Who doesn’t love some more quarterback talk? Today we release our second part of our QB rankings heading into the 2021 season, featuring quarterbacks 11 through 22. This list features a couple of veterans on their last legs, a few young signal-callers on the rise, and one new face looking for a fresh start.
NFL You could make an argument that Carson Wentz was the biggest disappointment in football last season. There’s no denying Wentz underachieved severely, but there were a multitude of reasons for this. Wentz was sacked the second most times in football (50) despite playing in just 12 games. When he was protected and had a clean pocket, he was much better. He had a 76.1 PFF offensive grade when throwing from a clean pocket. Wentz getting out of Philly might be the best thing to ever happen to him. He’ll be reunited with his former OC Frank Reich, and will be in a much more stable organization. With a pretty talented roster around him, we’ll see a much better version of Carson Wentz in 2021.
At 38-years-old, it’s hard to believe journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick is still playing at a fairly high level, but somehow he is. Last season Fitzpatrick started seven games for the Dolphins, going 4-3 with 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He wasn’t great by any means, but he won’t really have to be on a Washington Football team with a dominant defense. If Fitzpatrick can limit the turnovers, something he’s struggled with during his career, he could be the perfect game-manager in Washington and lead them to a division title.
Jimmy Garoppolo is probably under just as much pressure to perform in 2021 as any quarterback in the league. After helping get the 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2019, injuries and inconsistency plagued Jimmy G last season. He was only able to play in six games, (3-3 record), throwing seven touchdowns and five interceptions. With recently-drafted Trey Lance looking over his shoulder, Garoppolo needs to get out of the gate quick this season.
You could make a solid argument Trevor Lawrence was one of the top-five most dominant college quarterbacks of all time. In his three years at Clemson, Lawrence threw for 10,098 yards and 90 touchdowns. He was 34-2 as a starter, the third-best winning percentage of any quarterback with 30 or more starts since 1978. For this reason, without taking an NFL snap, he comes in at number 19 on the list. Lawrence will have to experience playing on a lower-level team for potentially the first time in his career, but he’ll be able to elevate his team and step in and perform right away.
