NFL Power Rankings of All 32 2nd-String Quarterbacks in the League Today

If you are assigned with the task of power ranking the 32 second-string quarterbacks in the NFL you realize that you can only create a ranking that will be good for just a brief snippet of time in the NFL season. That is because there is so much fluidity to who is the starting quarterback and who is the immediate backup, that things can vary greatly from one week to the next.

Just in the last two weeks, I can recall changes that were made with either the starter or the second-string QB for: Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Redskins. Not only that, but we are still waiting to see if injuries will shake up the mix at QB for the St. Louis Rams and Houston Texans. For such an important position, you just can't get around all of the big hits they take, or their importance to the team.

For the purposes of this article, we used The Huddle.com for their updated depth charts to determine the current backup quarterback for each team. You can find a link to their work here.

So, who exactly is the best second-string quarterback in the NFL? Depends on what you want to use for a grading system. How do you judge it? By wins, passer rating, touchdowns, yardage? There are many variables that go into it.

The only thing we know for sure is that two weeks from now, the list we publish will be obsolete because some other team has made a move or there is another injury.

How We Came Up with the Rankings

The position of quarterback is easier to measure because of the performance-related statistics that are generated from the position. It is not a foolproof method obviously, because completion percentage does not factor in how many passes were dropped by the receivers that should have been caught.

Wins and losses aren't foolproof either, because a quarterback is just one player out of 47 that helps to determine the final outcome of each game. Sure, his performance will have the greatest amount of say in what happens, but there are plenty of games where a quarterback has a QB passer rating of over 100.00, and yet his team winds up losing the game. 

We will instead focus on some of the tried-and-true factors that NFL analysts look at. We want to see a completion percentage as close to 60 percent as possible, preferably more than 60 percent. We also want to see a touchdown-to-interception ratio that is as close to 2-to-1 as possible. If a guy has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns, that will force his ranking to go down.

We also like quarterbacks that throw the ball down the field, as opposed to the short passing game, where guys are averaging five yards or fewer per pass. Finally, if we need to go to a tiebreaker type of measure, we will look at number of games played, yards passed in the career and factors like that.

Granted, my ranking system is not perfect, but I can't say that I have ever seen any other ranking system that is perfect either. If you don't like what I am using, that is perfectly understandable. On we go.

No. 32: The Worst Backup, Derek Anderson

Rather than bore all of you with asking you to go through 32 separate slides of the second-string  quarterbacks, we will reserve one separate slide for the worst backup and one slide for the best. For the other 30 backups, we will group them three to a slide.

But for the worst backup quarterback, it didn't take me long to conclude that it was Derek Anderson. It is not that I have a personal vendetta against Anderson. Have never met the man. But I have watched enough of him in action and at press conferences, and read enough articles that speak to his lack of character to know that he would be relegated to the bottom of the barrel.

For starters, I take you back in time to October 11, 2009. Anderson was the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, and he led the Browns to a 6-3 victory over the Buffalo Bills. This game was remarkable for several reasons. For one, this game sent back the modern football era at least 20 years due to the horrendous play. It was Eric Mangini's first win as Browns head coach.

For the day, Anderson was 2-of-17 for 23 yards. He averaged 1.4 yards per pass. His QB passer rating for the second half was zero. His rating for the entire game was 15.1. He was out-passed by Trent Edwards of all people by 152-23.

And yet he won the game? Unbelievable.

I also recall the incident in Arizona where he was laughing on the bench during another loss. When he was quizzed about it after the game at the press conference, he blew up at the media. After Anderson left the Cardinals to join Carolina, quarterback John Skelton was asked what kind of a mentor Anderson was, and he replied: Not so much.

When you consider anything that Anderson has done, I just can't find any redeeming qualities to rank him anywhere other than dead last.

No. 29 to 31: Wet Behind the Ears

This group of quarterbacks has the unique distinction of not starting in a single NFL game yet. There is nothing necessarily wrong with that, other than the SSS factor (small sample size). As such, it is difficult to rank them accordingly.

