“The ceiling is he could be Peyton Manning.” – Simms on Bengals QB Joe Burrow at No. 26
“I saw improvements from year one to year two…He is a master Jedi in the pocket.” – Simms on Jets QB Sam Darnold at No. 23
Top Two QBs to be Revealed on Thursday, June 25
STAMFORD, Conn. – June 5, 2020 – Chris Simms continues to unveil his list of the top 40 quarterbacks in the NFL on the Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast and “PFT Live” with the QBs ranked 23-30 this week.
Beginning last week and culminating Thursday, June 25 with his top two quarterbacks in the league, Simms will release two selections daily every Monday-Thursday on “PFT Live.”
Simms, a third-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2003 NFL Draft who played eight NFL seasons, will also offer in-depth player breakdowns and rankings explanations throughout each week on Chris Simms Unbuttoned.
Among this week’s rankings is 2022 No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 26. “The floor for Joe Burrow is he’s going to be a real good NFL quarterback,” Simms said. “the ceiling, to me, is he could be Peyton Manning.”
Simms’ quarterbacks ranked 23-40:
| 23. | Sam Darnold, New York Jets | 32. | Case Keenum, Cleveland |
| 24. | Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams | 33. | Jameis Winston, New Orleans |
| 25. | Drew Lock, Denver | 34. | Tyrod Taylor, Los Angeles Chargers |
| 26. | Joe Burrow, Cincinnati | 35. | Jarrett Stidham, New England |
| 27. | Andy Dalton, Dallas | 36. | Taysom Hill, New Orleans |
| 28. | Ryan Fitzpatrick, Miami | 37. | Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers |
| 29. | Teddy Bridgewater, Carolina | 38. | Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago |
| 30. | Gardner Minshew, Jacksonville | 39. | Dwayne Haskins, Washington |
| 31. | Nick Foles, Chicago | 40. | Tua Tagovailoa, Miami |
The rankings will continue next week with numbers 23-30 on “PFT Live” and Chris Simms Unbuttoned.
The following are highlights from Chris Simms’ quarterback rankings:
No. 30: Gardner Minshew, Jacksonville Jaguars
Simms: “He’s an exciting football player. He brings something to the team and the organization more than what’s on the field...You see the fan base rallied around him, you can tell the team rallies around him. He’s got an edge…he can make some things happen when there’s nothing there to be had. He is a good athlete and he’s a good thrower…It’s a below NFL starting quarterback average arm, but…his strength (is)…intermediate-type passes...Am I sold that he’s the franchise yet in Jacksonville? No, I’m not. But he has a lot of the traits to be that guy...He’s got some Alex Smith qualities to him.”
No. 29: Teddy Bridgewater, Carolina Panthers
Simms: “There is something about his appeal as the leader of your football team…Guys in the locker room follow Teddy Bridgewater. On the field, it’s not always going to blow you away. I wish he was more aggressive…He is smart, he takes care of the football, he is accurate, and once he gets a feel and some comfort level for the game, he will start to take some chances…The story is amazing, it really is. I wasn’t sure he was ever going to play football again and now he’s making $22 million per year in a really good system.”
No. 28: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Miami Dolphins
Simms: “You want to talk about gutty, gritty, career-journeyman…When he is hot, he is awesome to watch…He is a very hot-and-cold type quarterback… I think that is what I will always remember Ryan Fitzpatrick as… I wouldn’t be shocked if he has another solid year this year. Maybe (he) gets replaced during the season at some point by Tua [Tagovailoa], but I just wouldn’t be shocked if he is in a similar situation next year with another team if he continues to do this…I don’t think Ryan Fitzpatrick is going to give up that job easily, that is for sure.”
No. 27: Andy Dalton, Dallas Cowboys
Simms: “He is a backup quarterback that is better than some starters in the NFL…Andy Dalton, to me, is a guy that can be anywhere from No. 20 to No. 32 in a given year…There is no glaring weakness to his game…You give him some support and a little run game and some receivers to throw to, he is going to make good decisions, nice throws, and he knows where to go with the ball.”
No. 26: Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Simms: “I am very confident in saying he’s going to be good. I don’t know if he’s going to be great or awesome, but I think everything I studied coming out of the draft makes me believe that he’s going to be great…I saw enough in college to know the guy is going to come in and be able to run an NFL offense and make every throw you need to make…The floor for Joe Burrow is he’s going to be a real good NFL quarterback. The ceiling, to me, is he could be Peyton Manning.”
No. 25: Drew Lock, Denver Broncos
Simms: “Drew Lock really excites me as a football player…I thought he was the second best quarterback in the draft (in 2019) behind Kyler Murray…He’s just a really natural, pure thrower of the football and the ball explodes out of his hands with great ease…He reminds me of Matthew Stafford as far as skillset is concerned...Drew Lock’s arm is special. He is the kind of guy that, I think, we could be sitting here a year or two from now, and if everything goes right, I can go this is a top 10 quarterback in football, this is one of the five best arms in football.”
No. 24: Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams
Simms: “You can win football games (with Goff)...There is good arm strength there. I am not going to say it is great…Does he make plays from time to time? Yes, he does. Not enough for me to put him in the top 20 or really high…He is not as accurate as sometimes I think he is…He is below average in the pocket…That is why he is where he is. He does not have great feel in the pocket…A good quarterback, you can certainly win with him.”
No. 23: Sam Darnold, New York Jets
Simms: “I saw improvements from year one to year two with Sam Darnold in some areas…He has got a very quick release…He can get it out of his hand as good as about anyone in the NFL not named Aaron Rodgers as far as quickness throwing it…He is phenomenal in the pocket. I mean a master Jedi in the pocket. He has got phenomenal feet. He has got great feel. He is one of those guys that can move around the pocket and it looks like he is looking at the rush the way is he avoiding these guys, but yet he can look down field and still evaluate his receivers and the coverage, and still make throws that way.”
To listen to the full player breakdowns on Chris Simms Unbuttoned, click here.
-NBC SPORTS-
