Colin Cowherd Ranks Kirk Cousins 7th Among NFC Quarterbacks, Behind Derek Carr

Kirk Cousins is coming off a year in which he reunited with Kevin O'Connell and led Minnesota to 13 wins, an NFL-high eight of which involved fourth-quarter comebacks. He made his third Pro Bowl in the last four years, threw for over 4,500 yards, and extended his 'consecutive seasons with 25+ touchdown passes' streak to eight, the longest active run in the league.

At the same time, Cousins is also coming off the worst season of his starting career according to efficiency metrics like passer rating, QBR, and adjusted net yards per attempt. He threw a career-high 14 interceptions in 2022, as well.

In light of this week's quarterback news — Derek Carr signed with the Saints and Geno Smith and Daniel Jones inked extensions with the Seahawks and Giants, respectively — it's interesting to think about where Cousins falls among the NFC's best quarterbacks. Where, exactly, does the Vikings' polarizing signal-caller fall in the conference's QB hierarchy heading into the 2023 season? It's a much weaker group than what the AFC has to offer.

According to Colin Cowherd, Cousins just barely cracks the top half. Here's how Cowherd ranked the NFC's top 8 QBs:

Matthew Stafford, LAR
Jalen Hurts, PHI
Jared Goff, DET
Kyler Murray, ARI
Dak Prescott, DAL
Derek Carr, NO
Kirk Cousins, MIN
Geno Smith, SEA

Missing the list entirely are Daniel Jones, Brock Purdy, Justin Fields, and whoever the quarterbacks end up being in Green Bay, Washington, Carolina, Atlanta, and Tampa Bay.

Just seventh for Cousins?

"I don't get any mobility, I don't get a big arm, he shrinks in big games," Cowherd said. "I mean, what do you want me to say? But he does give you 4,000 yards passing almost every year, seven of eight years you get 4,000 yards passing. Now unlike Derek Carr, when you need him in the fourth quarter, I can trust Derek, I never trust Kirk. And unlike Dak Prescott, Dak can move around a little bit with his feet, Kirk can't. So I put him at seven."

It's a somewhat laughable take, to be frank. Cousins has his flaws, but he doesn't have any real issues with arm strength. He's not Justin Herbert or Josh Allen in that department, but he can make all the throws you ask him to make. And to say he can't be trusted in the fourth quarter feels rather silly after Cousins led the league by a wide margin with eight fourth-quarter comebacks last season.

Criticizing Cousins' lack of mobility and ability to create outside of structure is valid. Criticizing his sometimes robotic, "go where my reads take me" style of play is fair, even if he improved in that regard under O'Connell. But to rank him seventh among the current crop of NFC quarterbacks — and to cite some of the things Cowherd cited — has to be rooted more in longstanding narratives surrounding players than in their actual on-field performance.

Here's what my list would look like, heavily weighting the 2022 season but also considering previous years:

Jalen Hurts
Matthew Stafford (if healthy)
Dak Prescott
Kirk Cousins
Kyler Murray
Geno Smith
Derek Carr
Daniel Jones/Jared Goff

Goff was pretty good last year, but Cowherd ranking him third blew my mind a bit.

The best AND worst free agent signing?

This sums things up pretty well: ESPN recently listed every team's best and worst free agent signing since 2018, and Kevin Seifert humorously chose Cousins for both categories.

Best signing:

Kirk Cousins

, QB, 2018

Judging Cousins' time in Minnesota must include the context of what preceded him. The Vikings had used 10 primary starting quarterbacks in the 12 seasons since Daunte Culpepper's

career-altering knee injury

in 2005. Since his arrival, Cousins has brought the Vikings a rare level of stability. In short, Cousins is the Vikings' most reliable and best performer at the position over the past two decades.

Worst signing: Cousins

The premium nature of the Cousins acquisition gave him extraordinary leverage over his future, regardless of performance, while requiring the Vikings to accept that they were playing elite money —

three years, $84 million fully guaranteed

— to a player who was good but not transcendent. Cap considerations forced the Vikings to extend the contract twice in five seasons, and they are now mulling a third. No NFL player consumed more cap space ($136.4 million) between 2018 and '22, and only two (

Russell Wilson

and

Aaron Rodgers

) earned more cash than Cousins' $155 million.

Two things can be true: Cousins has given the Vikings stability they hadn't had in a long time, while not fully living up to expectations with just one playoff win and two appearances in five years. He's a good, sometimes great, but decidedly not elite quarterback getting paid top-tier money. That's what makes the Vikings' decision this offseason — extend the soon-to-be 35-year-old Cousins a third time or let him play out the final year of his deal — such a fascinating one.

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