August 23, 2023
No place on the planet cares more about backup quarterbacks than Philadelphia. Given that Jalen Hurts has deservedly locked himself into the "franchise QB" tier, the only quarterback controversy in Philly is about who's Hurts' understudy. Like anyone with even the slightest opinion on sports, I love ranking things. People debate who the top-10 QBs in the NFL are. How about we debate who the best backup QBs are instead?
I used at least one backup QB from every team and used two from three teams: the Eagles, the 49ers and the Titans. All three squads have some intrigue with notable names who may step into the QB2 role, so I'll include them all.
Let's get after it...
| Rank | Player | Team |
| 1 | Andy Dalton | Panthers |
| 2 | Jacoby Brissett | Commanders |
| 3 | Sam Darnold | 49ers |
| 4 | Taylor Heinicke | Falcons |
| 5 | Teddy Bridgewater | Lions |
| 6 | Tyrod Taylor | Giants |
| 7 | Tyler Huntley | Ravens |
| 8 | Mitch Trubisky | Steelers |
| 9 | Tanner McKee | Eagles |
| 10 | Gardner Minshew | Colts |
| 11 | Jameis Winston | Saints |
| 12 | Marcus Mariota | Eagles |
| 13 | Sean Clifford | Packers |
| 14 | Cooper Rush | Cowboys |
| 15 | Bailey Zappe | Patriots |
| 16 | Davis Mills | Texans |
| 17 | Mike White | Dolphins |
| 18 | Drew Lock | Seahawks |
| 19 | Kyle Allen | Bills |
| 20 | Brett Rypien | Rams |
| 21 | Trevor Siemian | Bengals |
| 22 | Zach Wilson | Jets |
| 23 | Colt McCoy | Cardinals |
| 24 | P.J. Walker | Bears |
| 25 | Nick Mullens | Vikings |
| 26 | Jarrett Stidham | Broncos |
| 27 | Joshua Dobbs | Browns |
| 28 | C.J. Beathard | Jaguars |
| 29 | Blaine Gabbert | Chiefs |
| 30 | Brian Hoyer | Raiders |
| 31 | Easton Stick | Chargers |
| 32 | Kyle Trask | Buccaneers |
| 33 | Trey Lance | 49ers |
| 34 | Will Levis | Titans |
| 35 | Malik Willis | Titans |
Some notes on the selections...
• Tanner McKee... too much too early? Don't care. He makes NFL throws. I am now in the camp of "the Eagles could go 2-1 if Jalen Hurts missed three games with McKee." I detailed my evolving thoughts on McKee and the Birds after the Ravens preseason game and after the Browns preseason game.
• I've been crushing Marcus Mariota in the preseason, but ultimately I still like a backup QB who has some wheels. Perhaps it's the impression that Michael Vick left on me in Week 1 of the 2010 season, but having a quarterback who can be thrown out there and work some magic without it being scheme dependent works in a mid-game pinch.
• Are we sure Mac Jones is better than Bailey Zappe?
• Teddy Bridgewater is lucky I didn't drop him 10 spots on this list simply for wearing No. 50 as a quarterback.
• If the Commanders were focused on winning right now, Jacoby Brissett should be starting. I'd go as far to say that he's the third-best QB in the NFC East overall behind Jalen Hurts and Dak Prescott.
NFC East QB rankings:
— shamus (@shamus_clancy) August 18, 2023
1. Jalen Hurts
2. Dak Prescott
3. Jacoby Brissett
4. Tanner McKee
5. Daniel Jones
• Are we sure Daniel Jones is better than Tyrod Taylor?
• Jameis Winston is the most talented player on this list, but his volatility leans too close to the negative range to be comfortable with him as my QB2.
• Are we sure Desmond Ridder is better than Taylor Heinicke?
• I'm far from a Penn State guy, but I wouldn't be surprised if Sean Clifford had a better NFL career than Jordan Love.
• Kyle Shanahan being a wizard (unless he's playing at Philadelphia in January) mitigates how colossal of a misfire the Trey Lance trade was.
• It will be hard for Tennessee to completely crater with Mike Vrabel as their head coach, but their future is bleak at QB.
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