Ranking 39 NFL quarterbacks: Where does Matthew Stafford rank?

Tier 2:

Really good QB’s (some of whom used to be elite):

Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Deshaun Watson, Carson Wentz, Dak Prescott, Kirk Cousins, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger

The toughest part about this list is that it contains men who have a combined four Super Bowl rings who are now being looked at differently due to diminishing skill sets and the effects of getting older.

The other interesting thing is that others on this list are ascending into the elite category if they improve or continue to produce at a top level for an extended period.

Some players like Cousins and Rivers may never ascend any higher but deserve to be included in a list of very good field generals.  Both produce bigger numbers but hang just beneath that elite status. Cousins has very high DYAR and DVOA (ranks 7 and 10, respectively) but has never consistently produced at an elite level on the field.

Prescott, although he has an elite runner in his backfield, still has to be considered in the up-and-coming category due to his top-6 rank in every area. He had 4,902 yards passing but also had top ten analytics numbers in his total QBR.

Watson has had two strong statistical years in a row and is also in the top ten in total QBR. He is right on the borderline of being an elite quarterback, too. Watson, with more very good years under his belt, could easily be in the upper echelon as soon as next year.