The Fierce Five: NFL’s Top 5 Quarterbacks

The playoffs are coming to an end soon, one thing is apparent; most elite team are controlled by elite quarterbacks. The NFL today has evolved into a quarterback driven league. With rules benefitting the offenses and the extraordinary receivers in the game today, passing offenses are near unstoppable. Records are falling like dominoes and we are seeing talent at the quarterback position like we never have before. We are going to look at the top 5 quarterbacks in the NFL this season.

Tom Brady

Tom Terrific has been dominating the NFL for over a decade. After having his 4 game suspension overturned, Brady and company were on a rampage similar to that of his 2007 campaign, during the spy gate accusations. Tom Brady has made a career out of being successful with very little talent around him. With a carousel at offensive line, and most of his play makers injured, it hasn’t slowed down the 4 time super bowl champion. Tom Brady is the least athletic player on this list, but makes up for it with uncanny knowledge of opposing defenses. Tom is aiming for his 5th Super Bowl Ring this season, as him and the #1 seed Patriots look to repeat as champions.

Cam Newton

Newton has taken his game to an entirely new level this season. After flirting with a perfect season, Cam did not see his first loss until week 16. Like Brady, Newton has dominated the league with a subpar set of receivers. The group led by journeyman Ted Ginn, has outperformed expectations and allowed Cam Newton to evolve into a special player. A combination of great passing skills and unparalleled running ability, has allowed Newton to leapfrog some of the most talented players the NFL has to offer.

Russell Wilson

Russell Wilson is poor man’s Cam Newton. A game stapled by his ability to run the football, Wilson is a nightmare to opposing defensive coordinators. Wilson is a game manager in the sense that the Seahawks do not require as much from his as any other team requires from their quarterback. The Seahawks are a run-first football team and Wilson will rarely throw 40-50 times during the course of the game. With that said, Russell Wilson has incredible accuracy, and can carve up the football with his arm as well as legs. At just 27, in his 4th year in the NFL, Wilson could already have been a two-time super bowl champion, if not for Pete Carroll’s questionable play call and Malcolm Butler’s life changing catch.

There is no NFL story this year greater than that of Carson Palmer. Palmer is the best player on one of the best teams in the entire NFL. Leading the league in total QBR and top 5 in both yards and touchdowns; Palmer is better now than ever before. At 36, Carson Palmer is having the best year of his career. But as everyone knows, a quarterback is only as good as the number of rings on his fingers, and to date, Palmers fingers are naked

Aaron Rodgers
A fixture on this list since replacing Brett Favre, Rodgers is a five tool player. Arm strength, accuracy, running ability and game management; Rodgers is one of the most talented players in the league. Though he’s having a down year, Rodger is still one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the entire NFL. Many will say “his numbers this year do not look like the numbers of a top 5 quarterback,” but the reason he did not lose ground is his impact on the game. Being a quarterback is not about putting up gaudy numbers, it is about putting your team in a position to win football games. There are not many players that do a better job of that than Aaron Rodgers.

–Michael Hersey