NFL: Top 10 Quarterbacks For 2015

Admittedly a tough chore, ranking the 10 best quarterback in the NFL is a necessary task. So many quality guys, so few spots.

By Robby Sabo

The resume of an NFL quarterback is something that follows a guy around day-to-day, team-to-team, season-by-season.

It’s an imaginary piece of paper which serves as a guideline to rank each man. Of course some qualifications are more pertinent than others.

For example, how many Super Bowls has that guy won? This is the gold standard question, for the ultimate resume builder is wins and losses in the “league that plays for pay.”

Another is number of first-team All-Pro selections, or MVPs – categories only the elite can check off on their resume.

Still, there are many factors that go into quarterback resume building.

Football remains a team sport. The ultimate team sport in the minds of many. On both sides of the ball it takes 11 individuals to fully commit to their sole responsibility in order to make an entire unit perform flawlessly.

Should one guy falter, the entire play is in jeopardy of crumbling.

Therefore, while resumes are usually the standard by which we come up with the best field generals in today’s NFL, much more goes into it.

Here’s our Top 10 NFL Quarterbacks for 2015:

10. Russell Wilson, Seahawks

• 2014: 95 QB Rating, 3,475 Yards, 20 TD, 7 INT

We start the list with a youngster who’s already won a Super Bowl.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson isn’t the leader of a high-flying aerial attack like others in this ridiculously pass-happy league. Instead, he produces in a different way.

His leadership ability and calming presence under pressure is an uncanny attribute very few guys can call their own.

Take last February for example. Wilson – needing to drive the length of the field for his second straight Super Bowl title – did just that. He did it his way. The way that provides exciting scrambles drills and legs churning in the pocket.

Of course we all know how the game ended up on the goalline, but Wilson gets it done under pressure more often than not. He does it so well that he edged out guys like Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan on this list.

9. Philip Rivers, Chargers

• 2014: 93.8 QB Rating, 4,286 Yards, 31 TD, 18 INT

No. Philip Rivers doesn’t have a championship on his resume. In fact, he hasn’t even gotten to the Super Bowl once.

What he has done is continue his impressive reign as face of the San Diego Chargers for more than a decade.

Coming out of that extremely impressive quarterback class of 2004, Rivers has six seasons of 4,000-plus yards and a career TD-INT ratio of 252-122.

When Ladainian Tomlinson and Norv Turner were his running mates, Rivers willed his squad through the AFC playoffs on one healthy knee while his other one was dealing with a torn ACL.

Coming off of a season which saw him put up 4,286 yards and 31 touchdowns, many folks can’t wait to see what he and head coach Mike McCoy have dialed up in 2015.

8. Tony Romo, Cowboys

• 2014: 113.2 QB Rating, 3,705 Yards, 34 TD, 9 INT

Like Rivers, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo also deals with the non-championship stigma at the position.

What many don’t understand, though, is that it takes 53 to win a title, not one.

Romo, now 35 years old, is one of the more underrated signal callers in the game. His accuracy has always been solid; arm strength always a plus; and mobility is second to only a few.

What Romo does best is perform at a high level when things break down around him. This attribute is actually one of the more important at the position.

Romo can deliver a strike in the pocket, or throw a dime on the run should the pocket collapse. It’s this versatility that has him ranked No. 8.

The only thing left for the guy (aside from topping Carrie Underwood on a personal level), is raising his level of play in the postseason, when his team needs it most.

7. Drew Brees, Saints

• 2014: 97 QB Rating, 4,952 Yards, 33 TD, 17 INT

There’s no mistaking the fact that New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has lost a little on that fastball of his.

This is why the marriage between Sean Payton and Brees has been so beautiful.

Payton knows Brees’s strengths and weaknesses inside and out, and tailor-makes the offense around that right arm. This is also why the organization smartly traded away Jimmy Graham for center Max Unger. Brees loves to step up in the pocket and Unger will provide Brees that luxury.

It’s his resume that still has Brees at No. 7 heading into 2015. While his 2014 season of 4,952 yards (lead NFL) and 33 touchdowns was still very impressive, many have been a little down on the veteran due to his careless nature with the ball.

Oftentimes he throws the ball up for grabs. He’d rather do that than take a sack for some strange reason.

Nevertheless, this borderline Pro Football Hall of Famer is still a stud.

6. Eli Manning, Giants

• 2014: 92.1 QB Rating, 4,410 Yards, 30 TD, 14 INT

There’s no question that stats at the quarterback position is one of high importance. It has to be when dealing in such a high-scoring, high-flying NFL these days.

Despite this, there’s only one stat that actually matters, and Eli Manning is all over it.

Wins and championships is where the quarterback makes his hay. While the wins have been very inconsistent, the idea that Eli has two championships is anything but.

