Ranking Chargers' Justin Herbert and the 32 best quarterbacks after 2022
By Jason Reed
12. Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks
- Preseason ranking: 32
Lok, we were all wrong about Geno Smith. I went as far as to rank him as the worst starting quarterback in the NFL before the 2022 season. that is the entire reason why he won Comeback Player of the Year.
Smith wasn't just a better quarterback than Wilson was last season, he was legitimately good. He led the league in completion percentage and when he was firing on all cylinders was a legitimately dangerous QB. He may not have the consistency of the top guys but he is far better than anyone expected.
11. Matthew Stafford, LA Rams
- Preseason ranking: 7
Matthew Stafford was hit with the injury bug this season and it could be the start of his downslide as an NFL quarterback. We have seen it with other guys and there is a chance that he is not even on this list next year.
However, we did not get enough of a sample size to rank him any lower than 11th. He may even climb this ranking if he returns to form with health on his side next year.
10. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
- Preseason ranking: 20
Tua may have had a lot of help in having a great offensive-minded head coach and two of the most dangerous receivers in the entire league. But at the end of the day, he still played well enough to be a top-10 quarterback (also because the top of the quarterback rankings is not as good as it once was).
There is a big gap between this portion of the list and those in the upper echelon but that does not change the fact that Tua deserves the 10th spot. Hopefully, the concussions he suffered in 2022 do not have a long-lasting impact on his health and he can return to action.
9. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
- Preseason ranking: 11
Dak Prescott did not do all that much differently in 2022 to justify him climbing this list, he simply moved up two spots as people ahead of him fell out of the top 10. In fact, you could argue that Prescott should have fallen with all the interceptions he threw in 2022. While that hurts, I would not put anyone that is below him above him on this list.
It will be interesting to see how Prescott does in 2023 now that his old offensive coordinator is with the LA Chargers. Justin Herbert is definitely better than Prescott, so Kellen Moore will be able to do even more offensively.