Each year, every single quarterback is under scrutiny and is compared to his peers, and rightfully so. There are some guys who continue to dominate the game, while there are others who have career years, or completely fall off. Then there are rookies, or guys that start the year as a backup, and they go on to have a solid season. And since NFL training camps are set to open within the next 10 days, it’s time to rank those quarterbacks, starting with numbers 25-32.
32. Jameis Winston - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
There’s always going to be someone at the bottom of this list, and unfortunately for Winston, it’s him. Winston is going to be an interesting player to watch in 2015, and not just because he was the number one pick in this year’s draft, but because he is highly touted coming out of college with a National Championship under his belt.
In 2013, when Florida State won the title, Winston was unbelievable. He took over almost every game, and at times made it look easy on the field. He finished that incredible season with a 66.9 completion percentage, 40 TDs, and only 10 interceptions. Whether a player is in college or the NFL, that is a great season for anyone.
However, Winston did take a step back in 2014. His completion percentage did drop just a tad last season, but he only threw for 25 TDs, and was picked off 18 times last season. Granted he lost some key players to the NFL, like Devonta Freeman, Matt Stork, and stud receiver Kelvin Benjamin; but there were times that Winston looked like a completely different player.
Winston should be just fine in this upcoming season, because he has some good weapons around him. Doug Martin certainly took a step back last year, but he is still a threat out of the backfield. Winston will also have two threats on the outside with veteran Vincent Jackson, and a very good young receiver in Mike Evans. The Buccaneers also have Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who is a very big body at 6-foot-5, 260 pounds, at the tight end position. It’s not completely bleak for Winston, but he will have to find some consistency if he wants to live up to being the number one overall pick.
31. Marcus Mariota - Tennessee Titans
Like Winston, Marcus Mariota had a very good college career. In his three-year career at Oregon, Mariota finished with a 66.8 completion percentage, 105 TDs, and just 14 interceptions. He also finished with 10,796 yards thrown, which is extremely good for a three-year period.
One of Mariota’s good qualities, is that he rarely turns the ball over and makes the right play. And for most quarterbacks in the game today, that is what they are asked to do. Just don’t lose the game. Marcus Mariota should be able to put the Titans in a winning position with his talent and elusiveness alone, but he may have a tough go of it with the players that currently surround him.
Mariota’s best weapon to start the season will be tight end Delanie Walker, but he also has veteran receivers like Harry Douglas and Kendall Wright on the outside. Titans fans should also look out for Dorial Green-Beckham, who is also a rookie. Green-Beckham did not play at Missouri last season, but he has plenty of upside. He’s 6-foot-5, and is a physical specimen on the outside.
Mariota should be alright with the talent he has around him, giving him a great chance to showcase his talent during the 2015 season. He could be one of those guys that takes a huge jump in next year's rankings.
30. Matt Cassel - Buffalo Bills
Assuming that Cassel does in fact win the quarterback battle against E.J. Manuel, this is where he lands on the rankings list. Manuel would probably be in this spot as well, but that discussion may come at a later time.
To begin the offseason, it was going to be interesting to see where the Bills would go at the quarterback position. There weren’t many options between free agency and the draft, but one name that came to mind was Mark Sanchez. The main reason for that was because of the new Bills head coach Rex Ryan, who Sanchez played for in the beginning of his career with the New York Jets. That’s neither here nor there, and the Bills have to work with what they have.
Cassel has been up and down since his career started in 2005. He didn’t exactly get off on the right foot, due to the fact that he was the backup to Tom Brady, but Cassel got his chance when Brady went down with a torn ACL in 2008. He had a solid season as he threw for over 3,600 yards, with 21 TDs, and 11 interceptions. That good showing landed him a contract with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2009, but he could live up to it as he only threw for more than 3,000 yards just once.
Cassel then found himself in Minnesota with the Vikings for the last two seasons, but he couldn’t find it there either. Now he is in Buffalo and this could be his last chance to prove himself as a starter. He certainly has the weapons around him, with newly acquired running back LeSean McCoy in the backfield, and two speedy receivers on the outside with Sammy Watkins and Percy Harvin. Buffalo also added another weapon in Charles Clay, who has racked up over 600 yards at the tight end position over the last two seasons.