What Manning does better than anybody in the league is this: He elevates his play another 10 levels when the money is on the line. Instead of running around as an average quarterback (like he does at times during the regular season), he transforms himself into a legend in January.

It’s this thriving under a chaotic nature that has Manning in the No. 6 spot. Nobody does it better.

5. Peyton Manning, Broncos

• 2014: 101.5 QB Rating, 4,727 Yards, 39 TD, 15 INT

Speaking of the Mannings, big brother Peyton Manning still deserves his due.

I don’t care about some reports revealing the 39-year old surefire hall of famer can’t feel his fingertips at the moment, and lost even more off the fastball.

It doesn’t phase me one bit that most realize the guy now has a noodle-arm.

Peyton Manning is the best regular season player in NFL history. I won’t believe the decline until I actually see it with my own eyes.

Besides, this league can be dominated through the air with short, designed, annoying passes which the defense simply cannot defend. It’s not a league where you’re forced to through deep to keep the defense honest. Bubble screens, smokes and quick slants dominate.

Though the conversation once again surrounded Manning and the Denver Broncos disappointing in the playoffs, Manning still threw for 4,727 yards and 39 touchdowns a season ago.

Not too shabby.

4. Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers

• 2014: 103.3 QB Rating, 4,952 Yards, 32 TD, 9 INT

The final quarterback of the dominant trio from the 2014 NFL Draft is Ben Roethlisberger. He’s also the top guy from that class.

Two Super Bowl titles, three AFC championships and a whole bunch of wins are under Big Ben’s belt. He’s not a guy who’ll put up massive numbers on a year in, year out basis, but he’s another one (like Eli), who absolutely dominates when things get crazy on the field.

Although he’s a monster at 6-5, 240 lbs., Roethlisberger is the farthest thing from a statue in the pocket. His ability to get away from danger and play sandlot football with Antonio Brown and the rest of his receiving corps is what makes that passing game work.

The less structure, the more Big Ben succeeds.

3. Tom Brady, Patriots

• 2014: 97.4 QB Rating, 4,109 Yards, 33 TD, 9 INT

Deflated footballs, spying on opponents, and a guy named Ernie Adams who people perceive as the mad scientist provides much speculation about the New England Patriots.

Nevertheless, Tom Brady is one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, and deserves his due coming into 2014.

His numbers from 2014 ain’t too shabby. This, despite not having a single wide receiver who’s tall enough to get on the rides at any amusement park.

Unlike Big Ben, Brady is a statue in the pocket. It works though, mainly because of the system and Brady’s presence which forces his offensive line to do their job to perfection.

If Peyton Manning is great with the short passing game, Brady is completely legendary. The rubs, mixing and matching, and timing patterns Brady executes with whichever receiver he’s throwing to is so maddening for NFL defenses and the reason he is one of the greats.

2. Andrew Luck, Colts

• 2014: 96.5 QB Rating, 4,761 Yards, 40 TD, 16 INT

Now we get down to the two guys who every personnel decision maker agrees are one-two in the league.

At No. 2 it’s Andrew Luck.

Only three years into his eventual wonderful NFL career, this Indianapolis Colts gem has progressed the right way along with his team.

First it was shocking the world by making his Colts a playoff team in 2012. Then they won a playoff game in 2013. Finally getting to the AFC Championship Game in 2014. With heavy veteran additions this past offseason, many are expecting Luck and the Colts to jump one more level.

What’s amazing about Luck though is how he’s done this.

In all actuality, these Colts aren’t that great of a team. It’s been Luck who’s overcome shortcomings at certain positions. For example, Luck’s offensive line is not good. The Stanford product is so aware in and around the pocket that he takes a number of 60 sacks and automatically turns it into 20.

His arm strength is great, accuracy phenomenal, and leadership abilities second to none. Unlike Robert Griffin III – the other quarterback from the 2012 draft – Luck is all football all the time. Nothing else matters in his world. It’s business.

Next up for Luck is MVP and perhaps Super Bowl.

1. Aaron Rodgers, Packers

• 2014: 112.2 QB Rating, 4,381 Yards, 38 TD, 5 INT

Until Luck fully gets there, Green Bay Packers field general Aaron Rodgers will keep his mantle of top guy in the sport.

There’s nothing Rodgers hasn’t accomplished.

He has a championship, two MVPs, and four Pro Bowl nods. His career TD-INT ratio of 226-57 is so mind-boggling that all we can do is shake our heads.

What Rodgers does best is keep an aggressive nature about him throwing down the field while staying very mistake free. Unlike Brady and Manning, Rodgers sprays the ball all over the field.

Sure his short game is fantastic, but his intermediate passes from sideline to middle and deep passes over-the-top or firing in the seam is football poetry in motion.

Aaron Rodgers is the best quarterback in the NFL heading into 2015.