The Kansas City Chiefs (obviously) have the best quarterback situation in the NFL
With the 2020 NFL Draft less than two weeks away, Sports Illustrated’s Connor Orr ranked how each team is doing in the quarterback department and put the Kansas City Chiefs at the top of his list.
The draft presents several good quarterbacks from the college ranks, starting with LSU’s Joe Burrow and Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, but the Chiefs won’t be dipping their metaphorical toe in the college signal-caller water.
Orr said Patrick Mahomes at the helm was enough to give Kansas City the top spot.
The best young player in the game, Mahomes is only developing within an offense that is punishingly broad on opponents and can expand further as Mahomes adds more tools. Mahomes will soon be the most expensive quarterback in the NFL, but is worth every penny.
While the Chiefs appear to be set with Mahomes, Chad Henne, Kyle Shurmur and new signing Jordan Ta’amu, the rest of the AFC West have room for improvement.
The second-highest conference foe for the Chiefs is the Oakland Raiders at the No. 12 spot.
Orr said this about the group of Derek Carr, Marcus Mariota, DeShone Kizer and Nate Peterman:
Carr finished sixth behind Lamar Jackson in Football Outsiders’ Defensive Yards Above Replacement metric last year and eighth in QB-DVOA. While there did seem to be a brief flirtation with Tom Brady on Las Vegas’s part, it seems sanity has prevailed. Had Carr been thrust into the market, he would have been a hot commodity despite the saturated QB market.
One of the teams expected to search for a quarterback via the draft is the Los Angeles Chargers. After long-time quarterback Phillip Rivers departed the team earlier this offseason, the Chargers were left with Tyrod Taylor as their starting quarterback.
Here’s what Orr said about Los Angeles and why he ranked them 25th:
I like the idea of Taylor finally getting the reins back for at least a few games, though there is little doubt the Chargers are taking his eventual replacement in Round 1. Taylor played well alongside Anthony Lynn in Buffalo and, with the momentum of the entire organization finally behind him (for at least a little while) I think the Chargers are in line to surprise.
Despite all the confidence fans have shown in Denver Broncos starting quarterback and Missouri alum Drew Lock, Orr ranked the Broncos the lowest of the AFC West teams.
Denver came in at No. 29, only ahead of the Miami Dolphins, Washington, and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Drew Lock is beloved by the Broncos fan base, perhaps with good reason. I think the sample size is still too small and am not a huge fan of the coordinator change. Rich Scangarello, now with the Eagles, works well with young quarterbacks and helped steer the offense down the stretch.
To go with the top quarterback situation ranking, Kansas City ranks first in SI.com's Jenny Vrentas’ pre-draft power rankings.
To read Oor’s full rankings of NFL quarterback situations, click here.
