NFL’s preseason passing leaders: Packers’ Boyle sandwiched between former Packers

Brett Hundley is No. 1 and another former Packers quarterback is No. 3.

Preseason success has so little to do with what happens in the regular season that it might as well be a different sport.

Nonetheless, a look at the passer-rating leaderboard at the end of Friday’s exhibition games came with a green-and-yellow tint.

Former Packers draft pick and Brett Hundley has the league’s best passer rating. Playing for Arizona, Hundley is 20-of-29 passing (69.0 percent) for 243 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. That equates to a 117.5 rating.

Green Bay’s Tim Boyle, who is battling DeShone Kizer to be Aaron Rodgers’ backup for this season, is 31-of-51 passing (60.8 percent) for 338 yards with a league-high five touchdowns and zero interceptions. That equates to a 113.0 rating for “Tim Boyle Laser Show.”

New Orleans’ Taysom Hill, who had an impressive training camp with the Packers as an undrafted rookie in 2017 but failed to make the roster, is 19-of-29 passing (65.5 percent) for 216 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. That equates to a 107.8 rating.

It’s worth noting Hundley led the NFL in preseason passer rating with his 129.7 mark as a rookie in 2015 but bombed when he replaced an injured Rodgers in 2017. So, who knows if Boyle’s preseason production is fool’s gold or a tantalizing peek at a legit NFL quarterback.

“There’s some things here and there I have to clean up,” Boyle said this week. “I’ve missed some throws but, for the most part, I’m pretty happy with how things have been going so far.”

Hill’s 124.8 passer rating as a rookie would have led the NFL had he thrown enough passes to qualify. The Packers, however, went with Hundley and released Hill – due in part to Hill’s age (he was 26 going on 27) and injury history (four season-ending injuries in five seasons at BYU). He’s been an excellent gadget player and special-teams weapon for the Saints, and he’s seen as a potential successor to 40-year-old starter Drew Brees.

Last week, Saints coach Sean Payton compared Hill to Steve Young.

“Well, if you look back at Steve’s career, and people don’t remember his time before he came into the NFL, you had a very athletic player that I think advanced when he got to San Francisco,” Payton said. “And he always had great ability with his legs. So, you’re trying to create visions for players -- no different than how you would evaluate [fellow Saints backup QB Teddy Bridgewater], what he can be. And I think that that’s the business we’re in. … that was something that as you began to watch [Hill’s] skill-set, you’re just trying to think of players that were similar at an early stage in their career.”