WELCOME TO THE RINGER’S 2022 QB RANKINGS. Steven Ruiz will keep track of the league’s quarterbacks all season, grading them on six different attributes to determine the NFL’s best passers. He’ll also hand out badges to signify strengths, weaknesses, and who has that dog in him. It’s a quarterback’s league. We have it covered.
QB Rankings
Patrick Mahomes is the best football player I’ve ever seen. Not just the best quarterback: the best player, full stop. I saw most of Peyton Manning’s and Tom Brady’s respective primes. I watched Drew Brees stack numbers (and wins) in New Orleans. I’ve seen highlights and old games of Dan Marino, John Elway, and Joe Montana. None of them were this dude. None of them played quarterback at this level. Nobody ever has.
Mind you, I would not have owned this take at this time a year ago. The Mahomes we saw last year was far from the best quarterback ever. That version was just as talented, but over the last 12 months, the Chiefs superstar has leveled up in areas that may be harder to appreciate. He’s throwing shorter passes and fewer downfield heaves. He still abandons the structure of a play, but he’s been even more effective when improvising. He’s taken more command of the offense before the snap and always has a plan B when things don’t go as planned.
This upgraded Mahomes is capable of winning in a variety of ways. He can do the Manning coach-on-the-field thing. He can be as precise as Brees, as prolific as Marino, as physically impressive as Elway, and as clutch as Brady. He’ll have to win a few more titles and another MVP (or two) before he catches up to Brady in the legacy department, but he’s already well on his way.