Where Do Jordan Love, C.J. Stroud Rank Among Top Young NFL QBs After Playoff Losses?
It truly is a Golden Age of quarterbacks in the NFL. Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens is going to be named MVP at the NFL Honors. We just watched another thrilling duel between Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills.
The league is loaded with talented signal-callers, and more and more keep joining their ranks.
A pair of newcomers—Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers and C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans—got bounced from the postseason in the divisional round. Although their seasons may have ended earlier than they would have liked, both quarterbacks shined in 2023. They stamped their names among the league's best young passers and exceeded expectations by a mile.
But where do Love and Stroud rank among the league's other young guns? You won't find geezers like Mahomes, Jackson or Allen here. QB rankings with that trio in them tend to be, um...predictable.
But let's say you took the NFL's top quarterbacks who are 25 or under and examined what they've done, what they potentially can do and just how much talent they appear to possess? Where would Love and Stroud check in then?
There's one way to find out.
8. Justin Fields, Chicago Bears
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The first player in this countdown is easily the most polarizing—and the most likely to be playing for a different team in 2024.
Justin Fields of the Chicago Bears has detractors and supporters in equal measure. The latter group points to Fields' ability to gain yards with his legs and his improvement as a passer in 2023. The former is quick to point out that even in that "improved" year, Fields threw for under 200 yards per game and that he's 10-28 as a starter in the NFL.
With possession of the No. 1 pick, the Bears have a decision to make—build around Fields or deal him and draft their choice of quarterback. For his part, teammate Jaylon Johnson said on All Facts with NO Breaks with Keyshawn Johnson that he doesn't believe we have seen what Fields is fully capable of as a passer.
"I think, just going in and saying, 'Oh, we'll just get rid of him–he's not the answer,' I don't think that's it," said Johnson. "I think it's kind of taking the easy way out, and making the coaches not take accountability, because I think the coaches have a big part in developing the quarterbacks."
This analyst tends to agree. Yes, Fields has underwhelmed somewhat as a passer. But until the arrival of D.J. Moore last year, he had never had a true No. 1 receiver. He also wasn't drafted because of his scrambling ability. Fields was a pocket passer at Ohio State.
Frankly, a change of scenery (and the coaching that Johnson mentioned) could be the best thing that could happen to Fields.
7. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
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Might as well get the conversation started early.
Some fans undoubtedly believe that Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins deserves to be ranked much higher on this list. Tagovailoa led the NFL this year with 4,624 passing yards. He ranked fifth in the league with 29 touchdown passes. Tua was one of six quarterbacks this season to post a passer rating north of 100, and he led the Dolphins to 11 victories and a playoff berth while being named to the Pro Bowl.
That's all well and good, but Tagovailoa's numbers were bolstered by having arguably the league's best duo of wideouts at his disposal in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. And as Joe Schad wrote for the Palm Beach Post, when the Dolphins played higher-quality opponents in 2023, Tagovailoa tended to look a lot less like a star.
"There's a mountain of evidence that the Dolphins under Tagovailoa are a good team, but not good enough," he said. "They went 10-1 against non-playoff opponents and 1-6 against playoff teams. Against non-playoff teams, Tagovailoa completed 71.7% with 22 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 110.7 passer rating. Against playoff teams, his numbers fell off considerably: 62.8%, eight TDs, seven INTs and an 80.8 rating."
That difference between playing good teams and mediocre ones cannot be ignored. Neither can the lack of a signature performance by Tagovailoa in 2023. It's hard to rank a young quarterback higher than this when a debate is raging about whether or not said quarterback should receive an extension.
6. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
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Let's make one thing abundantly clear. There may be some hand-wringing by fans and pontificating from talking heads, but Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars is going to get paid. He's probably the best quarterback the Jags have ever had.
In 2022, Lawrence led the Jaguars to an AFC South title and a wild playoff win over the Los Angeles Chargers. For a good chunk of the 2023 season, the Jags appeared to be cruising to a second straight division title. There was some MVP buzz for Lawrence and Super Bowl buzz for the Jaguars.
Then the bottom fell out.
The Jaguars' only victory over their final six games came over the hapless Carolina Panthers. They went from a mortal lock to win the division to out of the postseason altogether. And while Lawrence wasn't solely to blame, he played a part. His numbers dropped nearly across the board relative to 2022, and just as was the case during his rookie season, turnovers were a major issue.
Lawrence acknowledged to reporters that the 2023 season didn't end as planned. But he also insisted that there were areas in which he actually improved.
"I think I took a lot of steps this year," he said. "People can say what they want, but I do feel like there were some areas of my game I wanted to improve in, and I think I did. Now, there's some more areas I need to get better on, and I will moving forward."
Frankly, the wisest course of action for the Jaguars is probably to pick up Lawrence's option for 2025 and let him play next season on his current deal. But that's a fairly hardline stance for general manager Trent Baalke.
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5. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
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The Los Angeles Chargers have already committed to Justin Herbert as the future of the franchise. The 25-year-old got a five-year, $262.5 million extension last offseason.
What happened after was not ideal.
In no way is it all Herbert's fault that the Chargers went 5-12 this season. It's not mostly his fault, either. Injuries ravaged the Bolts, including a broken finger that cost Herbert a chunk of the season.
Right now, the Chargers' biggest priority is finding a new head coach and general manager. But Herbert told reporters that he's not envisioning a long-term rebuild.
"I think you're able to see that (winning) in a year or two. That's our hope for this place," Herbert said. "We know it wasn't good enough this year and that's on us as players. There's things we need to address and get better at. But there are the right guys and the right mindset here. We have to fix little things but I'm really looking forward to what we're able to do this offseason and getting back to it."
