NFL QB Rankings: Russell Wilson Demoted to Tier 4, Kirk Cousins to Tier 3 by 50 Coaches and Executives

Everyone loves a good quarterback ranking hierarchy. The top four quarterbacks — Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson — are obvious to most people. According to The Athletic’s annual QB tiers, “NFL industry experts” agree. They believe those four signal-callers, and Matthew Stafford, are the league’s five tier-one passers.

Russell Wilson and Kirk Cousins once found themselves amongst the NFL’s upper-echelon quarterbacks. Times have changed, though. These days, the longtime veterans are either trying their best to hold off a rookie first-round pick (Wilson) or are backing up a second-year first-round selection (Cousins). As a result, they find themselves far down the aforementioned list.

Cousins, despite being second string, sits at No. 25 overall in The Athletic’s tier rankings. He’s the lowest-rated quarterback in the third tier and resides one spot ahead of Wilson (No. 26), who tops the fourth tier. Shockingly, Michael Penix Jr. lags slightly behind both men, at No. 28, even though he’s above Cousins on the Atlanta Falcons’ depth chart.

Jalen Hurts barely snags top 10 ranking from NFL industry experts

The Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LIX on the strength of their dominant trenches and Jalen Hurts’ efficiency. Hurts completed 77.3% of his passes (17/22) and averaged 10 yards per pass attempt in the contest. Throw his additional 6.5 yards per carry into the equation, and he was the runaway Super Bowl MVP.

While Hurts was clearly the best quarterback in Super Bowl LIX, The Athletic’s survey indicates he’s not on the level of Mahomes… or a few other passers. He’s smack dab in the middle of tier two, tied with C.J. Stroud for No. 9 overall. Jayden Daniels, Justin Herbert and Jared Goff are in front of Hurts; Baker Mayfield, Dak Prescott, Jordan Love and Brock Purdy are behind him to round out the tier.

Hurts has not had to carry the Eagles like any of the tier one signal-callers have had to carry their respective franchises at one point or another. Philadelphia’s fanbase will say it’s unfair to hold general manager Howie Roseman’s genius roster construction against Hurts. However, the surveyed experts obviously believe Roseman’s greatness has impacted Hurts’ output. Kurt Benkert’s own opinion of the list supports their thoughts.

Hurts didn’t need any more doubters fueling his fire, but he won’t mind having additional bulletin board material as he aims to defend his Lombardi Trophy. His season kicks off when the Eagles raise their Super Bowl LIX banner on Thursday, Sept. 4 versus the Dallas Cowboys.