Cam Newton just became a very rich man on Tuesday afternoon, as the Carolina Panthers handed the 26-year old quarterback a six-year contract extension worth roughly $103.8 million. Newton is slated to earn well over $60 million in guaranteed money over the next three seasons and is now entrenched as “the guy” for the Panthers for the foreseeable future.
It’s hard to blame the Panthers for handing out such a massive deal, as Newton definitely deserved to get paid after putting up solid stats through his first four NFL season and helped Carolina reach the playoffs in each of the past two years. Newton’s deal has some thinking about the Panthers in the Super Bowl, but all we can think about is how great of a dual threat quarterback he is and where he might rank with the other great dual threat passers in NFL history.
We decided to put it to a ranking:
Note: Our ranking considers athleticism, rushing ability and numbers, passing ability and success as a pro quarterback.
10. Kordell Stewart (Pittsburgh Steelers)
Stewart was never a great quarterback, but for a while he was a competent one. He was good enough to play a hand in the Steelers getting to a Super Bowl and he passed for over 14,000 yards, while running for another 2,874 rushing yards and 38 touchdowns on the ground. He’s not just on this list because he played quarterback and could run. He was one of the most versatile and dynamic players the league has ever seen. Slash would be much higher on this list had he been a better pure passer and not flamed out of the league, but we can’t ignore the impact he had as a dual threat runner.
9. Roger Staubach (Dallas Cowboys)
Stewart was a better athlete than Staubach and he had better rushing numbers, but Staubach was easily the superior pocket passer and he also won two Super Bowls. On top of being one of the better flat out quarterbacks the league has ever seen, he also contributed over 2,200 yards and 20 touchdowns with his legs.
8. Cam Newton (Carolina Panthers)
Newton had to make our list, both for what he’s done already and what he still could very well do. Newton has tasted the playoffs at a young age and has plenty of time to add to his stats and playoff record. What he’s already done is astonishing, as he holds the record for rushing touchdowns in a season (14) and has rushed for at least 500 yards in every season he’s played. Newton has already made a name for himself as one of the best dual threat quarterbacks and he’s nowhere near finished.
7. Steve McNair (Tennessee Titans)
McNair was a highly effective and productive rusher early in his career, as he leaned heavily on that aspect of his game until he developed into a very strong pocket passer. That’s obvious by his career stats, as he put up nearly 3,600 yards and 37 touchdowns on the ground. McNair was actually even better through the air, though, and even helped his Titans to a foot within a Super Bowl win.
6. Donovan McNabb (Philadelphia Eagles)
McNabb never won a Super Bowl, but he got to one and played in three straight NFC title games. He was easily one of the more menacing quarterbacks to face in the NFC for most of his career and he was especially a terror on the run. McNabb had the athletic ability and build to run over or around defenders, while he also had a cannon that could keep the defense guessing. His running numbers aren’t good enough for a top-five spot, but his collective production and talent bring him awfully close.
5. John Elway (Denver Broncos)
Longevity and winning help Elway in the end, as the ageless wonder still used his legs in big moments even at the ripe age of 37. Elway ended his long, illustrious career with two straight Super Bowl wins, bt was known long before that as a deadly dual threat passer who has one of the league’s best arms. Elway ended his career high in the ranks as a rusher (3,407 rushing yards and 33 running scores), but his elite play under center has him cracking the top-five.
4. Randall Cunningham (Philadelphia Eagles)
The first true freak athlete to play quarterback, Randall Cunningham was a highlight reel runner who could avoid the rush or spring big plays with his legs. He had the best single season rushing performance by a quarterback and also had the most career rushing yardage before Michael Vick came along. Mostly known for his terrorizing days in Philly, Cunningham resurfaced later in his career with one magical season with the Minnesota Vikings. Cunningham will always be known as a special player and a legit top-five candidate for best dual threat passer of all-time, but injuries and inconsistency under center keep him from going any higher.
3. Michael Vick (Atlanta Falcons)
Criteria is a big thing with rankings. If you want to go by single-season or career rushing stats, then Vick should be #1 on this list. He holds all of the main yardage records and also has 36 career rushing scores. The problem? Vick was the definition of a tuck and run quarterback, as he relied almost solely on his athleticism for the majority of his career and never once topped 3,500 passing yards or 21 passing touchdowns. Vick also proved to be extremely fragile and struggled with accuracy, touch and reading defenses. More of a running back playing the quarterback position, Vick sticks at #3 due to an inability to have the necessary balance.
2. Steve Young (San Francisco 49ers)
Easily one of the more balanced dual threat passers of the modern era, Young brought the 49ers a Super Bowl post-Joe Montana and was a highlight reel waiting to happen when on the run. As gifted and productive of a runner as he was, though, he never abandoned the importance of accuracy and pocket presence and was routinely one of the highest rated passers in the league. It took him time to develop, but had he not spent so much time behind Montana, we could have seen an even greater player from a statistical perspective. Regardless, Young ranks third all time with over 4,200 yards on the ground and still holds the NFL record for quarterbacks with 43 rushing scores. The Michael Vick before Vick existed, Young wasn’t quite the athlete Vick was, but he was just as productive and a vastly superior passer.
1. Fran Tarkenton (Minnesota Vikings)
As great as Young and a lot of these other quarterbacks were, there still doesn’t seem to be a match for Tarkenton. Tarkenton never won a Super Bowl but he led his Vikings to the big game three times and when he retired he held the majority of the passing records in the NFL. On top of all of that, there truly was not a better scrambler to exist and Tarkenton even proved his worth as a true runner, piling on 3,674 rushing yards and 32 running scores.
Think another dual threat quarterback deserves the #1 nod more? Let us hear who it is in the comments below!