Herbert has shown flashes of elite play throughout his career. Two years ago, was second in the league in passing yards, and his 31 touchdown passes as a rookie remains the high-water mark for first-year quarterbacks.
But $50 million quarterbacks are expected to make deep playoff runs and win Super Bowls. To date, Herbert has played in one playoff game—the third-largest collapse in postseason history.
4. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
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Before we go any further, forget Jordan Love's last throw in Saturday night's loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He channeled his inner Brett Favre and made a bad decision with Green Bay's backs against the wall.
That one bad decision does not erase all that Love accomplished this season. After all, the Packers were only in that position because he torched one of the best defenses in the league and the NFC's No. 2 seed the week before.
While addressing reporters after the loss, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur made it clear that while Love's two-pick performance against the Niners hurt, it's also fuel for the future.
"As a leader of this team, I know this one's gonna hurt him," LaFleur said. "I'm sure he'll be really hard on himself. And he's just got to use it as fuel to continue to get better. But I think we saw so much growth throughout the course of the season. Not only from his ability to go out there and play consistent, winning football, but also, I think he grew as a leader. I think that's very important to be the franchise quarterback that I expect him to be for a long time around here."
From Week 10 through the Wild Card Round win over Dallas, Love threw for 2,422 yards, 21 touchdowns and just one interception, which is as good of a stretch as you'll see any quarterback have. Love quietly finished the season seventh in passing yards (4,159) and second in touchdown passes (32).
Green Bay has enjoyed two-plus decades of continually elite quarterback play. And from all indications, it isn't stopping any time soon.
3. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
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At some point, a movie is going to be made about San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy. There is absolutely zero doubt.
He went from being the last pick in the 2022 NFL draft to leading the 49ers to back-to-back NFC Championship Games. The Niners hit the equivalent of quarterback Powerball—"Mr. Irrelevant" became a high-end NFL starter.
Yes, Purdy benefits from perhaps the best supporting cast in the league in terms of the totality of the roster. But it's not like the former Iowa State (hotbed of elite quarterback play) standout just stands back there and does nothing. For the season, Purdy was fourth in the league in completion percentage, fifth in passing yards, third in touchdown passes and led the league with a passer rating of 113.0—and that's with taking Week 18 off.
Purdy has his critics who believe he's a product of Kyle Shanahan's system. But Shanahan told Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports that his system has less to do with Purdy's success than the fact he's just really, really good.
"You don't know until they get in here," Shanahan said. "And then once they do get in here, you get to see their talent a little bit more on an NFL field. You can see how they handle the NFL pass rush [in practice] — which you usually don't have in college, but you still don't know until they get into that game. How can they handle the pressure and stuff week in and week out? Lots of guys can go and do it for one to three weeks, but eventually it catches up to you and you're going to be exposed. So, you have to be made of the right stuff and no one really knows if they're made of the right stuff until they go through it."
If the Niners win the Super Bowl, it's going to be awfully hard to view Purdy as anything more than what he is: a winning lottery ticket.
2. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
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"Ohio State quarterbacks can't play in the NFL."
"C.J. Stroud scored poorly on the WGAF cognitive test." (Not what it's called)
"The Carolina Panthers desperately wish they could have a do-over on last year's first pick—whether they will admit it or not."
Those statements grow in accuracy as you move down the list.
All Stroud did in his first season was have one of the best seasons of any rookie quarterback in NFL history while leading a Houston Texans team that hadn't won more than four games since 2019 to an AFC South title and a blowout win over the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card Round.
Before missing multiple weeks with a concussion, Stroud was on pace to become the first rookie ever to throw for 5,000 yards in a season. Stroud was sixth in the league in passer rating, led the NFL in passing yards per game and were it not for Puka Nacua's record-shattering season in Los Angeles, Stroud would be a mortal lock to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans told reporters before last week's loss to the Baltimore Ravens that Stroud has quickly become the unquestioned leader of the Houston offense.
"I think just his demeanor and how he's grown as a leader has really, really stepped up big-time for us," Ryans said. "When we've needed it most, I feel like just throughout the entire season, and now in this moment, he's the leader we need him to be. He's the player that we need him to be. His demeanor on the field, off the field, is exactly what you want out of a starting quarterback."
Stroud looked more like a star than a rookie in 2023—and it was very tempting to put him on top of this list.
1. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
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I can almost hear the expletives. And the whizzing tomatoes as they fly past my head. Can feel the sheer rage and vitriol.
But given my choice of any of the young quarterbacks on this list to lead my team, the pick for this analyst remains Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Yes, the Eagles imploded down the stretch this season, culminating in a blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Round. Hurts is as aware of that as anyone, but as he told reporters, where some see only disappointment, he also sees opportunity.
"We weren't able to do what we wanted to do in the end," he said. "But (where) we may see problems or issues, I see opportunity. There's a ton of opportunity in everything here and everyone views it that way. And so, it's my job in embracing those responsibilities and growing from it, growing from everything.
"Winning is what matters (and) I feel like we left a lot of opportunity out there. It's about winning, you know. And I think that mentality was born because of everything that I have gone through, everything that I have seen. And I want to navigate that in the best way to affect those around me so we all can win. That's the name of the game. That's why we do what we do."
Is part of that collapse on Hurts? Sure. But let's not pretend he was terrible in 2023.
Not that long ago, Hurts was the favorite to be named the NFL's MVP. His 38 combined touchdowns in 2023 were an Eagles record and tied for the NFC lead. His 15 interceptions are a legitimate concern, but Hurts threw only six picks a year ago. He's a true dual-threat quarterback. He's won two NFL starts for every one he's lost.
Oh, and he very nearly won the Super Bowl last year.
Breathe, Philly fans. Fire some assistants. Get that nervous energy out. And be thankful Jalen Hurts is your starting quarterback.
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