You can take your pick which one you want to place No. 29, 30 or 31. At this juncture of their careers they are all interchangeable. At some point, they will get meaningful playing experience, and then we can start moving them up or down accordingly, once we have a better idea of what we have on our hands.

The trio of rookie second-string quarterbacks are: Colin Kaepernick (San Francisco), Jake Locker (Tennessee) and Tyrod Taylor (Baltimore). It would be a surprise if none of the three saw extended action this year, simply because of the violent hits that starting quarterbacks take each week. Injuries strike sooner or later.

For what it is worth, Kaepernick has appeared in two games this year and has thrown three passes. He has completed all three, so based on his completion percentage of 100 percent, he should be ranked No. 29. We will look past the fact that he has lost two yards in his two rushing attempts for now.

Locker has appeared in one game and is zero for one on his lone NFL pass. Guess since his completion percentage is zero, we will rank him No. 31. Obviously you should not take that stat very seriously.

No. 26 to 28: Fewer Than 100 Career Passing Yards

This trio of quarterbacks has combined to appear in 20 NFL games, but they have the amazingly low total of 117 passing yards combined in those 20 games.

Here are there total yards passing in their career to date: Caleb Hanie (66 yards), Tyler Palko (35 yards) and Chase Daniel (16 yards). Of the trio, I will rank Hanie as the best, simply because he was asked to play the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship game last year for the Bears, and actually rallied his team back in the game against the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers.

26. Caleb Hanie: Chicago Bears

Has appeared in four games and completed 57.1 percent of his passes. Has not thrown a touchdown pass or had an interception during any regular-season appearance. Averages 4.71 yards per pass. Career QB passer rating of 39.6.

Actually these are pretty weak numbers, but like I stated before, I liked what he did against the Packers when the Bears' entire season was on the line. If Jay Cutler can't survive the year, it will be Hanie's turn to "man up."

27. Tyler Palko: Kansas City Chiefs

Palko has appeared in three games so far. Has only thrown for 35 yards, so you can see he has hardly been tested yet. No touchdown passes, and no interceptions so far. As fast as starters are dropping with injuries in Kansas City this year, perhaps he will see some meaningful playing time.

28. Chase Daniel: New Orleans Saints

Playing behind Drew Brees is tough because Brees is very durable and Daniel, as a result, sees basically no playing time. In his third year, he has passed for 16 yards. No touchdown passes or interceptions yet. Threw the ball plenty in college, but he will have to keep being patient before he can start filling up the stat sheet on his NFL career.

No. 23 to 25: Scratching the Surface

This next trio of second-string quarterbacks has barely scratched the surface regarding their NFL playing experience. None of three quarterbacks has passed for more than three touchdowns in their career to date, so while there is upside with all three, we would like to see more results and game action to justify ranking them higher than here.

23. Brian Hoyer: New England Patriots

Has thrown one career touchdown and one interception. Hard to get meaningful playing time behind Tom Brady. Average pass is 6.29 yards. Completes just under 62 percent of his passes, with 264 career passing yards and a career QB passer rating of 77.9.

Nice potential, but we just want to see him play more.

24. Matt Flynn: Green Bay Packers

First there was Brett Favre, then there was Aaron Rodgers and finally Matt Flynn. All these Green Bay quarterbacks had to wait for their turn, so now it is Flynn patiently waiting for his chance. Flynn has thrown three touchdown passes to four career interceptions. Thrown for 497 yards, completing 58.3 percent of his passes and an average pass of 5.92 yards. Career QB passer rating of 67.4.

25. John Skelton: Arizona Cardinals

Two career touchdown passes to go along with two career interceptions. Completed only 47.6 percent of his passes, lowest percentage of any of the 32 second-stringers on this list. Thrown for 662 yards, and has a career QB passer rating of 62.3. Only Josh Johnson of Tampa Bay has a lower rating.

This trio could easily leapfrog over the trio ahead of them on the list, but due to lack of playing time, we are keeping them here for now.

No. 20 to 22: Growing Pains

This trio has had their chance to get their feet, one more notably than the other two, but they all could stand to improve their performance numbers. Until they do, they will see less playing time.

