- Josh Freeman: Freeman has displayed an unbelievable amount of poise for such a young quarterback with just two years under his belt. I know he had an easy schedule last season, but the success he had leading the youngest team in the NFL to 10 wins cannot be overlooked. His potential is sky high and the Bucs might have found their first true franchise quarterback.
- Matt Schaub: I know his numbers are helped by the fact that he gets to throw to the best receiver in the NFL, but there is no questioning this guy’s talents. He has a great arm with above average accuracy. Despite getting older, he is still very mobile in the pocket and throws well on the run. He was well worth the first round pick the Texans gave to the Falcons all those years ago.
- Matt Cassel: Last year was Cassel’s coming out party as an elite quarterback. The Chiefs have probably the worst receiving corps in the NFL and started a rookie tight end last season, yet Cassel put up career numbers. I was not a believer in Cassel being a top notch quarterback until last season, in which he threw 27 touchdowns to 7 interceptions. The only player with a better TD-INT ratio last season was the guy he used to backup in New England, Tom Brady. On top of all of this, he is dangerous as a runner and his size (6’4 230lbs) makes him very hard to bring down.
- Matt Ryan: I’m sure most of you are surprised to see Matt Ryan all the way down here, but I have him down here because I am not sold on him being able to carry a team. Michael Turner is one of the best running backs in the NFL and makes life a lot easier for his quarterback. He has also had one of the best receivers in the NFL, Roddy White, and the best tight end to ever play the game, Tony Gonzalez. Ryan was amazing during his rookie season, but he has not really improved that much since then. Ryan is at his best when the game is on the line, but he has to play much more consistently, especially in the playoffs, in order to move higher up this list.
- Joe Flacco: I almost put Flacco above Matt Ryan because of his massive improvements over the last few seasons, but I ultimately put him here because of his inconsistent play. The entire second half of their playoff loss to the Steelers, the Flacco lead Ravens’ offense put up 28 yards. I’m sure the Steelers had at least one play that went for more than 28 yards. That’s unacceptable and that is what ultimately got Jim Zorn fired as their quarterback coach. Flacco is still developing and if they can find a decent speed receiver to go with all their possession guys, he could take it to the next level in 2011.
- Carson Palmer: Palmer has really fallen off the map in recent years. He was once thought of as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, but thanks to a struggling team with horrible leadership at the top of the organization (I’m talking about you Mike Brown), Palmer seemed to have lost all motivation to play football. If given a fresh start elsewhere, especially in Arizona, he could be back at the top of his game. However, as of now, it looks like he is going to retire a Bengal.
- Donovan McNabb: This guy can still play at a very high level if he is in the right situation. McNabb’s accuracy has always been an issue and the Redskins offense was a horrendous fit for him. If he can get on a team with a big possession receiver and someone to stretch the field (Minnesota’s Rice and Harvin fit the bill), he could be back as a top 10 quarterback.
- Sam Bradford: Bradford’s rookie season was the most impressive play by a rookie quarterback I have ever seen. With his top three receivers out for most of the season, none of whom were particularly good to begin with, Bradford was throwing to practice squad guys and still put up over 3,500 yards and threw more touchdowns than interceptions. If he can continue to stay healthy, he may be a top five quarterback in a few years.
- Kyle Orton: The Broncos would be crazy to give Orton up for anything less than a second round pick. This team is terrible and Orton had to sling the ball around last year like Brett Favre just in order to keep them in the game. People in the NFL have such a short memory. About ten games into last season, people were talking about Orton break Dan Freakin’ Marino’s passing record. Orton is still very young (28), and I would not bet against him becoming a franchise quarterback for either the Broncos or whoever trades for him.
- Matt Hasselbeck: I really wanted to put Mark Sanchez in the top 20, but I simply couldn’t. Hasselbeck deserves to be here. He played miraculously well on an awful Seahawks team last year. His injury and age concerns are troubling, but he has been an underrated quarterback his entire career and I think someone is going to pay him $9-10 million a season to lead their football team in 2011.
Top 10 will be out tomorrow!
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