FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 12th, 2020

TOM BRADY, DREW BREES, PHILIP RIVERS & JIMMY GAROPPOLO HIGHLIGHT NUMBERS 15-22 ON CHRIS SIMMS’ TOP 40 QUARTERBACK COUNTDOWN, NOW ON “CHRIS SIMMS UNBUTTONED” AND “PRO FOOTBALL TALK LIVE”

 “If Brady was a top five or top 10 quarterback in football still, New England wouldn’t have let him go.” – Simms on Buccaneers QB Tom Brady at No. 15

“The Saints wouldn’t be pushing him out the door for Taysom Hill if he was still a top five quarterback or a top 10 quarterback.” – Simms on Saints QB Drew Brees at No. 16

Top Two QBs to be Revealed on Thursday, June 25

STAMFORD, Conn. – June 12, 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 15-22 this week.

Beginning May 26 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 Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 15 and Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints at No. 16.

“If Brady was a top five or top 10 quarterback in football still, New England wouldn’t have let him go,” Simms said. “Team’s don’t let go of top ten quarterbacks in football.”

“The Saints wouldn’t be pushing (Brees) out the door for Taysom Hill if he was still a top five quarterback or a top 10 quarterback,” Simms said.

Simms’ quarterbacks ranked 23-40:

 

15. Tom Brady, Tampa Bay 28. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Miami
16. Drew Brees, New Orleans 29. Teddy Bridgewater, Carolina
17. Philip Rivers, Indianapolis 30. Gardner Minshew, Jacksonville
18. Josh Allen, Buffalo 31. Nick Foles, Chicago
19. Derek Carr, Las Vegas 32. Case Keenum, Cleveland
20. Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 33. Jameis Winston, New Orleans
21. Baker Mayfield, Cleveland 34. Tyrod Taylor, Los Angeles Chargers
22. Daniel Jones, New York Giants 35. Jarrett Stidham, New England
23. Sam Darnold, New York Jets 36. Taysom Hill, New Orleans
24. Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams 37. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
25. Drew Lock, Denver 38. Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago
26. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati 39. Dwayne Haskins, Washington
27. Andy Dalton, Dallas 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. 22: Daniel Jones, New York Giants

Simms: “Daniel Jones blew me out of the water in his rookie season…We’re talking elite, high-level passer of the football…Pinpoint accuracy, timing, a rhythm thrower who can throw with anticipation. He really has it all…One of his great strengths is his athletic ability. Another great strength is his ability to stand in the pocket and be fearless and make big-time throws. That’s like a gift and a curse because it leads to him also losing sight of what’s around him in the pocket…You take over for a legend at quarterback and then you don’t have necessarily the greatest supporting cast around you…that just tells me how much confidence (the Giants) had in Daniel Jones…What Daniel Jones can do is exciting for Giants fans.”

No. 21: Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns

Simms: “It certainly wasn’t his best year in 2019…but, man, does he make a lot of game-changing throws…He’s awesome in the pocket. He’s like Manny Pacquiao how he can dance around the pocket and buy time, and has a great knack for seeing down the field as he does it…It’s a big-time arm. It’s in the conversation for one of the 10 best arms in the sport…The positives, I think, still far outweigh the negatives to his game…I do think Baker Mayfield and (Browns head coach) Kevin Stefanski have a chance to be kind of a special marriage here.”

No. 20: Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers

Simms: “Incredibly quick release. Love his ability to make accurate throws with cockeyed feet and feet all over the place…(He) has good movement in the pocket to buy time and find a little alley to throw. Very accurate in the intermediate-to-short passes. He can pinpoint it and he can throw the ball from different arm angles too…The 49ers obviously have a little something there as far as they didn’t love Jimmy Garoppolo’s play from last season or they wouldn’t have flirted with the Tom Brady conversation…There are sometimes some head scratching decision-making. There is lack of big-time power throws…The number one detractor, for me, is he’s not a phenomenal athlete as far as he is not going to run for you and get first downs.”

No. 19: Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders

Simms: “I think Derek Carr is poised to open some eyes this year…He has got it all at the quarterback position…Quick release, good arm, can throw it sidearm, never really loses control of the ball, throws perfect spirals…He is smart and a good decision-maker. He is a better athlete than people give him credit for. He is a better athlete than Jimmy Garoppolo and he has got a better arm than Jimmy Garoppolo too…If I was going to talk about a negative of Derek Carr, it’s lack of aggressiveness at times…I wish he would get a little bit more of that playmaking aggressive nature that a Garoppolo or Baker Mayfield have and just let it fly a little bit.”

No. 18: Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills

Simms: “The stats don’t say it all about Josh Allen…(He) puts a lot of pressure on the defense because of all the different things he can do at the quarterback position His skillset is special. I think it’s fair to say he is the second-best running quarterback in football behind Lamar Jackson…He’s an absolute baller throwing on the run…It’s Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers stuff at times…He’s not scared of any throw…He’s still raw and improving…He does still have to improve his accuracy…but I really think Josh Allen has superstar potential.”

No. 17: Philip Rivers, Indianapolis Colts

Simms: “Some crucial mistakes in some big moments last year, no doubt about that, but that’s going to happen sometimes… when the game depends on you making plays. So he had to flirt with danger a lot…You talk about a guy who still is as tough as there is hanging in the pocket…Not afraid to pull the trigger…The negative is being careless with the football…but he can still make a lot of plays and help your team win football games. It’s only two years ago (that) he went 12-4 with the Chargers. He hasn’t lost his way.”

No. 16: Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

Simms: “That’s amazing that he’s still playing at this level at this age, and certainly playing at a level that you could win a Super Bowl with a team around you, and he can do that. He can lead them to a Super Bowl this year…but for anybody to think he’s still in the top 10 or maybe in the top five…The Saints wouldn’t be pushing him out the door for Taysom Hill if he was still a top five quarterback or a top 10 quarterback. That’s all you need to know…Accuracy is his game. Accuracy, timing, his ability to diagnose a defense and get to the right guy on the offensive side of the ball as fast as anyone we have ever seen in the history of the sport…He can execute that system as good as anybody in the sport…His ability to throw the ball down the field and make those game-changing throws or those field position-type changing throws, it’s going downhill. There is no denying that.”

No. 15: Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Simms: “If Brady was a top five or top 10 quarterback in football still, New England wouldn’t have let him go. Teams don’t let go of top 10 quarterbacks…I would like to reiterate like I did with Drew Brees, Tom Brady is still good enough to where he can win a Super Bowl…His arm is still real good. Is it great like it used to be? No, but it is still real good where he can make all the throws everywhere around the field…His ability to dissect and read and react to a defense and make the proper throw, it’s genius. He is like Van Gogh at the quarterback position. He is an artist…His pocket awareness is a little too aware right now. He is a little reluctant to want to stand in there and make throws down the field…He left some yards and plays on the field during the season and that is why he is number 15…If he will stand in there and he is willing to take shots, he can still make big-time game-changing type throws, but I would also say again there is reluctance.”

To listen to the full player breakdowns on Chris Simms Unbuttoned, click here.

-NBC SPORTS-