It wasn’t a good for quarterbacks last year. Passing in general was down. But that decline made the elite players at the position even more valuable.
Production in general was off, with teams averaging only 234 passing yards per game. They averaged 10 more yards the previous season, and over 253 in both the 2019 and 2020 season.
There also weren’t as many touchdown passes. Teams averaged only 23.4 TD last year. They were up at 27.2 and 26.3 the previous two seasons. Defenses seemingly have gotten smarter.
But while production was down in general, there were a few players at the position that were able to buck the trend – Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts and Joe Burrow. They paid off nicely for those who were willing to draft them.
Below see the per-game stats for quarterbacks from the last five years – the best of the 151 quarterbacks who’ve started at least half of a season in any of the last five years. Three of last year’s best quarterbacks (Allen, Mahomes, Hurts) rank in the top 6 (assuming standard scoring), Burrow comes in at 17th. Then there’s a gap, with nobody else ranking in the top 46 before Lamar Jackson, Justin Fields and Geno Smith show up.
So if you drafted one of those top 4 quarterbacks, you not only got good production, you got more of a statistical cap than had offenses continued to produce as they have in recent seasons.
Many people like to punt the quarterback position until the later rounds, but I don’t think anybody who selected those guys last year was complaining too much about the cost.
TOP 50 QUARTERBACKS (last 5 years) | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | St | Pass | TDP | Run | TDR | Pts |
2018 | Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | 16 | 319 | 3.13 | 17 | .13 | 31.0 |
2019 | Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 15 | 208 | 2.40 | 80 | .47 | 30.9 |
2022 | Josh Allen, Buff. | 16 | 268 | 2.19 | 48 | .44 | 29.8 |
2020 | Josh Allen, Buff. | 16 | 284 | 2.31 | 26 | .56 | 29.5 |
2020 | Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | 15 | 316 | 2.53 | 21 | .13 | 29.2 |
2022 | Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | 17 | 309 | 2.41 | 21 | .24 | 29.0 |
2022 | Jalen Hurts, Phil. | 15 | 247 | 1.47 | 51 | .87 | 28.7 |
2021 | Josh Allen, Buff. | 17 | 259 | 2.12 | 45 | .35 | 28.3 |
2020 | Kyler Murray, Ariz. | 16 | 248 | 1.63 | 51 | .69 | 28.2 |
2020 | Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 16 | 269 | 3.00 | 9 | .19 | 27.5 |
2020 | Deshaun Watson, Hou. | 16 | 301 | 2.06 | 28 | .19 | 27.3 |
2020 | Russell Wilson, Sea. | 16 | 263 | 2.50 | 32 | .13 | 27.2 |
2021 | Tom Brady, T.B. | 17 | 313 | 2.53 | 5 | .12 | 26.9 |
2018 | Ben Roethlisberger, Pitt. | 16 | 321 | 2.13 | 6 | .19 | 26.8 |
2018 | Matt Ryan, Atl. | 16 | 308 | 2.19 | 8 | .25 | 26.7 |
2019 | Jameis Winston, T.B. | 16 | 319 | 2.06 | 16 | .06 | 26.7 |
2021 | Justin Herbert, LAC | 17 | 295 | 2.24 | 18 | .18 | 26.6 |
2022 | Joe Burrow, Cin. | 16 | 280 | 2.19 | 16 | .31 | 26.6 |
2020 | Justin Herbert, LAC | 15 | 289 | 2.07 | 16 | .33 | 26.5 |
2019 | Ryan Tannehill, Ten. | 10 | 260 | 2.20 | 18 | .40 | 26.2 |
2021 | Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | 17 | 285 | 2.18 | 22 | .12 | 26.0 |
2019 | Deshaun Watson, Hou. | 15 | 257 | 1.73 | 28 | .53 | 25.9 |
2019 | Dak Prescott, Dall. | 16 | 306 | 1.88 | 17 | .19 | 25.8 |
2020 | Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 15 | 184 | 1.73 | 67 | .47 | 25.8 |
2020 | Tom Brady, T.B. | 16 | 290 | 2.50 | 0 | .19 | 25.6 |
2021 | Kyler Murray, Ariz. | 14 | 271 | 1.71 | 30 | .36 | 25.5 |
2018 | Jameis Winston, T.B. | 9 | 294 | 1.78 | 29 | .11 | 25.4 |
2018 | Andrew Luck, Ind. | 16 | 287 | 2.44 | 9 | .00 | 25.3 |
2020 | Ryan Tannehill, Ten. | 16 | 239 | 2.06 | 17 | .44 | 24.8 |
2018 | Deshaun Watson, Hou. | 16 | 260 | 1.63 | 34 | .31 | 24.8 |
2021 | Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 12 | 240 | 1.33 | 64 | .17 | 24.7 |
2021 | Dak Prescott, Dall. | 16 | 278 | 2.31 | 9 | .06 | 24.6 |
2018 | Cam Newton, Car. | 14 | 243 | 1.71 | 35 | .29 | 24.5 |
2018 | Jared Goff, LAR | 16 | 293 | 2.00 | 7 | .13 | 24.5 |
2021 | Joe Burrow, Cin. | 16 | 288 | 2.13 | 7 | .13 | 24.4 |
2019 | Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | 14 | 288 | 1.86 | 16 | .14 | 24.4 |
2021 | Matthew Stafford, LAR | 17 | 287 | 2.41 | 3 | .00 | 24.3 |
2019 | Daniel Jones, NYG | 12 | 251 | 2.00 | 23 | .17 | 24.2 |
2020 | Kirk Cousins, Min. | 16 | 267 | 2.19 | 10 | .06 | 24.1 |
2019 | Russell Wilson, Sea. | 16 | 257 | 1.94 | 21 | .19 | 24.0 |
2021 | Jalen Hurts, Phil. | 15 | 210 | 1.07 | 52 | .67 | 24.0 |
2019 | Drew Brees, N.O. | 11 | 271 | 2.45 | 0 | .09 | 23.9 |
2021 | Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 16 | 257 | 2.31 | 6 | .19 | 23.9 |
2018 | Drew Brees, N.O. | 15 | 266 | 2.13 | 1 | .27 | 23.7 |
2019 | Matt Ryan, Atl. | 15 | 298 | 1.73 | 10 | .07 | 23.3 |
2018 | Mitchell Trubisky, Chi. | 14 | 230 | 1.71 | 30 | .21 | 23.2 |
2022 | Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 12 | 187 | 1.42 | 64 | .25 | 23.0 |
2018 | Baker Mayfield, Clev. | 13 | 271 | 2.08 | 10 | .00 | 23.0 |
2022 | Justin Fields, Chi. | 15 | 149 | 1.13 | 76 | .53 | 23.0 |
2018 | Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 16 | 278 | 1.56 | 17 | .13 | 22.9 |
—Ian Allan