A play that best captures the skill set of each NFL quarterback, a thread:
Aaron Rodgers - No quarterback is more consistent resetting in the pocket to buy space and no quarterback is more consistent delivering accurate passes downfield into tight windows or against overwhelming pressure.
Baker Mayfield - Frantic feet. Can't read coverages. Terrified of staying in the pocket so he escapes first chance he can get. Good arm talent but accuracy made irrelevant by insufficient technical ability.
Carson Wentz - A thrower of consistently catchable but imprecise balls. Patient when he has time in the pocket and makes good decisions reading full field when comfortable. Stretches defence horizontally more than vertically. Can throw passes blind which leads to ugly misses.
Dak Prescott - Exceptionally intelligent pre and post-snap quarterback who consistently throws with timing that made him the most accurate passer in the NFL last year. Minor footwork issues lead to some ugly misses but rate of negatives are negligible in his performance.
Daniel Jones - Showed a rare understanding of what he was trying to do on each play during his rookie season. Great comfort and timing in the pocket. Very limited arm and was too often baited into interceptable passes last year. Needs to take a big step forward in Year 2.
Derek Carr - Generational arm talent. Was supremely accurate to every level in 2019. Lack of comfort in the pocket and field vision leads him to beat himself by throwing to the wrong option too often. Raiders got best out of him with scheme in 2019, but his best isn't enough.
Deshaun Watson - Most aggressive mindset in the NFL. Makes spectacular plays against pressure but can pick coverages apart underneath with precision and intelligence too. Tendency to move into and invite pressure remains a problem but has improved every season.
Drew Brees - Touch, timing and intelligence remain at a Hall-of-Fame level but his physical decline makes him more reliant on plays working as designed than ever before. Deep ball has diminished and late-season play is a major concern.
Gardner Minshew - No consistent process in the pocket. Drops eyes and runs around in circles to try and make something happen in lieu of executing plays as designed. Good improvisational quarterback but lacks physical tools to make that a route to successful performance.
Jared Goff - Slow feet and lack of athleticism mean he can't perform outside of structure. He wilts against pressure and makes far too many mistakes on straight dropbacks, making him overly reliant on a great supporting cast to be an efficient passer.
Jimmy Garoppolo - Consistent within the confines of Shanahan's offensive identity but implodes when asked to be a true dropback passer. Needs offence to dictate to defence, play action especially effective. Interceptable pass rate plummeted below Jameis levels during playoffs.
Josh Allen - Supreme athleticism offsets his supreme incompetence as a passer. Doesn't execute plays as designed, fails to see open receivers, runs himself into sacks and misses wide open deep throws consistently. If Brandon Jacobs was a quarterback.
Kirk Cousins - Major processing issues lead him to throw into the thick of the coverage too often. Timing and ball placement issues force receivers to adjust and take opportunities away. Can facilitate run-oriented offence as play action passer. Beats himself too often.
Kyler Murray - Huge arm. Rare deep accuracy. Plus athleticism with poise in the pocket. An understanding of coverages with a need to develop greater consistency in Year 2. Likely the league's next superstar quarterback.
Lamar Jackson - Disciplined, precise mover within the pocket. Intelligence and awareness to lead receivers to space with precisely-placed passes to every level of the field. Whether it's technique, intelligence or precision, he's got everything as a passer. Sometimes he runs.
Matt Ryan - Tough, consistent quarterback against pressure. Functions from condensed pockets better than some quarterbacks do in clean pockets. Touch and timing are exquisite, but arm strength is dwindling. One of this generation's most under-appreciated players.
Matthew Stafford - Has every physical tool you could ask for in a quarterback. Exceptional arm talent and scrambling athleticism. Consistently sabotages himself with inexplicable decision-making and erratic ball placement.
Mitchell Trubisky - Panics and confuses himself in the pocket. Not a dropback passer. Has physical tools to excel in a run-oriented, under-center offence. More accurate than given credit for and capable of exceptional stretches of play. His bad is awful. His good is great.
Patrick Mahomes - His brain puts him one step ahead of the defence at all times. His accuracy keeps him one step ahead. His arm talent is flashy but it's an enhancer of an all-around generational skill set rather than a crutch or foundation of his performance.
Philip Rivers - His legs are shot so he can't move. His arm is shot so he can't throw the ball. And last year he made more mental errors than he had in prior years. Once a great quarterback, no longer.
Russell Wilson - A narrow skill set quarterback whose success is built on elite accuracy, athleticism and poise against pressure. Wilson (and the Seahawks staff) has done a great job working around his limitations to be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
Ryan Tannehill - High-end arm talent and accuracy allow Tannehill to generate big plays for his offence when they shouldn't exist. He's consistent against pressure and threatens defences as a scrambler. Conservative working the middle of the field but not to a fault.
Sam Darnold - A quarterback who plays off balance at all times. He throws inexplicable, unforced interceptions that distract from his consistently miserable ball placement. Darnold entered the league with great upside but it's not being realized.
Tom Brady - No longer throws effectively outside the numbers. Athleticism has diminished to the point he can't move. Made more mental errors last season than in the three prior seasons combined. Needs ideal conditions to be marginally effective.
I'm not doing the unknowns (rookies or long-term injured)and I can't be arsed doing guys who are now backups but started last year so we'll call that the end.
Drew Lock - Understands the leverage of the coverage and how to throw his receivers open. Arm talent and athleticism that allows for comfort. Poised against pressure in the pocket and understands how to maximize his protection by showing patience/urgency when required.
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