A Look at Rodgers’ Rank Among NFL’s QBs (Pt. 1)

Posted by Danny Goldin on April 27, 2010   Jump To Comments

This blog wouldn’t exist had it not been for the flip-flopping ways of Brent Favre and his eventual divorce with the Packers. Sure, it’s fun to hate on B. Lorenzo Favre, but it’s not like we were stuck in a situation where he left us out to dry… because we had Aaron Rodgers waiting in the wings, and little did we know at that point that Rodgers was/is the frickin’ man.

Rodgers was somewhat of a joke his first three seasons in the league. Despite rumors that the 49ers might take him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft, he ended up slipping all the way down to the Packers at No. 24.

Aaron Rodgers (third from left) had to wait until pick #24 to hear his name, while fellow draft invitees (from left) Alex Smith, Antrel Rolle, Braylon Edwards, Ronnie Brown and Cedric Benson all went in the top-8.

He came into Green Bay as a goofy-looking surfer dude, complete with beard and flowing mane of hair, and sat on the bench like a little pee-wee scrub for three seasons as Brent ran the show. When the whole Brent circus went down, Rodgers stood by idly, and was handed an immense amount of pressure when he was asked to lead a team, and fanbase, that had known nothing but Favre for the past decade and a half.

Many would have folded under the pressure, but Rodgers thwarted the doubters and was pretty darn good. Scratch that… the man was a flat-out stud right from the get-go. After an excellent first full season as a starter, Rodgers legitimized himself as a, dare I say SUPERSTAR, in 2009 with an even superior campaign, this despite the fact that he was literally running for his life half the time behind an underperforming offensive line.

Miley Cyrus is holding an egg. It's doubtful that she was participating in an egg toss during the shooting of this photo, but the image still came up in a Google search of "egg toss".

With all that said, I wanted to take a look on where Rodgers ranks among today’s quarterbacks. My ranking will be based on who I’d want under center for my team this next upcoming season, not who I’d draft if I was starting a new franchise, who I’d prefer as my wingman at a bar, who I’d select to be my partner in an egg-tossing contest, or any other particular ranking method.

First off, let’s start off by saying that Rodgers is not, at least not yet, a top-3 quarterback in this league. Unfortunately, only Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Tom Brady fall under that umbrella. There simply isn’t an argument to place anybody else in the top-3. Manning and Brees both led their teams to Super Bowls last year. Brees won it, and Manning already has a ring of his own. They were the two most accurate passers last season. Brees led the league in touchdowns and QB-rating, while Manning was second in yards and tied for second in touchdowns. Really, I don’t have to go on about those two. As for Brady, he’s still just two years removed from having the best season, um, EVER for a starting quarterback. He was still pretty darn good in 2009 despite coming off a lost season and major knee surgery. Oh yeah, and he has three Super Bowl rings, there’s that one too.

No. 4, however, is where it starts to get tricky. There are a number of intriguing names in the discussion for the four spot, though I’m going to save my take for later this week. Why, you ask? Partly because I’m tired, partly because if I include everything in this one post, it’d be really really long, and nobody likes to read really really long things… it’s science.

Who do you think should be No. 4? Is No. 3 as clear-cut as I’ve made it seem? (Answer: Yes, it is. And remember, as tough as it is for me to not think about fantasy, we’re talking real life here). Feel free to post your thoughts in the comments section or to e-mail Danny at dgoldin@brentfavre.com.