2023 Pre-Season Rank #10, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #10, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #17, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #19. (Peak Period: 2016-20)

The Russell Wilson era in Seattle ended after a Super Bowl win and nine Pro Bowls, but what if Marshawn Lynch ran on that play (you all know which one!) and departed Emerald City as a two-time Super Bowl Champion?  That likely would make him a Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, but his two years in Denver were disastrous and gave post-Philadelphia Donovan McNabb vibes.  This has dropped his rank, and though he has a change of scenery in Pittsburgh, there is a very competent quarterback in Justin Fields who will quickly takeover if the Steelers struggle.  The narrative on Wilson has not changed for the better over the last 24 months.

2023 Pre-Season Rank #1, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #2, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #2, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #3.

The last batch of rounds around the sun has been fascinating for Aaron Rodgers.  

Rodgers, who has dated Olivia Munn, Danica Patrick, and Shailene Woodley, was even considered the permanent host of Jeopardy.  It looked like he would cross over into non-sports stardom, but that came crashing down, and he has been involved in more Hollywood feuds (see Jimmy Kimmel) and was thrust into the culture war when it was revealed that he did not get the COVID-19 vaccine and espoused conspiracy theories.  He became much less marketable than he used to be, and there are circles where he is high atop the list of the most hated athletes.  Last season, he was injured on the first drive with his new team, the New York Jets, and speculation has run wild that age has caught up to him.

None of this will matter.

Whether or not any voter dislikes Rodgers or not, no active player has the statistical resume that he has.  If he is healthy, he will continue to climb the stat ladder (he is 33 TDs behind Brett Favre for fourth), and a 3,500 Yard year leaps him over Dan Marino, Matt Ryan, and Phillip Rivers for sixth all-time.  No multi-time MVP has ever failed to enter Canton, and he has four.  Throw in the Super Bowl, and it is an open-and-shut case, regardless of what happens next.

Quarterbacks: Troy Aikman (2006), Brett Favre (2016), Peyton Manning (2021) Dan Marino (2005), Kurt Warner (2017), Steve Young (2005).

Ah, the Quarterback.  As Coach Tony D’Amato said in “Any Given Sunday,” it is the most important position in the game.  It has also changed the most over the last 40 years. 

The last group of QBs that have entered Canton would relish the modern game.  Pivots have been blessed with more advantageous rule changes, so passing metrics have skyrocketed.  We also see far more mobile QBs than ever before, with their rushing numbers increasing.  As Aikman, Marino, and Young are more products of the previous era, when they depart the last five instead of players like Tom Brady and Drew Brees, the Modern Positional Average will fall more in line with what we see now.  Until then, we have to keep that in mind!

To help reflect the changing game, we are looking at the Top Five finishes in traditional stats. We will be able to examine more advanced stats in the future, but as this is a recent addition, we can’t do that to the best of our wishes.

Here are the statistics that we are using based on the last group of Quarterbacks to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame:

• Games Played: 211.3
• Approximate Value: 191.3
• Approximate Value per Games Played: 0.9053
• Games Started: 204.5
• Approximate Value per Games Started: 0.9353
• Approximate Value per Five-Year Peak: 83.67
• Approximate Value’s Best Five Results: 86
• MVP Top Five Finishes* **: 172
• Offensive Player of the Year* **: 14.3
• Pro Bowls: 8.5
• First Team All-Pros*: 3
• Passing Yards: 50,592
• Passing Yards Five-Year Peak: 19,370
• Top Five Passing Yards Finish*: 24.2
• Touchdown Passes: 345.3
• Touchdown Passes Five-Year Peak: 145.8
• Top Five Touchdown Pass Finish*: 25.7
• Interceptions: 202.5
• Touchdown-INT Ratio: 1.68
• Completion Percentage: 63.0%
• Completion Percentage Peak: 64.80%
• Top Five Completion Percentage Finish*: 23.3
• Passer Rating: 90.2
• Top Five Passer Rating Finish*: 21.8
• Rushing Yards 1392.2
• Rushing Touchdowns 16
• Super Bowl Wins 1.6
• Super Bowl Appearances 2.8

*This is an aggregate of the Top Five finishes (5^th = 1, 4^th = 2, 3^rd = 3, 2^nd = 4^th, 1^st = 5)
**This is a reminder that the All-Pros we use are from the AP.