Quarterback Rankings Heading Into Week 16

There are a handful of new quarterbacks this week. With an injury to Jalen Hurts, the aforementioned Gardner Minshew will be making his season debut in the power rankings. The Indianapolis Colts are turning to Nick Foles instead of Matt Ryan. Kenny Pickett has been cleared from concussion protocol and will return in place of Mitchell Trubisky. Trace McSorley will also make his season debut.

Unlike last week, quarterbacks had a normal week of action. A few were great. Several were solid. Some were mediocre. A couple of quarterbacks were below-average. Both Cardinals looked as if they had never thrown a football before. Kirk Cousins led the week with 460 passing yards, but the underlying metrics were mediocre. Trevor Lawrence had a monster game with over 300 yards and four touchdowns, but he also blew the game before the Cowboys self-destructed.

Let’s get to this week’s quarterback rankings:

Quarterback Rankings: Biggest Climbers

Sam Darnold

Inexplicably, Darnold has become a somewhat competent quarterback. While it has only been three games against three less-than-stellar teams, Darnold has taken care of the football and made some solid throws. He has five big-time throws on 66 pass attempts, and he has only one turnover-worthy play. The stats are underwhelming, but Darnold is playing better than he did in any of his previous seasons.

Brock Purdy

Purdy is rising by default. There are as many as eight teams who employ an injured quarterback better than Purdy (or benched in the case of Matt Ryan). Purdy"s stats look spectacular with a passer rating of over 100 and multiple passing touchdowns in three straight games. However, he is much more of a game manager than a quality quarterback. Being a game manager is never a bad thing, but it does limit how high Purdy can rise without extenuating circumstances like a quarter of the league losing their starter.

Daniel Jones

Believe it or not, Jones has thrown just four interceptions in 2022. He has thrown just two – both in the same game – since Week 3. His turnover-worthy play rate is below his career average, and his fumbling (while still not great) is a career-best. This style comes with some flaws as Jones has just not tried to make plays – only five big-time throws – but it is by design. Jones has avoided the disaster games for the most part. It is growth.

Quarterback Rankings: Biggest Fallers

Dak Prescott

It"s unfair to put the blame for the game-losing pick-six on Prescott, but there was no reason for the Cowboys to be in that situation. Prescott graded out reasonably well with a 72.8 passing grade, and he had just one turnover-worthy play. His average depth of target was basically where his season average and career average have been. However, something seems off with Prescott. He lacks the knockout punch. Barring some turnaround, Prescott will be a good, not great, quarterback. He has more turnover-worthy plays than big-time throws this season, and his passing grade is his lowest since 2017.

Tyler Huntley

There are many questionable quarterbacks flying up in the rankings because of an influx of backup-caliber quarterbacks. Huntley has just been outright poor for the Ravens so far in 2022. He has zero passing touchdowns and just one rushing touchdown in 11 quarters of action. He has a passing grade of 53.5, and he has zero big-time throws. While he is not making many mistakes, they tend to prove costly. He only has three turnover-worthy plays, but he is offering next to nothing in the positive column.

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