As the NFL learns to embrace advanced metrics, there are stories to tell from those numbers, especially when you match them with tape. One of the things these drill-down stats give you is an interesting set of names when it comes to the best quarterbacks for different types of throws, in different schemes, against different defensive ideas and with certain pre-snap and post-snap advantages and disadvantages.
When I first put together a list of the best quarterbacks for every type of throw last year using the Sports Info Solutions database, there were a number of different quarterbacks who showed up in a positive sense — everyone from Drew Brees and Russell Wilson to Ryan Tannehill (who hit the list more than any other quarterback, and we should stop assuming that Tannehill isn’t up to the Julio Jones addition).
In the sequel to that exercise for the 2020 season, one quarterback stood out above all: Aaron Charles Rodgers. The reigning NFL MVP, and a guy who has made it very clear that he no longer wants to be a part of the Green Bay Packers, had an insanely great season that looks even better when you go beyond the traditional numbers.
There are other quarterbacks on this list, but Rodgers proved as few other quarterbacks can in any one season that no matter what he did, or what defenses did against him, he was going to blow up those defenses in every way possible. If the Packers can’t work this out, someone’s going to get an all-timer at the top of his game. It should also be said that, based on a lot of these numbers, Rodgers may not do quite as well in any system that isn’t authored by Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur.
That marriage counseling aside, here are the best quarterbacks for every type of throw for the 2020 season.