Ranking the NFL Starting Quarterbacks

#13 Kirk Cousins (Atlanta Falcons)

Kirk Cousins has had himself quite the career: Nearly 40,000 passing yards, 67% completion rate, 270 TD passes, just 110 INTs, and a career 98.2 rating across 12 seasons. Stats aren’t everything, but they do mean something, and that’s a pretty impressive resume.

Not to mention, Cousins has appeared to get better with age. Before an Achilles injury halfway through 2023 ended his season, he was orchestrating his offense at as high of a level as any quarterback in the NFL.

The question that I’m sure you’re asking is why I put him ahead of Jared Goff and Tua Tagovailoa.

The first point I’ll make is that there isn’t much of a difference between the three quarterbacks. Each are accurate passers with the ability to anticipate and run an NFL offense effectively.

If you want to put Goff or Tua ahead of Cousins, I won’t fight you on it. This isn’t the hill to die on for me. A case can be made for any of the three.

Personally, I lean towards Cousins for a few reasons. First, he’s done it for a longer period of time with two teams and 8 different offensive coordinators. Sure, he’s benefited from being in some great Shanahan/McVay-based systems, but every coordinator has a different style of play-calling and different approaches for when and how to attack. Cousins has excelled with all 8 of his coordinators for roughly a decade.

He's had talent around him, to be sure. Although if you look back at his days in Washington, the talent was good but not elite, and he still was able to perform at a very high level. More recently, when his #1 receiver (Justin Jefferson) missed 3 games last season, Cousins didn’t wilt. Instead, he completed 73.8% of his passes for 833 yards with 5 TDs, 1 INT, and a 107.7 QB Rating during Jefferson’s absence.

What’s of even more significance is that Cousins has been a better quarterback than Goff and Tua when the offense doesn’t work exactly as designed. That includes dealing with pressure, in particular:

Last season, for instance, he was the highest-rated quarterback against both pressure and the blitz, according to PFF. He ranked 5^th against pressure in 2022. He’s been better in this area for a longer period of time than both quarterbacks.

Sure, Cousins still gets into trouble at times with his decision-making and desire to try and fit the ball into tight windows. Although that is also what’s made him an effective passer throughout his career.

In all honesty, I’d probably have Cousins a spot or two higher if he wasn’t coming off of that Achilles injury. While running and movement aren’t huge aspects of his game, I have to believe his ability to move within the pocket will be somewhat impacted in 2024.

Either way, Cousins has been a heck of a quarterback for several years now. Is he top-tier? No. But he performs at a consistently high level, which is something not many quarterbacks can do.

Check out the rest of the rankings here:
#32 Bo Nix (Denver Broncos)
#31 Drake Maye (New England Patriots)
#30 J.J. McCarthy (Minnesota Vikings)
#29 Gardner Minshew (Las Vegas Raiders)
#28 Will Levis (Tennessee Titans)
#27 Deshaun Watson (Cleveland Browns)
#26 Anthony Richardson (Indianapolis Colts)
#25 Bryce Young (Carolina Panthers)
#24 Daniel Jones (New York Giants)
#23 Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders)
#22 Caleb Williams (Chicago Bears)
#21 Geno Smith (Seattle Seahawks)
#20 Russell Wilson (Pittsburgh Steelers)
#19 Derek Carr (New Orleans Saints)
#18 Baker Mayfield (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
#17 Kyler Murray (Arizona Cardinals)
#16 Trevor Lawrence (Jacksonville Jaguars)
#15 Jared Goff (Detroit Lions)
#14 Tua Tagovailoa (Miami Dolphins)
#13 Kirk Cousins (Atlanta Falcons)
#12 Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles)
#11 Brock Purdy (San Francisco 49ers)
#10 Jordan Love (Green Bay Packers)
#9 Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys)
#8 C.J. Stroud (Houston Texans)
#7 Justin Herbert (Los Angeles Chargers)
#6 Aaron Rodgers (New York Jets)
#5 Matthew Stafford (Los Angeles Rams)
#4 Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens)
#3 Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals)
#2 Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills)
#1 Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs)