Inside The Vikings

Chris Simms Ranks Kirk Cousins 13th on His Top 40 NFL Quarterbacks List

Is Simms' ranking for Cousins too low, too high, or just about right?
Will Ragatz|
Chris Simms Ranks Kirk Cousins 13th on His Top 40 NFL Quarterbacks List
Chris Simms Ranks Kirk Cousins 13th on His Top 40 NFL Quarterbacks List

Former NFL quarterback and current NBC Sports analyst Chris Simms has been slowly unveiling his annual ranking of the top 40 quarterbacks in the league. This past week, we finally found out where Vikings QB Kirk Cousins falls in Simms' list: No. 13.

As you can see, Simms has Cousins ahead of Tom Brady and Drew Brees, but behind Ryan Tannehill and Kyler Murray. It has since been revealed that No. 10 on his list is Cam Newton, who currently does not have a team.

The other quarterbacks in Simms' top 10 – the order hasn't been announced yet – are Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson, Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, Carson Wentz, Dak Prescott, and Matt Ryan.

Right away, it's worth noting that Simms' rankings should be taken with a grain of salt. Yes, he's a former NFL QB and knows what he's talking about, but certain aspects of this list give off the impression that he's just trying to stir up some controversy or discussion and get more people listening to his podcast. For example, ranking Brees at No. 16 is ridiculous and laughable. The Saints QB finished second in both passer rating and PFF grade last year. It's a joke to rank him outside of the top seven, much less the top 15.

But still, it's worth talking about Cousins' place in these rankings. I get the feeling that the national perception of Cousins is still lagging behind his actual talent level, likely due to certain narratives about big games that – while pointless – can be hard to shake.

Based on last year's performance, Cousins should be firmly in the top 10. He ranked sixth in PFF grade, fourth in passer rating, third in completion percentage above expectation (CPOE), sixth in touchdown percentage, and seventh in adjusted net yards per attempt (ANY/A). Pick an efficiency-based metric and Cousins is in the top 10. Based on the stats, you can pretty easily make an argument that he's the best quarterback in the NFC North.

The main criticism against him is that he struggles to create plays off script. I get that, and that's why I have no problem keeping him out of the top seven or so. But that's just one element of quarterback play. Cousins is one of the most accurate passers in the league, made very few mistakes with the football last year, and can stand in under pressure and deliver a strike to any area of the field.

Is he perfect? No. Is he better than Tannehill, Murray, and Newton, with strong arguments to be above Ryan, Prescott, Wentz, and Stafford? Absolutely. It's not quite as disrespectful as Brees at 16, but Simms has Cousins too low in his rankings.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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