Top Ten Quarterbacks Heading Into 2018: Number One
The Unplugg’d Staff voted on which signal callers they believed would rise above the rest in 2018. Owen Guetschow brings you a quarterback so talented, he has a neighborhood named after him
In determining the Top Ten quarterbacks heading into the 2018–2019 NFL Season, four members of the Unplugg’d Staff voted on their Top 15 passers. We averaged out all of the rankings to hammer out our final list. Here’s who we’ve written about so far:
10. Ben Roethlisberger (plus: our guys ranked 11–15)
8. Cam Newton
7. Carson Wentz
5. Matt Ryan
4. Drew Brees
2. Tom Brady
Next up is Number One, a guy who saw his name fall on draft night and sought out to prove 23 teams wrong.
№1 Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
2016 Stats: 65.7% CMP%, 4,428YDS, 40TD, 7INT, 104.2 Passer Rating, 1,279 (Rushing: 369 YDS, 4TD)
The Packers’ season had started well.
After defeating the eventual AFC South Champion Jaguars — and scoring 27 points on the league’s best defense in the process — Green Bay traveled to Minnesota to take on the division-rival Vikings. Rolling out right, Rodgers threw a pass to Martellus Bennett that should have resulted in a first down. Instead, Bennett dropped the pass, and Rodgers ended up on the ground, writhing in pain. Anthony Barr delivered a blow to Rodgers after the play, resulting in a broken collarbone for the most skilled quarterback we have ever seen and dashed playoff hopes for the ever-reliable Packers.
It’s a testament to Rodgers’ utter dominance that a substantial injury didn’t stop him from securing the bag. Following a season in which he played less than five quarters, the Packers wasted no time signing their franchise star to the largest contract in NFL history:four years, $134 million. And while there’s no doubt now that Rodgers always had the skill set to be the best quarterback in the league, it took three years before he got to prove himself as the best on his own team.
There’s not many better situations for a quarterback’s growth than the one Rodgers was drafted into in 2005. Coming out of the University of California, Rodgers was expected to lead the Packers in the not-so-distant future. The only thing holding him back at the moment, though, was one of the greatest players of all time.
Brett Favre had been at the helm of the Packers since his arrival in 1992. With Favre in possession of three MVP trophies — the first player to ever do it consecutively — and a Super Bowl championship, there was little doubt as to Rodgers’ role when he arrived. He was to sit back, learn from the legend ahead of him, and await his turn.
Three years later, that moment came. After the first of Favre’s retirements, Rodgers was named the starting quarterback in the summer of 2008. Teammates quickly realized that there was not going to be the typical learning curve for this young quarterback, and that the loss of Favre would be dampened dramatically if Rodgers could live up to his potential.
It’s now the eve of the 2018 NFL season. Rodgers is in his 13th year in the league and 10th as a starting quarterback. With two MVP’s of his own, as well as a matching Super Bowl victory, he is beginning to close in on Favre’s legacy in Green Bay. In the ten years since his first start, Rodgers has unequivocally entrenched himself at the top of the league’s elite. With unmatched arm strength, accuracy, and decision-making, there is simply no throw that Rodgers can’t make.
Whether it be completing unthinkable Hail Marys or methodically leading drive-after-drive downfield, defenses simply have had no answer for Rodgers for the better part of the last decade. Boasting the highest quarterback rating of all time at 104.93 (as well as the greatest single-season rating at 122.5 in 2016), many would gladly take those numbers as career bests. For Rodgers, it’s just another season.
In 2018, the offensive unit surrounding Rodgers is looking as dangerous as ever. With fifth-year wideout Davante Adams rounding into his prime and the constant threat of Randall Cobb out of the slot, the receiving corps should perform up to the Packers’ usual expectations. With ample weapons at his disposal, Rodgers will have every opportunity to rain hellfire upon unsuspecting secondaries.
And then there’s Jimmy Graham, the physical freak and otherworldly tight end joining the Packers this year. The 31-year-old has had the unique opportunity of playing with two of the best quarterbacks in the league in Russell Wilson and Drew Brees, posting absurd numbers in the process. Yet somehow he’s upgrading at the position this season — similar to trading your Bentley in for a Lamborghini. And while Packers tight ends have a history of underachieving, Rodgers has never had a talent like Graham.
With a stable of running backs that will exceed productions from past years, as well as an offensive line that excelled in run-blocking, Rodgers will finally have some help. For a quarterback that has always been fine leading the Packers offense by himself, a consistent run game should only enable the Packers passing attack, and Rodgers by extension, to reach new heights.
After all, this is possibly the most talented quarterback to ever grace the gridiron. Anything short of an MVP-caliber season year in and year out would be shocking.
But in the end, that’s just business as usual for Mr. Rodgers.
That’s our complete Top Ten Quarterback List! Who was too high? Who was too low? Let us know in the comments below or by tweeting at us!
