 2011-2017, Matthew Stafford threw for over 4,000 yards every season. In 2011, he threw for 5,000 yards. He basically has carried this football team on his own with no help,” Riddick said. “They had no running game during this entire time. This is a team that has been in the bottom quarter of the league rushing the football because they just put it all on Matthew Stafford’s shoulders. And he delivered. He’s been a top 10 quarterback the entire time he’s been in the NFL. What has happened though is everything around him has been absolutely average to below average to mediocre. It’s been subpar. He’s gotten no help. No quarterback can transcend mediocrity when its surrounding him. Matthew Stafford has had to try and win and succeed in spite of dysfunction around him his entire career.”
Providing he's now able to stay fit, Stafford should spearhead coach Sean McVay's LA Rams offense with aplomb: the Rams D forces a lot of turnovers, so Stafford's going to see a lot more of the football than he did in Detroit; he'll be better protected by a superior offensive line; he'll share the backfield with quality targets like Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp, too -- it's a potential match made in heaven. Watch out for the Rams next season.
Plus, L.A. fans are going to love Stafford's all-action, gutsy display under center -- he's the anti-Goff in many ways.
With a talented Rams roster in support, it's likely the underrated Stafford will finish his career as one of the highest-ranked statistical quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL; he's already on course to do so...
4. Jameis Winston, New Orleans Saints
New Orleans fans didn't get to see too much of Jameis Winston under center last season. Aside from a great cameo TD vs. the Buccaneers in the Divisional Round playoff defeat, the No.1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft barely featured at all.
2020 turned out to be Drew Brees' curtain call, so, in what now feels like an increasingly wise move from coach Sean Payton, Winston spent the year shadowing the Saints' famed number nine in training; a prince in waiting.
That's not to say Winston is Drew Brees; he's not. And, of course, Winston was wildly inconsistent in Tampa, where he famously threw 33 TDs and 30 interceptions in 2019. All I'm saying is that Winston is underrated: people are quick to forget that the athletic, former Florida State star tallied up 121 TDs in his first 5 years in the NFL!
If Winston spent 2020 learning Payton's playbook, improving his accuracy, and cutting out unnecessary picks -- and I think he did do those things; I think that was the plan all along -- New Orleans might yet retain that NFC South crown.
5.Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans QB Ryan Tannehill is the most underappreciated and underrated QB in the league, in my humble opinion.
In seven seasons with the Dolphins, Tannehill was the epitome of consistency in the pocket, posting 113 TDs to 69 interceptions and generally throwing for +3,000-yards in a season (x2 +4,000-yard seasons). Tannehill's numbers dipped towards the end of his stint in Miami, but that was under Adam Gase, the former New York coach who we've just witnessed struggling to get anything like the best from Sam Darnold (and the entire Jets offense, for that matter) for the past several years.
Away from Gase in Tennessee, Tannehill has taken another step forward in his game and in his career. In two seasons, he's thrown for a combined 6,561-yards yards, 55 passing TDs and just 13 picks, making playoff appearances in both years.
Tannehill is also underrated on the ground: in 2020 he rushed for 272-yards and 7 TDs.
Tannehill isn't rated -- he is. His skillset and statistics are appreciated and discussed regularly in blogs and on TV. I just don't think he's appreciated enough: he's been an elite-level QB over the past several seasons.