Who Are the NFL's Top QBs Entering 2015 Season?

This is the golden age for NFL quarterbacks. 

While the league might not possess 32 starting-quality players at the game's most difficult position, the top of the NFL's quarterbacking hierarchy is flush with future Hall of Famers. 

This reality makes separating the best of the best even more difficult. No debate is more divisive. 

In the following slides, we will rank the top quarterbacks in the NFL entering the 2015 season. Possessing physical talent, individual production and team triumphs, these signal-callers make up the top tier of the profession.

Just Missed the Top Tier

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Super Bowl Winners

Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks: He could play in his third-straight Super Bowl in February. 

Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens: He has become a world-beater in the postseason. 

Eli Manning, New York Giants: His numbers aren't great, but it's hard to argue with two rings and 178 straight starts (including postseason).

The Productive Vets

Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers: His 95.7 career passer rating ranks sixth all-time. 

Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys: His 113.2 passer rating led the NFL in 2014 and ranks sixth-best for a single season all-time. 

Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons: He consistently tightropes the line between very good and great.

Maybe Soon? 

Ryan Tannehill, Miami Dolphins: His 27 touchdowns in 2014 were nice. The next step is the hardest one to make (see: Ryan, Matt). 

Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers:  He moves the ball in his own unique way, but he won't ascend to the top tier without becoming a more refined passer.

5b. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

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The Resume

Nine-time Pro Bowler, four-time All-Pro selection. Three-time AP NFL MVP runner-up. Two-time AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year. MVP of Super Bowl XLIV. 

The Stats 

Brees holds NFL records for all-time (66.2 percent) and single-season (71.2) completion percentage and 5,000-yard passing seasons (four). He is fourth all-time in completions (4,937), passing yards (56,033) and passing touchdowns (396) and seventh in passer rating (95.4).

Brees has thrown at least 30 touchdown passes for seven-straight seasons, leading the league in the category over four of the seven years. Since arriving in New Orleans in 2006, he has averaged almost 4,900 passing yards and 35 touchdowns per season.  

The Case For 

Brees is one of the great quarterback producers. Head coach Sean Payton puts a lot on No. 9's plate every game and every season, and he responds with huge numbers. He's done it all despite standing just 6'0", in large part due to his incredible football IQ and unique ability to manipulate the pocket and find passing lanes.

His arm has never been great, but he compensates with unrivaled anticipation, accuracy and touch. He's done more with his toolset than maybe any quarterback ever.  

The Case Against

The teams with elite quarterbacks win and win big every season, but the Saints now have two 7-9 finishes in the last three years. Brees doesn't shoulder much of the blame for the regression, but it's still notable. He's also averaged 17 picks per year over the last five seasons. You wonder if he'll regress quickly given his physical attributes.

Still, Brees is far from done. 

Quotable

"He makes incredible adjustments during the game," Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman wrote for MMQB. "He'll struggle for a stretch and then go to the sidelines and look at pictures and then come back and attack the defense a new way. It's almost like they installed a whole new game plan. ... Once he has you on your heels, you don't know what's coming."

5a. Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos

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The Resume

Fourteen-time Pro Bowler, 10-time All-Pro selection. Five-time NFL AP MVP. Two-time AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year. MVP of Super Bowl XLI. 

The Stats 

Manning will go down as the greatest statistical quarterback of all time. By the end of the 2015 season, he should be the new record-holder for all of the major passing categories. The 39-year-old has already passed Brett Favre for most career touchdowns (530). 

The Case For 

People are burying Manning after a season in which he threw 39 touchdowns and had a passer rating of 101.5. The Broncos won 12 games. Denver will protect him more in 2015, and he'll once again put up big numbers, just like he always does. Until he doesn't, Manning deserves the benefit of the doubt. If any quarterback can survive a physical decline, it's the game's most cerebral player.

The Case Against

Manning is now 39, and Father Time remains undefeated. Physical decline is guaranteed. Manning has never been a physically dominant quarterback, but mobility and arm strength are still important parts of the quarterback equation.

Regression is coming, but when? It's certainly possible Manning's struggles down the stretch last season were a sign of things to come. 

Quotable

"Still the smartest quarterback in the league, Peyton Manning will run his offense at the line of scrimmage, finding your weakness, and there's really nothing one can do about it. Despite declining tools, his mind keeps him in games late in his career," wrote Matt Miller for Bleacher Report's NFL 1000 series. 

4. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers

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The Resume

Three-time Pro Bowler. Two-time Super Bowl champion. AP NFL Rookie of the Year and first-round draft pick.

The Stats 

Roethlisberger holds team records for passing yards, touchdowns and completions. His career passer rating sits at 93.9, which ranks ninth in the NFL all-time. His 7.9 yards per attempt is tied for sixth-best all-time. Roethlisberger has thrown at least 26 touchdown passes in three straight seasons, including a career-high 32 in 2014. 

The Case For 

The 33-year-old Super Bowl winner is coming off his best season as a pro. Roethlisberger tossed 32 scores against only nine picks in 2014 while completing 67.1 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 103.3.

He'll once again lead one of the most talented offenses in football in 2015, with receiver Antonio Brown and running back Le'Veon Bell highlighting a stacked supporting cast. A healthy season should equal huge numbers. He's on the short list for most probable MVPs in 2015. 

