The single biggest thing for any NFL General Manager to get right is to find the elite quarterback to lead them to the promised land, i.e., the Super Bowl. The quarterback position is unarguably the most critical position in all of professional sports.
If you don’t have the right QB, it likely means no Super Bowl and will eventually lead to the GM and the head coach losing their jobs. It’s that simple. OK, not really. If it were simple all 32 teams would be Super Bowl contenders.
And truth be told, there aren’t 32 people on this planet capable of being an elite Super Bowl caliber quarterback. Per my calculation, there is only 10 elite Super Bowl quality QBs in the NFL right now and 2 of them are in this year’s Super Bowl – Matthew Stafford and Joe Burrow.
Of the other 8 – Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Justin Herbert, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray and Dak Prescott, 5 of them were in the playoffs this past season. Deshaun Watson, assuming he can clean up his legal problems, would be an 11th Super Bowl caliber quarterback.
So that leaves 21 teams without a proven elite QB. Of those teams, 5 are teams that drafted a QB in the 1st round of last year’s draft who are hoping they have already have that elite QB on their roster.
Of the remaining 16 teams, some of them (Steelers, Broncos, Commanders & Panthers to name a few) realize they have a QB issue and will be looking under every stone this offseason to find their future star quarterback. That leaves you with a group of teams who are kidding themselves that they already have the quarterback they need to take them to a future Super Bowl.
They have the false belief that their QB can improve. That he is better than he has shown on the field. That if they put the right coach & talent around him, that he can take them to the Super Bowl.
But there is a difference between being one of the top 32 quarterbacks in the NFL and being good enough to lead a team into the playoffs versus being able to come up big in the biggest of moments and putting a team on your shoulders and taking the team to the Super Bowl.
So which teams should be preparing to move on from their current quarterback? Here are 8 that need to do it sooner than later.
Dolphins/Tua Tagovailoa – First off, Miami hasn’t done Tua any favors in his 2 years with the team as he has played behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league, he’s never had a legitimate #1 running back and they gave him a group of injury prone receivers. I’m not sure what Tom Brady could have done under those circumstances. All that said, Tua has shown he doesn’t have the arm strength and play making ability to compete with the likes of Mahomes & Allen. Tua will get another shot in 2022 with new head coach and offensive guru Mike McDaniel, but I think a year from now the Dolphins will need to continue their search for the next Dan Marino.
Colts/Carson Wentz – The post season comments from the Colts’ GM and head coach certainly paint the picture they may have come to the realization that Wentz may not be the guy to take their talented roster to the Super Bowl. Trading for Rodgers or Wilson would be the ultimate QB solution for the Colts.
Eagles/Jalen Hurts – Hurts has some talent, especially as a runner, but he just can’t throw well enough to take a team on a run through the playoffs. Similar to Tua, the Eagles will give him one more shot in 2022, but he is not the long-term answer in Philly.
Vikings/Kirk Cousins – Cousins has talent and puts up good numbers every year, but he always seems to come up short in the big games. He just doesn’t have the “It” factor. His contract makes him virtually untradeable, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Vikings look for his replacement in this year’s draft.
Falcons/Matt Ryan – He’s had a good career, but I don’t view him that much differently than Cousins. Many people felt Atlanta should have drafted a quarterback last season instead of tight-end Kyle Pitts. Like Cousins he also has a contract that makes him impossible to trade or release, but I do envision the Falcons drafting his replacement this year.
Giants/Daniel Jones – 2022 will be Jones’ 4th year in New York and they have brought in a new coach, former Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, to see if they can get more out of Jones. Similar to Tua, the Giants haven’t done Jones a lot of favors over the past 3 seasons playing behind mediocre offensive lines and along side a bevy of injury plagued skill position players. That said, I have seen too many fumbles, inaccurate passes and indecisions to put too much faith in Jones. It’s time to find a replacement New York.
Titans/Ryan Tannehill – Tannehill, to me, is the classic example of a good quarterback who can keep you competitive and get you to the playoffs, but he just doesn’t have the talent to get you through the playoffs. He has the size, arm strength & mobility, but just lacks the play making ability that elite QBs require.
Browns/Baker Mayfield – No QB has undergone more scrutiny than Mayfield over the past 3 years, but that comes with the territory when you are the 1st overall pick in the draft. That scrutiny has shown that Mayfield is an inconsistent middle of the pack quarterback. He might be able to get you to the playoffs, but that is about it. Time to move on. Give Green Bay & Seattle a call about Rodgers & Wilson.
Some General Managers, if they don’t resolve their QB situation this offseason, may not be around a year from now to resolve it then. Too bad you can’t clone Rodgers and Wilson, as about a dozen teams could use them, including the Packers and Seahawks.
