There is no quarterback controversy in Detroit with either starting QB Jared Goff or backup David Blough. But how would the Lions fare if Blough was thrust into action? How does he stack up against other No. 2 QBs around the league?
USA TODAY’s Nate Davis went through and ranked all 32 of the backup QBs. He ranked Blough and the Lions 25th overall, noting that Blough’s seven interceptions in 184 career attempts are suboptimal. However, Davis loses some credibility by trumpeting the “nifty prospect” that is Tim Boyle, who was thoroughly outplayed all summer by Blough before going on injured reserve.
Inspired by Davis, I decided to count up from the bottom to see where I would slot Blough. Based on his three starts in 2019 in relief of Matthew Stafford and what we’ve seen in preseason games, Blough is limited but not without some ability. He’s not close to the top half of the backups, so working from the bottom seemed more efficient. It was the answer to a simple question:
Would I rather have David Blough in 2021 or the other guy?
I came up with yay for Blough over the following situations:
- Jets – Mike White
- Ravens – Tyler Huntley
- Giants – Mike Glennon
- Titans – Logan Woodside
- Chargers – Chase Daniel
- Colts – Jacob Eason
- Cowboys – Will Grier or Cooper Rush
- Patriots – Brian Hoyer
- Falcons – Josh Rosen
I’d entertain arguments for Blough over Green Bay’s Jordan Love too; Love couldn’t beat out Boyle last season for the right to hold Aaron Rodgers’ clipboard, but things do change with young players. The Packers had certainly better hope so.
In any case, Blough landed 23rd on my list. Not radically different from the USA TODAY list, but it shows a little more respect for Blough over some truly awful veterans who should have been out of the league years ago. That includes the man Blough replaced in the job, Chase Daniel.
Given the situation the Lions are in at the ground floor of a rebuild, it’s not worth investing much more in a No. 2 quarterback. There are far worse options than Blough, but he’s also not likely to be the long-term backup to Goff or whoever takes over in Detroit in 2022 or beyond.
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