14. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
- Average ranking: 13.29
- Highest ranking: 5
- Preseason ranking: 3
Lamar Jackson has fallen 11 spots and rightfully so. He has not been terrible this season but definitely is not the same quarterback that he was last year. Lamar has simply been middle of the road, if not slightly worse.
It might seem unfair to rank him as low as 14th but that is how he is playing this year.
13. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
- Average ranking: 13.14
- Highest ranking: 11
- Preseason ranking: 20
Joe Burrow narrowly edges Lamar Jackson out to be the best quarterback in the AFC North in our rankings. Now, Lamar absolutely has the potential to turn it around and put himself far ahead of Burrow yet again, but Burrow has been really good.
Burrow is on pace to finish with 4,500 yards, just under 30 combined touchdowns, 10 interceptions with a completion percentage around 67%. Not bad.
12. Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders
- Average ranking: 12.57
- Highest ranking: 10
- Preseason ranking: 24
Derek Carr would be the biggest improvement if it were not for someone who finished in the top-10. Regardless, Carr has been really solid season and I personally think he is one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the league.
He is a better version of Kirk Cousins (when Cousins is taking care of the ball). Carr rarely throws interceptions and is on pace to finish with more than 4,000 passing yards and 30 touchdowns, with a completion percentage hovering around 70%.
11. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
- Average ranking: 12.43
- Highest ranking: 8
- Preseason ranking: 10
Matt Ryan is definitely not the future of the NFL but he is still pretty solid. He leads the NFL in passing yards (2,746) and has only thrown five interceptions in 351 passing attempts. He is on pace to finish with just under 4,900 yards and around 30 touchdowns.
10. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
- Average ranking: 9.71
- Highest ranking: 5
- Preseason ranking: 7
The Bolt Beat staff is split on Drew Brees. Three of us have him ranked in the top-six while Alex Insdorf and Steven Haglund rank him 12th and 13th, respectively. Nicholas Buttacavoli ranks Brees all the way at 19th.
The biggest drawback of Brees is his arm strength but he has had a good season yet has fallen in our rankings. He leads the league in completion percentage (74%) and is on pace to finish with 4,200 yards, 34 touchdowns with only 6 interceptions.