20. Charlie Whitehurst: Seattle Seahawks

Pete Carroll seems to like Whitehurst, but then again, who doesn't he like? Whitehurst has only appeared in nine NFL games so far, and during that time has thrown three touchdown passes and three interceptions. Has completed 57.6 percent of his passes and has a QB passer rating of 71.2. Average pass over his career is 5.56.

21. Josh Johnson: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Less-than-impressive ratio of four touchdown passes to eight career interceptions. Completed 56.6 percent of his passes and his average pass is 5.55 yards. Thrown for 810 yards in his career. QB passer rating is 56.6, which is not that hot.

22. Luke McCown: Jacksonville Jaguars

Started out the year as the Jaguars starting QB when the team released David Garrard, but quickly gave way to rookie Blaine Gabbert. McCown has thrown for 1,973 yards, but has an unfavorable ratio of nine touchdowns to 14 interceptions. QB passer rating is 68.5. Average pass is 6.51 yards and he completes only 58.4 percent of his passes.

No. 17 to 19: The 21-TD Club

Like we said in the beginning, this is a fluid list and can literally change from one week to the next. For now, this next trio all has the unique distinction of having thrown exactly 21 touchdowns over their NFL careers to date.

17. Tyler Thigpen: Buffalo Bills

Thigpen is reunited with Chan Gailey, as the two worked together at Kansas City. If Ryan Fitzpatrick gets hurt this year, Gailey will not hesitate to bring in Thigpen who successfully ran a very similar offense with the Kansas City Chiefs.

For his career, Thigpen has 21 touchdown passes to 17 interceptions. Thrown for 3,167 yards, completed 54.2 percent of his passes and has a QB passer rating of 73.7. His average pass is 6.39 yards. Appeared in 22 NFL games to date.

18. Chris Redman: Atlanta Falcons

Redman has a good QB passer rating of 79.2. Only appeared in 25 NFL games in his career and thrown 21 touchdown passes to 17 career interceptions (same ratio as Thigpen). Has completed 56.8 percent of his passes and his average pass is 6.34 yards. Has thrown for 2,991 yards in his career to date.

19. Bruce Gradkowski: Cincinnati Bengals

The last of our 21 touchdown passes club members, Gradkowski has the worst ratio of the three, having thrown 23 interceptions. He has completed only 53 percent of his passes, QB passer rating is 66.5 and has thrown for 3,975 yards in his career. He has appeared in 33 NFL games.

No. 14 to 16: The 4,000 Passing Yards Club

This next trio of second-string quarterbacks have all passed for at least 4,000 yards in their NFL careers to date. The window is between 4,091-4,241. Each of them has some nice attributes to their games and is capable of taking over when needed.

17. Seneca Wallace: Cleveland Browns

Wallace has almost a 2-to-1 TD-to-interception ratio, very favorable numbers—29 touchdowns passes to just 16 interceptions. Completed 60.4 percent of his passes and has appeared in 56 NFL games.

Wallace has thrown for 4,241 yards and his average pass is 6.46 yards. His QB passer rating is 83.9, but for some reason he just doesn't get much playing time.

Case in point: Wallace throws 11 TDs and three picks in 2008, then has just 120 passes in 2009 and 101 passes in 2010. His peripherals are very good, so why doesn't his coach play him more? Somewhat mystifying. 

18. Sage Rosenfels: Miami Dolphins

Rosenfels recently joined the Dolphins when they placed starter Chad Henne on IR. Rosenfels has thrown for 4,156 yards over his career, appearing in 44 NFL games. He has thrown 30 touchdowns to 29 interceptions. Has a positive QB passer rating of 81.2 and has an average of 7.4 yards per pass.

Rosenfels has completed 62.5 percent of his throws. His numbers are good enough that he might replace Matt Moore as starter as soon as he learns the offense.

