Tag: QB ranking

Derek Carr rises up the quarterback rankings going into Week 2

Derek Carr climbed up three spots in the QB rankings after an efficient season opener. Can he fly higher in Week 2?

After a strong open to the season, New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr has risen up the NFL QB rankings. NFL.com’s Around the NFL writer Nick Shook writes a weekly quarterback rankings and was impressed with the performance Carr put on versus the Carolina Panthers.

After opening the year at No. 20, Carr is now ranked at No. 17. While no one is saying Carr is in the upper echelon of the league, that small rise is the difference from being in the average class to below. Carr’s 200 yards don’t jump off the screen. He was efficient and paired his yardage with 3 passing touchdowns. Here’s what Shook had to say about his performance:

I caution everyone to avoid overreacting to Week 1, but it sure was refreshing to see Carr have some fun playing football. After trudging through most of the 2023 season, Carr had new life in the Saints’ season opener, letting it fly with no fear and cashing in each time via a 59-yard touchdown strike to Rashid Shaheed, a risky floater to Foster Moreau while scrambling, and a rollout toss to Juwan Johnson for a third score. Carr’s stat line matched the ease with which he operated against the lowly Panthers, but I can guarantee the going will be tougher in the weeks ahead. We’ll see if Carr can carry this momentum into more difficult matchups.

Now Carr walks into one of those more difficult matchups on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys are simply a better team than the Panthers with Pro Bowl and All-Pro talent on defense. The offensive line will have deal with a more dynamic pass rush and more dangerous secondary.

The Saints offensive line was last week’s pivot point, and they’ll be even more important this week. Carr will also have to look out for the Cowboys’ cornerbacks who have reputations as ballhawks. Trevon Diggs led the league in interceptions in 2021, and DaRon Bland did the same last year.

A good performance this week should put Carr in the top half of the rankings. Let’s see if he can get it done on Sunday.

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The Ringer’s 2022 QB rankings have interesting take on Jameis Winston

The Ringer’s 2022 QB rankings have an interesting take on Jameis Winston. He’s in a good spot to improve, but right now he’s part of a thin middle class at quarterback:

Here’s an intriguing exercise from Steven Ruiz at the Ringer, who ranked all 32 starting quarterbacks entering Week 1 — including New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston. Coming off of an efficient seven-game start to 2021 that got derailed by a major injury, Winston is now ranked at No. 17 — almost making him a prime meridian within the league’s haves and have-nots.

To break it down further, Winston is part of a thin middle class at quarterback in Ruiz’s rankings, slotting in on the same tier as Trevor Lawrence (81.8 overall grade), Kirk Cousins (81.7), Ryann Tannehill (81.4), Mac Jones (78.6), and Marcus Mariota (77.2). It’s a group made up of a few highly-drafted youngsters (Lawrence and Jones) and some embattled veterans trying hard to hang onto their starting jobs. They may or may not prove to be franchise quarterbacks — long-term solutions to the game’s most important position — but they occupy the space between the league’s sure things and the passers who aren’t likely to cut the mustard.

So it’s interesting to see Winston in that number. Summed up as “A bucket-getter who has a bit of a turnover problem,” Winston’s 79.5 grade brings highest marks for his arm talent, accuracy, pocket presence and creativity but criticizes his decision-making process and ability pre-snap to read the defensive coverage and diagnose where pressure is coming from, adjusting the line accordingly. That was a problem at times last year, too.

Those are things he can fix, and it lines up with what we saw out of Winston last year. Payton was hesitant to let him attempt a high volume of passes (owing to his history of giving the ball to the opposing team), but Winston did make strides in cutting down on negative plays. Tragically, he was also playing his best football just before his season-ending knee injury. Now he’s had to bounce back from that and continue to work on improving his game.

It’s on Winston to put those questions to rest. He’s in a great spot to succeed, with the Saints investing heavily in his supporting cast; Alvin Kamara, Ryan Ramczyk, and Michael Thomas are each playing on top-shelf contracts, and newcomers Chris Olave and Jarvis Landry should bring a big boost to the receiving corps. New position coaches at receiver and offensive line or installing first-year starters. But it isn’t a sure thing to say Winston will be the Saints quarterback for years to come. The team has told you that themselves by signing him to a short-term extension this summer. If he shows the progress everyone is looking for, both sides likely agree on a longer partnership. But again: it’s on Winston to earn that.

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