The 2015 NFL season is now just two months away from starting, as we can smell the preseason and before long we’ll be talking Super Bowl predictions and getting serious about fantasy football. As we count the days, a fun exercise is to break down rosters by ranking the top players at the most important positions. To get the ball rolling, we’ll break down the top four quarterbacks by division and rank them.
We’ll get started with the AFC East, where the defending Super Bowl champs reside, along with three very interesting teams that just might be able to challenge them for the first time in a long time. They all seem to have the defenses, coaching and/or supporting cast on offense to mix things up, but do they have the quarterbacks? Let’s break them all down and see how the four starting quarterbacks rank in the AFC East for 2015:
Tom Brady (New England Patriots)
Tom Brady is currently slated to serve a four-game suspension to start 2015, but he’s still New England’s main man under center and that ban could end up being overturned or reduced. That puts Tom Terrific atop the AFC East, even at almost 38 years old (in August). Brady had a slow start to 2014, but after tight end Rob Gronkowski returned to full strength he was borderline unstoppable. He capped a solid year with an MVP performance in his fourth Super Bowl win and despite his age, has lost very little when it comes to his skill-set. If this suspension sticks, he could come back angrier than ever with a serious chip on his shoulder. That’s the last thing the AFC East or the league in general needs.
Ryan Tannehill (Miami Dolphins)
It’s Brady and then Tannehill in this division, and it’s not even close. Tannehill has done well to improve in each of his three seasons, as the once raw passing prospect has developed into a very solid NFL starter. Tannehill put up career numbers in 2014, got a win against the Pats and just got paid this summer. With no real obstacles in his way, a good offensive system and a solid band of receivers around him, Tannehill could soar to new heights in year four. That could very well make the Dolphins New England’s top competition inside the division and everything rolled together makes Tannehill the locked-in #2 quarterback behind Brady.
Geno Smith (New York Jets)
Smith gets the third spot in these AFC East quarterback rankings pretty much by default, while he does have the talent, upside and weapons to rise to second if he finally figures everything out. A big quarterback with a solid arm and good athleticism, Smith’s real knock over his first two years has been decision-making. Smith has had some gem performances (vs. Falcons in 2014 and season finale in 2015), but he’s had a litany of poor showings, as well. He now has Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker as more than suitable weapons in the passing game and he’s running out of excuses. The talent is there for him to make a huge jump in year three, but only time will tell if Smith is the answer under center for the Jets.
Matt Cassel (Buffalo Bills)
Being worse than Geno Smith isn’t fun, but the Bills don’t really have a quarterback. You could pick from Cassel, E.J. Manuel or Tyrod Taylor and none of them make you think “yep, he’s better” when you compare then to Geno Smith. Cassel is a solid game manager but better suited as a backup, Manuel is too raw and Taylor has zero experience. Taylor could possibly be a hidden gem that shocks the league this year, but for now it looks like this is Cassel’s job to lose. With the Bills fully expected to lean heavily on the rushing attack and a good defense, Cassel could work well as the starter if he doesn’t make mistakes and plays within the offense. He offers almost no upside, though, and could end up being replaced at some point this year. Because of all that, there’s no way we can rank Cassel or any other Bills quarterback higher in this four-man totem pole.
Think these rankings are all jacked up? Re-rank them for us in the comments below!