19. A.J. Feeley: St. Louis Rams

Feeley might have to be pressed into action soon due to the recent injury to Sam Bradford. We will see how well he can perform, but at least he would have one new weapon to throw to that Bradford didn't have: Brandon Lloyd. Feeley has thrown for 4,091 yards in the span of 24 NFL games.

His ratio is 27 touchdowns to 29 interceptions. Career QB passer rating of 69.3 and he has completed 57.6 percent of his passes. Average pass is 6.11 yards.

No. 11 to 13: The 70s Club

Our next trio of second-stringers all have a career QB passer rating of 70. Not terrible but not great either. One of them was a brand new addition to the second-stringer club this week, while another of this group may be forced to start this week due to lots of quarterback activity in the past week.

11. Kyle Boller: Oakland Raiders

Boller may be the QB that has to start this weekend, based on how quickly Carson Palmer can be deemed ready to start an NFL game. Boller has thrown 48 career touchdowns compared to 51 interceptions. He has passed for 8,870 yards in 66 NFL games. He has a QB passer rating of 70.4, and has completed 56.7 percent of his passes. Average pass is 5.89 yards.

12. Rex Grossman: Washington Redskins

Grossman appears to be on the way out in Washington as the starter, being replaced by John Beck. So now that Grossman is a second-stringer, we see where he stacks up.

In 46 NFL games, Grossman has thrown 46 touchdowns to 49 interceptions. He has passed for 8,213 yards and is averaging 6.47 yards per pass. He has completed only 54.4 percent of his passes and his career QB passer rating is 70.4. I wonder if he predicted he would be riding the bench.

13. Matt Leinart: Houston Texans

Mr. Las Vegas, the party QB of the NFL, is lucky No. 13 on our list. Leinart keeps finding ways to be beaten out of the starting job, so he racks his years in the NFL towards his pension by rarely playing anymore.

In 29 NFL games, Leinart has thrown 14 touchdowns to 20 interceptions. Not a great ratio. He completes 57.1 percent of his passes, with an average of 6.54 yards per pass. Leinart has thrown for 3,893 yards and his career QB passer rating is 70.8.

No. 8 to 10: Oldies but Goldies, Part 1

We are now starting to get into our really seasoned veteran second-string quarterbacks, which we will refer to as our "Oldies but Goldies, Part One." This trio ranges in age from 32 to 41, and their prime years are long gone. However, they are still capable of coming in and managing a game plan, and holding down a lead when called upon.

8. Mark Brunell: New York Jets

Now 41 years old, Brunell is the oldest second-string quarterback in our presentation. He ranks No. 3 among all second-string QBs in touchdown passes (184) and is also No. 3 in yards passed (32,045). Brunell has thrown 108 interceptions, so 76 more touchdowns than picks, which is impressive.

Brunell has played in 175 NFL games, and has averaged 6.91 yards per pass over his career. Has completed 59.5 percent of his passes and his QB passer rating is a very high 84.0.

9. David Carr: New York Giants

Carr is 32 years old, and doesn't see many snaps behind Eli Manning. But if Eli ever goes down, Carr has the experience to step in and play. Carr has thrown 65 touchdowns to 71 interceptions in 92 NFL games. He has passed for 14,433 yards and completed 59.7 percent of his passes. His QB passer rating is 74.9 and he has averaged 6.38 yards per pass.

10. Charlie Batch: Pittsburgh Steelers

Batch is 36 years old, but is still capable of playing, as he proved in 2010 when Ben Roethlisberger was serving his suspension. Batch has a favorable ratio of 60 touchdown passes to 47 interceptions. He has thrown for 10,402 yards over his career, which includes playing in 74 NFL games.

Batch has a career QB passer rating of 77.9, an average of 6.89 yards per pass and has completed 56.2 percent of his passes.

No. 5 to 7: Oldies but Goldies, Part 2

Our next trio of second-string quarterbacks is a collection of veterans that range in age from 35 to 39. In other words, they have been around the block once or twice and their prime years are clearly behind them. If their team needs them to step in, they won't get flustered, because they have been there and done that. This trio includes:

5. Jon Kitna: Dallas Cowboys

Kitna is now 39 years old. He has been there for whenever Tony Romo needed somebody to fill in. Kitna has appeared in 139 games in the NFL, and has thrown 169 touchdown passes, compared to 165 interceptions.