The Case Against

There isn't much of a debate against Roethlisberger as an elite quarterback because the evidence against him is essentially non-existent. He will occasionally make a mistake while trying to fit the football into tight windows. You can live with those rare moments of a decision-making blunder. He makes up for it by being the best quarterback in the game at escaping sacks and extending plays. 

Quotable

"That's a very athletic guy," said Saints cornerback and former teammate Keenan Lewis, per Mike Triplett of ESPN.com. "He hardly ever cracks under pressure. That's a guy who makes all the throws."

3. Tom Brady, New England Patriots

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The Resume

Ten-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro selection. Four-time Super Bowl champion, with three Super Bowl MVPs. Two-time AP NFL MVP and AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year. 

The Stats 

Brady ranks fifth all-time in passing touchdowns (392), passing yards (53,258) and passer rating (95.9). His interception percentage of 2.0 ranks second in league history. Brady has five seasons with 30 or more touchdowns over the last eight years, including a then-record 50 passing scores in 2007. Three years later, he tossed 36 touchdowns against just four picks. He has averaged 33 scores and nine interceptions over the last five seasons. 

The Case For 

Go back and watch the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLIX. Russell Wilson's goal-line interception and the nonsense of Deflategate have unfortunately dimmed just how special Brady was in orchestrating two touchdown drives against one of the best defenses in NFL history. Some thought Brady was nearing the end after a tough start to 2014, but he closed his season choreographing one of the great championship comebacks.

No elite quarterback does more with less. The guy has played in six Super Bowls. What more do you want? 

The Case Against

In 2014, the first four games of Brady's season showed how vulnerable he can be. Then again, he did rebound to throw 14 touchdowns and zero picks over the next four games, and he also tossed 10 scores with a passer rating over 100.0 in the postseason. The guy is unflappable. Some may use Spygate and Deflategate against him. 

Quotable

"It's hard to find any flaws (in Brady's game)," Colts head coach Chuck Pagano said, according to Mike Wells of ESPN.com. "He's done it for a long, long time. There's nothing he hasn't seen from a defensive standpoint. He's a great student of the game. We all know his talent, and he does a great job with whoever they give him from a skill-set standpoint."

2. Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts

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The Resume

Three-time Pro Bowler. First overall draft pick in 2012. Led Colts to postseason in each of his first three seasons in the NFL. 

The Stats 

Only Dan Marino had more touchdown passes over his first three seasons than Luck's 86. Despite taking 100 sacks since 2012, Luck has still averaged 29 touchdowns and 4,319 yards per season as a pro. He has also rushed for 12 scores. Luck's 2014 passer rating of 96.5 was a career high. 

The Case For 

Luck is the top young quarterback in the game and still has room for improvement and ascension. If his accuracy improves and the turnover numbers come down, Aaron Rodgers will have a legitimate challenger at the top of the NFL quarterbacking hierarchy (spoiler alert).

Luck has carried a Colts team that probably wouldn't sniff the playoffs without him. He also led the league in touchdown passes as a 25-year-old. Few are better under pressure. There's nothing he can't do. And there's nothing he can't accomplish. 

The Case Against

Some of the numbers aren't pretty. He's thrown a lot of interceptions (average of 14 per year), and his career completion percentage is below 60. Luck's passer rating over three seasons sits at only 86.6. And he's run out of luck in the playoffs, where he's thrown 12 picks in six games. But again, he isn't even 26. Luck's time is coming. 

Quotable

"He is as smart as Peyton, he is as accurate as Brady, he is tougher than Ben and he is as athletic as RGIII," said one NFL head coach, per ESPN.com's Mike Sando. 

1. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

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The Resume

Four-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro selection. Two-time AP NFL MVP. MVP of Super Bowl XLV. 

The Stats 

Rodgers is the NFL's all-time leader in passer rating (106.0) and interception percentage (1.6). He currently has a six-year streak with a passer rating over 100.0, and he hasn't thrown more than 10 interceptions in a season since 2010. Rodgers set a new league record in 2011 when he finished with a passer rating of 122.5. His 101.0 passer rating in the postseason is third all-time. 

The Case For 

No quarterback has a better combination of smarts and physical talent. His release is among the quickest ever, and he makes fewer mistakes with the football than any quarterback in the game's history. Rodgers is accurate and mobile, capable of extending plays with his legs and threading the needle into the tightest of windows.

Blitzing him is flirting with disaster. His efficiency numbers are not of this world. If he plays another six to seven years injury-free and wins another title or two, he'll be squarely in the conversation among the best to ever play the position.   

The Case Against

The faults in Rodgers' case for No. 1 are hard to find. He can make the game look so easy at times that his rare mistakes appear more glaring.

You'd probably expect the Packers to have a better record than 6-5 in postseason games Rodgers starts. Green Bay has been underwhelming in the playoffs since the club's Super Bowl run, winning just twice in six tries. The argument against Rodgers pretty much ends there. 

Quotable

"He can throw on the run, he can throw standing still," Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Connor Barwin said on the NFL Network's Top 100 Players of 2015. "Anyway he is throwing it, he's throwing it exactly where he wants it to go. It's just pinpoint accuracy."