“He’s one of the six quarterbacks in football where you can put the squad on his back and he can carry you no matter who’s out there.” – Simms on Eagles QB Carson Wentz at No. 6
“Dak Prescott has it all. He’s a franchise quarterback. He deserves to be paid in a big way.” – Simms on Cowboys QB Dak Prescott at No. 8
“I am talking about a Top 10 quarterback who has no team. It’s insane…He’s so good and talented and threatening that no team wants to bring Cam Newton in to be the backup.” – Simms on Free Agent QB Cam Newton at No. 10
Top Five QBs to be Revealed This Week, Including Top Two on Thursday, June 25
STAMFORD, Conn. – June 22, 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 6-14.
Beginning May 26 and culminating this 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 free agent Cam Newton at No. 10.
“I am talking about a Top 10 quarterback who has no team. It’s insane,” Simms said. “He’s so good and talented and threatening that no team wants to bring Cam Newton in to be the backup.”
Simms’ quarterbacks ranked 6-14:
| 6. | Carson Wentz, Philadelphia | 24. | Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams |
| 7. | Matt Ryan, Atlanta | 25. | Drew Lock, Denver |
| 8. | Dak Prescott, Dallas | 26. | Joe Burrow, Cincinnati |
| 9. | Matthew Stafford, Detroit | 27. | Andy Dalton, Dallas |
| 10. | Cam Newton, Free Agent | 28. | Ryan Fitzpatrick, Miami |
| 11. | Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee | 29. | Teddy Bridgewater, Carolina |
| 12. | Kyler Murray, Arizona | 30. | Gardner Minshew, Jacksonville |
| 13. | Kirk Cousins, Minnesota | 31. | Nick Foles, Chicago |
| 14. | Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh | 32. | Case Keenum, Cleveland |
| 15. | Tom Brady, Tampa Bay | 33. | Jameis Winston, New Orleans |
| 16. | Drew Brees, New Orleans | 34. | Tyrod Taylor, Los Angeles Chargers |
| 17. | Philip Rivers, Indianapolis | 35. | Jarrett Stidham, New England |
| 18. | Josh Allen, Buffalo | 36. | Taysom Hill, New Orleans |
| 19. | Derek Carr, Las Vegas | 37. | Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers |
| 20. | Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco | 38. | Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago |
| 21. | Baker Mayfield, Cleveland | 39. | Dwayne Haskins, Washington |
| 22. | Daniel Jones, New York Giants | 40. | Tua Tagovailoa, Miami |
| 23. | Sam Darnold, New York Jets |
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. 14: Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
Simms: “He is still a baller…Big Ben is getting to an age where we know it is going to decline, but he’s still big-time in a lot of ways…One of the greatest deep ball throwers in the history of football. I think that’s where it starts…Unlike maybe a (Drew) Brees or a (Tom) Brady, where Big Ben still has an advantage is he’s still fearless in the pocket…He is still one of the best power throwers in football…When nothing is there, Big Ben can still make things happen. Size is a skill…He is one of the best backyard quarterbacks we have ever seen.”
No. 13: Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings
Simms: “Just an unbelievable read-and-react quarterback. I have never seen anyone who can drop back and evaluate the defense and just let it rip as quickly…To play in that kind of offense is not always easy for a quarterback. Run the ball, run the ball, run the ball. ‘Oh, Kirk, now can you stand up and throw a 15-yard laser for us in a big moment?’…I think he is a better athlete than he gets credit for.”
No. 12: Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
Simms: “The guy is special. I’m afraid that at the end of the 2020 season, I’m going to go, ‘Man, I knew I should have put Kyler Murray at five or six.’…You could argue he is the fastest quarterback in football, him or Lamar Jackson. Certainly, one of the best scrambling quarterbacks there is in football. His arm is off-the-charts strong…His release is lightning...There is nothing about his game that said careless rookie…Arizona is Arizona right now because of him…The stars are aligning. The guy is a special talent, and now they put talent around him.”
No. 11: Ryan Tannehill, Tennessee Titans
Simms: “He was on a football team that finally showed what he has and what you can do to utilize his talents…One of the most pure throwers in the NFL...Amazing deep ball thrower. Amazing, he is one of the best in football…Any intermediate-to-deep throw, he has got every club in the bag. He can drive it with power, throw it with touch. He is amazing that way. He stands in the pocket. He is fearless there, and of course he is a really good athlete…He, to me, takes advantage more of what is there to be had than almost any other quarterback I watched in football this year.”
No. 10: Cam Newton, Free Agent
Simms: “Here I am talking about a Top 10 quarterback who has no team. It’s insane...(Panthers head coach Matt Rhule) wants to make his stamp on the organization…He’s so good and talented and threatening that no team wants to bring Cam Newton in to be the backup. He’s going to threaten almost every quarterback in football except the elite, elite superstars…The guy’s talented, and I know he’s been injured…and he’s 31 years old…He’s going to be fine. It’s not career-ending. He’s got a lot of years ahead of him. He’s going to be able to play to 37, 38, maybe 40…I’m still a huge believer in Cam Newton.”
No. 9: Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions
Simms: “Disrespected throughout his career, it drives me crazy. One of the greatest arms and throwers in the history of the sport. He doesn’t get a lot of credit for that because he’s in the same division with the guy with the greatest arm in the history of the sport, in my opinion, Aaron Rodgers…Stafford, I thought in 2019, adjusted to the new playing style in Detroit with Matt Patricia…In 2019, he was out-of-this-world good in another offense that I would say was not quarterback-friendly and really wanted to run the ball first...From what I saw last year, the throws, the leadership, the decisions…he makes so many plays and throws that change the game. They just don’t always capitalize because they’re not a great team up in Detroit.”
No. 8: Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Simms: “Dak Prescott brings it all to the table -- leadership, toughness. I love that aspect of him and that’s where -- him and Matt Stafford I had really close, but I give Dak Prescott the advantage because of some of that that he brings to the football team. There is somewhat of an edge he brings…This is one of the best deep ball throwers in football, too. I don’t think he quite gets the credit he deserves for making off-schedule plays and throws…To me, Dak Prescott has it all. He’s a franchise quarterback. He deserves to be paid in a big way.”
No. 7: Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
Simms: “Matt Ryan has such a great blend of things going on. He’s that precision, dissection passer that Tom Brady and Drew Brees are…It’s not a huge arm, I would say it’s below NFL-average, really, out of the starting quarterbacks…There are a lot of quarterbacks with better arms than Matt Ryan, but between his experience, his ability to dissect defenses like a Brady and a Brees, being able to handle all of that stuff mentally, and then being able to read and react to defenses and make quick decisions with big-time throws is awesome. Where I give him more respect than system or precision passers…is Matt Ryan is scary good running around the pocket and making plays when things break down. Their offensive line has stunk the last few years. I would really say I’m more impressed with the way Matt Ryan has played the last few years than in 2016 when he was the MVP of football.”
No. 6: Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles
Simms: “(The Eagles) are not in the playoffs last year unless they have Carson Wentz at quarterback...I don’t even know where to begin. He’s one of the six quarterbacks in football where you can put the squad on his back and he can carry you no matter who’s out there, what style of game you play, what kind of offense you’re in, it doesn’t matter…It’s like the Cleveland Cavaliers with LeBron James…Awesome arm. Explosive, game-changing arm…In the pocket, he’s as tough as there is in football…I think he’s one of the most talented quarterbacks in football. I think he’s only going upwards.”
To listen to the full player breakdowns on Chris Simms Unbuttoned, click here.
-NBC SPORTS-