29. Ryan Mallet - Houston Texans
Ryan Mallet is probably the most interesting quarterback that will appear on this list, simply for the fact that no one knows what to expect. Mallet was highly touted coming out of Arkansas, as he was praised with having one of the strongest arms since JaMarcus Russell. Unfortunately for Mallet, and like Matt Cassel, he was drafted by the New England Patriots and sat behind Brady.
Mallet did get some looks in the preseason, but it was never anything to write home about. He was then traded to the Houston Texans right before the season started last year, but was set to be the backup to Ryan Fitzpatrick. It was understandable, as Mallet would never have had enough time to understand the playbook, but this trade was clearly meant for the future.
And better late then never, Ryan Mallet should finally get his chance in this upcoming season. While he was at the University of Arkansas, Mallet threw for almost 7,500 yards in just two seasons, with 62 TDs and just 19 interceptions. Going into the NFL Draft, he was acknowledged as one of the better prospects. Unfortunately, he fell to the third round and was drafted to a team that already had a great quarterback.
But now, four years later, he is finally going to get his chance. For young quarterbacks that are getting their first shot at starting, it is imperative that they have a good running back to take the heat off of them. Lucky enough for Mallet, he has one of the best in the game with Arian Foster. Mallet also has some solid weapons on the outside with Cecil Shorts III and breakout star DeAndre Hopkins. Despite this being his first season, expect big things from Mallet, and watch him move up this list in 2016.
28. Josh McCown - Cleveland Browns
Josh McCown is one of those guys who had a few good games at the end of the year, and they earned him a nice new contract. Going into the 2014 offseason, McCown was one of the more coveted quarterback free agents in recent years, because many top notch quarterbacks sign long-term deals nowadays. If a team has an above-average to good quarterback, the front office won’t even take a chance to let that quarterback hit free agency and will lock him up early on. Tampa Bay was lucky enough to sign the 35-year-old last offseason, but it never worked out.
Despite the Buccaneers having plenty of talent on the offensive side of the ball last season to do some damage, a team goes as far as tge quarterback takes them. Josh McCown was brutal to say the least in the 11 games that he played last year, leading to Tampa Bay receiving the first overall pick in the NFL draft.
McCown finished the season with a 56.3 percent completion, which ranked him 31st out of 33 quarterbacks that qualified. In order to qualify, a quarterback must have at least 14 attempts per team’s games played. He only threw for 2,206 yards, which was good enough for 201 yards per game, but in today’s game that is nowhere good enough. And out of those 33 quarterbacks that qualified, McCown was one of three who had a lower number of touchdowns than interceptions (11 TDs, 14 INTs).
After the season was over, McCown and Tampa Bay decided to part ways after just one year. Now, McCown found himself a new opportunity in Cleveland, but it will be an interesting one. He doesn’t exactly have the greatest playmakers around him, but those aren’t the people McCown needs to worry about. It’s Johnny Football.
Johnny Manziel had the most interesting year and a half that any rookie could have coming into the NFL. He was drafted to be the face of the franchise, but up to this point, that hasn’t come to fruition. Manziel should be able to battle for that starting job, so McCown will have to be at the top of his game if he wants to be at the helm in Cleveland.
27. Blake Bortles - Jacksonville Jaguars
In terms of talent, Blake Bortles was the best quarterback in the 2014 NFL Draft, and it showed when he was taken number three overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t have the year he and the Jaguars had hoped. To be fair, he didn’t exactly have great talent around him.
Bortles finished his rookie campaign near the bottom of most statistical categories that matter for NFL quarterbacks — completion percentage, touchdownss, yards, and passer rating. Two categories that Bortles did finish near the top were sacks and interceptions, and that’s not where a quarterback wants to be. He finished 2014 with 17 interceptions, and an incredibly high number of sacks, 55.
Now obviously Bortles cannot control the high number of sacks because he is supposed to have an offensive line that can block for him. But if the line can’t block, it puts their quarterback under a lot duress and forces him to make throws earlier than he wants, resulting in a high number of interceptions. The lines poor play didn’t cause all of his 17 interceptions, but with his 58.9 completion percentage, Bortles will have to improve in that area.
The Jaguars did add some offensive help by bringing in tight end Julius Thomas, but for the most part they focused on defense. Jacksonville did have some breakout players last year, all three of them were rookie wide receivers — Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns, and Marqise Lee. They also have Mercedes Lewis at the other tight position, who is a huge target for Bortles down the middle of the field. Running back will be a interesting position for the Jaguars because they have four guys that can share the load with Toby Gerhart leading the way.
