Where does Tua Tagovailoa rank now in the AFC with Aaron Rodgers now part of it?
By Brian Miller
Tua Tagovailoa once again finds himself being left out of QB power rankings, especially now that Aaron Rodgers has joined the AFC.
There has been a lot of talk about Aaron Rodgers joining the New York Jets and why shouldn't there be? Rodgers makes the AFC more competitive and that is always a good thing. The best brings out the best and separates the rest.
Since Rodgers became a Jet, not quite official just yet but the deal is done, the media have been spouting how the Jets are now the best team in the NFL. Power rankings have the Jets at number one. Rodgers, however, is not the top QB in the NFL and he isn't the top in the AFC.
That being said, Rodgers is making quite the stir and while the media drool over the trade, it is once again Tua Tagovailoa being shown little respect. It's like an old broken record that the needle just keeps skipping and scratching. Some of you will need to Google what vinyl and a needle is.
The consensus remains Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, and Josh Allen at the top, especially in the AFC.
CBS Sports released a ranking of every starting quarterback in the NFL. The ranks were done with the AFC and NFC separated. Mahomes, Burrow, and Allen led the top three spots in the AFC while Hurts, Prescott, and Cousins led the NFC.
It is what came next that got me thinking about where Tua should rank because on this list and several others, Tua isn't in the top five and is barely in the top 10. In CBS' ranking, Tua is 9th.
Tua is behind Herbert, Lawrence, Rodgers, Lamar Jackson, Watson, and only one spot above Garoppolo, and two above R. Wilson.
Is that a fair or unbiased ranking? Where should Tua really rank? If we are talking about pure talent, potential, and statistics, he should be higher.
I concede the top three to Mahomes, Burrow, and Allen but I don't think Herbert is 4th and I like Herbert. I think Herbert is outside the top five but I do think he is better than Jackson and Watson.
Rodgers had a bad season last year but I think that the 4-time MVP should be 4th. Until he fails in New York, you can't summarily dismiss him and he should be ranked above Tua.
Now, where should he be ranked? For starters, Tua has shown that he can be a better quarterback than Lamar Jackson who also has had his fill of injuries. Jackson is a good QB but he his bread and butter is his running ability. I would rank him lower than Tua.
Trevor Lawrence has a lot of things that you like to see in a quarterback but he led his team out of the cellar and beat a reeling Tennessee team in one of the worst divisions in the NFL. The Jaguars don't go to the playoffs last year if the Titans win one more game and they led a few and then folded.
Lawrence still has to prove he can be a consistent winner but we haven't seen that yet. I would put Tua above Lawrence.
Deshaun Watson is interesting because I don't think we know the QB he really is now. The Browns invested a lot and only have an 8 game season of work to know if he has all the rust off. Last year, he didn't. There is a lot of things about Watson that is great but he hasn't shown up yet in Cleveland. I would put Tua above Watson.
My rankings are based on what we know and what we have seen from Tua and the other quarterbacks.
1. Patrick Mahomes
2. Joe Burrow
3. Josh Allen
4. Aaron Rodgers
5. Tua Tagovailoa
6. Justin Herbert
7. Deshaun Watson
8. Lamar Jackson
9. Trevor Lawrence
10. Jimmy Garoppolo
If you put your dislike of Tua down and your over-hyped love of Tua away depending on the side of the fence you stand on, where would you realistically put him?