Ranking 39 NFL quarterbacks: Where does Matthew Stafford rank?

Tier 3:

Third-tier of solid starters:

Derek Carr, Jimmy Garoppolo, Cam Newton, Kyler Murray, Ryan Tannehill, Jacoby Brissett, Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, Alex Smith, Jared Goff

Similar to tier two, there are players who could easily be seen as a step higher than “solid starter” but the combination of stats and analytics will help decide who belongs where. Ryan Tannehill had a great postseason showing and ranked near top ten in total QBR but in terms of raw production, he was 28th in yards.

Kyler Murray is a player that landed in the solid category after a very good rookie year in head coach Kliff Kingsbury‘s offense. His debut is top-twenty no matter what way you view both his production and total QBR. It wouldn’t be crazy to think that he might ascend into tier two soon.

Baker Mayfield is another player who started off hot as a rookie but had a classic year-two sophomore slump. He was near top-25 status despite having nearly equal touchdowns to turnovers.

Alex Smith at times has performed like a very good quarterback, is currently trying to make a physical comeback after a devastating leg injury but has had an absence from producing at a high level for a couple of years.

Garoppolo lead his team to a Super Bowl berth and had a really solid year in production and in his analytics, which were both near top-10 caliber. If he can replicate that kind of performance, he could climb to tier-two easily, as well.

Derek Carr is similarly in top-10 consideration in both production and analytics but in a short-term window like Garoppolo. He, too, could ascend with consistent production.