Bortles may not jump into the top-15 on this list by the start of next season, but if he can improve his completion percentage and limit the turnovers, he should be able to win some games for the Jaguars.
26. Geno Smith - New York Jets
This is one of the most interesting stories in all of football heading into training camp. The New York Jets had an incredible offseason, upgrading both their defense and offense. Their defense should be one of the best in the NFL but the offense is where the question marks land, especially at the quarterback position.
Geno Smith has had a very rough go of it in his first two seasons as a Jet, but all the blame cannot be put on him. Until this offseason, the Jets have done an awful job in putting talent around Geno Smith in order for help him develop. It’s tough to say that Geno Smith shows promise and can be a good quarterback, but it’s also tough to say that he isn’t that bad either.
Since he joined the Jets in 2013, Smith has had games where he shows plenty of potential, and then there are other games where he makes you wonder how he even had the talent to play college football. Smith had a tough rookie season in 2013, as he posted a low completion percentage of 55.8, while only throwing only 12 TDs and a whopping 21 interceptions.
The 2014 season wasn’t exactly a bounce back year for Smith, as he hit the sophomore slump. He did improve his completion percentage, up to 59.7, and lowered his number of interceptions; but he ws so inconsistent that he lost his job in Week 8. Just three weeks later, Smith got his job back and played decently well. The Jets added disgruntled receiver Percy Harvin from the Seattle Seahawks and became a nice weapon for Smith. Once Harvin was added to the roster, Smith began to play much better in the last four weeks of the season, but it was much too late to make a difference.
Despite having plenty of ups-and-downs since he joined the Jets, Smith hasn’t exactly had a lot of help around him. Eric Decker was a solid addition last season, but he isn’t a prototypical number one receiver.Now the Jets have brought in some real fire power on offense after adding two more wide receivers this offseason to go along with Decker. New York was able to trade for Chicago Bears receiver Brandon Marshall, as he will surely give Smith and the Jets a solid number one option on the outside. How long it will last until Marshall gets angry? Who knows, but the Jets were also able to add speedster Devin Smith from Ohio State in the second round of the draft.
2015 will be a make or break year for Geno Smith, as he will have to prove he can be consistent at this level. Now it would be smart if the Jets held a quarterback battle between him and veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick, because it will force Smith to focus and be on top of his game, instead of knowing that he has the job locked up. New York made that mistake last season as Smith became complacent and didn't seem to work on getting better.
25. Sam Bradford - Philadelphia Eagles
Talent wise, Sam Bradford should easily be a top-20 or maybe a top-15 quarterback, but injuries have really set his career back, leading to a low placement on this list. Bradford was acquired this offseason from the St. Louis Rams in one of many surprising moves made by Chip Kelly. They gave up on Nick Foles, who was pretty good in his two years as the starter, but they decided to go in a different direction with the ex-Ram quarterback.
Bradford is looking to come back from his second torn ACL in as many seasons, and no one knows what to expect. He was the number one pick by the St. Louis Rams in the 2010 Draft, but he hasn’t been able to live up to that honor. Bradford had a solid rookie season but really took a step back in 2011. He then recaptured that solid play and had his best season during 2012. Then injuries got in the way, as he had his first torn ACL injury and was forced to miss the rest of the 2013 season.
He was looking to come back last year, but Bradford suffered another ACL tear in a preseason game and was sidelined yet again. Determined to get back on the field, Bradford seems to be on pace for training camp next week, but the question that remains is, "Will he be able to play?"
Bradford’s talent has never been questioned, but the fact that he is so injury prone leaves the door open for uncertainty. If Bradford was coming to Philadelphia with last year’s roster, he would have a very good chance of leading them to the playoffs. But with all the moves that Chip Kelly made this offseason no one knows what to expect.
Philly was able to add rookie-receiver Nelson Agholor, who has plenty of talent, and had a huge free-agent signing in former Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray, who should take some pressure off of Bradford. The Eagles also have two solid tight ends in Brent Celek and Zach Ertz, so they should be two more weapons for Bradford to play with. This will be a very interesting situation to watch, but Bradford could have a better year than most expect.