C.J. Stroud (No. 7), Dak Prescott (No. 8), Jalen Hurts (No. 9), and Jared Goff (No. 10)
“C.J. Stroud is a picture book of perfection for how you should throw the football.” – Simms on Stroud at No. 7
“He’s a guy who worked himself from being that athlete who plays quarterback to a quarterback who is a good athlete.” – Simms on Hurts at No. 9
“One of the greatest turnarounds in NFL history…He stands there in the pocket and he can pull the trigger with the best of them. He’s big, he has a strong arm, stronger than it gets credit for.” – Simms on Goff at No. 10
Simms’ Top 40 QB Countdown Culminates with the Top Six Next Monday, June 10
STAMFORD, Conn. – June 5, 2024 – With only one more episode to go, NBC Sports’ Chris Simms unveils his list of the top 40 quarterbacks in the NFL on the Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast and on “PFT Live.” Highlighting Simms’ seventh set of rankings are 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud, 2016 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Dak Prescott, two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Jalen Hurts, and three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Jared Goff.
Continuing the countdown, Simms unveiled his quarterbacks ranked 40-7:
| Prodigy | Ready Rookies | ||
| 7. | C.J. Stroud, Houston | 26. | Will Levis, Tennessee* |
| Awesome NFC Contenders | 27. | Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta | |
| 8. | Dak Prescott, Dallas | 28. | Jayden Daniels, Washington |
| 9. | Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia | 29. | Bo Nix, Denver |
| 10. | Jared Goff, Detroit | 30. | J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota |
| Wild Cards | For Hire | ||
| 11. | Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville | 31. | Ryan Tannehill, Free Agent |
| 12. | Kirk Cousins, Atlanta | The Young & The Reckless | |
| 13. | Jordan Love, Green Bay | 32. | Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis |
| 14. | Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets | 33. | Sam Darnold, Minnesota |
| Solid Starter, But… | 34. | Bryce Young, Carolina | |
| 15. | Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay | 35. | Jameis Winston, Cleveland |
| 16. | Kyler Murray, Arizona | Throwbacks | |
| 17. | Brock Purdy, San Francisco | 36. | Jacoby Brissett, New England |
| 18. | Tua Tagovailoa, Miami | 37. | Joe Flacco, Indianapolis |
| 19. | Geno Smith, Seattle | Backup+ | |
| The Chosen One | 38. | Kenny Pickett, Philadelphia | |
| 20. | Caleb Williams, Chicago | 39. | Gardner Minshew, Las Vegas |
| Glory Days (Passed You By?) | 40. | Jarrett Stidham, Denver | |
| 21. | Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh | ||
| 22. | Derek Carr, New Orleans | ||
| S*** or Get off the Pot | |||
| 23. | Daniel Jones, New York Giants | ||
| 24. | Deshaun Watson, Cleveland | ||
| 25. | Justin Fields, Pittsburgh | ||
* Simms on Levis in the Ready Rookies section - “Not a rookie, but we’re treating him a little bit like one. He’s still kind of in there.”
Culminating next week on Monday, June 10 with his top six quarterbacks, Simms will unveil his final group of quarterbacks on Chris Simms Unbuttoned and discuss his rankings on “PFT Live” with Mike Florio.
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.
Simms has had recent success in projecting quarterbacks – including naming C.J. Stroud, who was named AP’s Offensive Rookie of the Year following his first season with the Houston Texans, as his top QB prospect in 2023. Additionally, Simms has named Patrick Mahomes as his most exciting prospect in 2017, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen as his top-two QBs in 2018, and Justin Herbert as his No. 2 QB in 2020.
The rankings will finish Monday, June 10, with numbers 6-1 on the next episode of Chris Simms Unbuttoned.
The following are highlights from this week’s edition of Chris Simms Unbuttoned:
No. 10: Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
“One of the greatest turnarounds in NFL history. I give him a lot of credit for battling through a tough time in his career and making a big transition in his play. He’s an old school pocket passer. Not looking to move, not looking for the checkdown. He quarterbacks an offense that is maybe the most aggressive passing offense in the NFL.…He’s big, he has a strong arm, stronger than it gets credit for. It’s ugly...it’s not always a pretty football, but damn it he hits the people between the numbers a lot. He’s become incredible at seeing the field. In a clean pocket there is almost no one better than Jared Goff. If there is a little bit of pressure, he is in the bottom third of the NFL. When he has to move just a little...that’s where he does not thrive.”
No. 9: Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
“The runner, the athlete, the leader. Getting better and better. He’s one of the ultimate leaders of the NFL at the quarterback position. For a year and 11 games, the team talked about him like he was Tom Brady. He’s a guy who worked himself from being that athlete who plays quarterback to a quarterback who is a good athlete. I see the throwing and the play in the pocket continue to get better. He’s made great strides with what he does mechanically and what he does with his arm. For a guy who’s one of the best quarterback runners in the sport, he has grown to have some of the most incredible patience and toughness in the pocket. I would put him in a class of his own with him and Josh Allen at getting out of the damnedest situations in the pocket that you will ever see.”
No. 8: Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
“We better start putting some respect on his name. He’s a throwback quarterback, except he can run and hop around the pocket. How many years does a guy have to play consistently really good football before people start to give him a little credit? Is it perfect? No, but there’s way more good than bad. Dak Prescott is like problem No. 167 for the Cowboys. [He] carries the offense way more than the other way around. There’s no run game, and [the Cowboys] ask him to push the ball down the field and make big plays. He delivers. Here is the dude that is probably the toughest dude in the pocket in football. He does not care. He makes so many unbelievable great throws down the football field. And the kicker here is, he makes so many plays moving around the pocket.”
No. 7: C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
“Prodigy. Budding superstar. ‘Might be the best rookie year ever in the history of quarterbacking in the NFL?’ It was! It was the best ever. He rivals Joe Burrow as the most consistent mechanically and consistently putting the ball where it needs to be on a game-to-game basis in the NFL. His motion is flawless. C.J. Stroud is a picture book of perfection for how you should throw the football. That’s why, even as a rookie, he hits the bullseye almost as much as anyone you’ll see in football. He’s in the conversation already as the most accurate passer in football. If the pocket’s clean and somebody is open, he is always right around the target. It’s next level. He knows exactly where to put it. Misses for him are never egregious. At no point last year did he ever get reckless with the football.”
To listen to the full player breakdowns on Chris Simms Unbuttoned, click here.
-NBC SPORTS-