Kitna has passed for 29,745 yards in his career. He has completed 60.3 percent of his passes and he averages 6.70 yards per pass. Kitna's career QB passer rating is 77.4

6. Billy Volek: San Diego Chargers

On the surface you think, "huh?" But then you start looking at what he has done over the years. Volek is 35 years old. He has played in 37 NFL games, and in those he has thrown 27 touchdowns to only 15 interceptions, basically a 2-1 ratio.

His QB passer rating is 84.9, which is second-best among all second-string QBs. He completes 60.1 percent of his passes, and his average is 6.69 yards per pass. He has thrown for 3,754 yards.

7. Kerry Collins: Indianapolis Colts

Was talked out of retirement to bail out the Colts when Peyton Manning couldn't play. Collins is still serviceable, but shouldn't be starting anymore. He is 38 years old. Collins has played in 198 games and thrown 208 touchdown passes to 196 interceptions. He has passed for 40,922 yards in his career, tops among all second-string QBs.

Collins has a career QB passer rating of 73.8, and has completed 55.7 percent of his passes. His average pass is 6.54 yards.

No. 2 to 4: Good Enough To Start

Our final trio of quarterbacks are all guys that have had the chance to be starters, and two of the three were actually starting already this year. One may still have sufficient chances to start again, while the other one may be nearing the end of the line. The third one has managed to stay put after the trade deadline, and is looking to emerge as a free agent in 2012 with a chance to be a starter again.

2. Vince Young: Philadelphia Eagles

Young is basically going to sit back and watch Michael Vick play this year. Sure, Vick takes a pounding at times, and there will be games that Young has to fill in for him, but that shouldn't happen often. Young is just 28 years old and has played in 55 NFL games so far.

He has thrown 42 touchdowns to 43 interceptions. He has passed for 8,098 yards and has a career QB passer rating of 75.3. He completes 57.9 percent of his passes, averaging 6.80 yards per pass.

3. Donovan McNabb: Minnesota Vikings

As of today, McNabb is now the official mentor for Christian Ponder, as the Vikings intend to let Ponder finish out the year at quarterback. McNabb is ready to teach Ponder what he can, but we aren't sure he will be happy.

McNabb is 34 years old and has played in 167 games. He has a strong TD-to-interception ratio of 234-to-117. He has passed for 37,276 yards and has a career passer rating of 85.6, best among all second-stringers. He has averaged 6.94 yards per throw.

4. Kyle Orton: Denver Broncos

The trade deadline came and went, and Orton still remains a member of the Broncos team. If the Tim Tebow experiment fails, the Broncos can still turn back to Orton, or they could always try Brady Quinn.

Orton is 28 years old, and has played in 67 NFL games. He has thrown 79 touchdowns to 55 interceptions. His QB passer rating is 79.4. He has passed for 13,753 yards. Orton has completed 58.1 percent of his passes and is averaging 6.53 yards per pass.

No. 1 Second-String QB: Shaun Hill

Why do I like Shaun Hill as the No. 1 second-string quarterback in the NFL? For starters, Hill played in 15 games during his final two years with the San Francisco 49ers. He then signed with the Detroit Lions, where he was able to take advantage of Matthew Stafford's extensive injury history to be in line for a career-high 11 games in 2010.

Hill is 31 years old, and so far has appeared in 31 career games. During his career, Hill has thrown for 39 touchdown passes to just 23 interceptions, good for a plus-16 ratio. Not only that, but he is completing 61.8 percent of his passes and has a very high career QB passer rating of 84.7.

When Hill joined the Lions in 2010, they were coming out of a two-year tailspin where they went 2-30 over their prior 32 games. Hill led the Lions to three of their six wins, and he threw for over 300 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills.

Hill is averaging 6.61 yards per pass, and has thrown for 6,204 yards in his career so far. I think if he was given a chance to start with a decent offense around him, he could surprise quite a few people.