NFL: Quarterback index post week 6

The next group

11. Kirk Cousins

12. Cam Newton

13. Matt Stafford

14. Deshaun Watson

15. Ben Roethlisberger

16. Alex Smith

Did you see those pump-up speeches Cousins held to his teammates? I didn’t know he had that in him. What I did know about him is that he is a really good quarterback. He might not have a ton of success to show for in those big-time matchups so far, but this season he has been outstanding and clearly an upgrade over Case Keenum. Cousins takes advantage of those weapons he has around him and the wins will pile up as the defense re-establishes itself.

I have been critical of Cam for most of his career and I still see instances where he is wildly inconsistent with his accuracy – like his final three pass attempts versus the Redskins on Sunday – but he seems to be very comfortable in this Norv Turner offense. Newton is on pace for his best number in terms of completion percentage and you can’t only evaluate him as a pure passer, because he is the most dangerous running QB in the league.

It is hard to judge Stafford based on his first couple of starts, because I thought he was still in that mode of “let’s get into the shotgun, sling it around and work my magic at the end of the game” and when Matt Patricia and his coaching staff came in, they asked him to actually play situational football and hand it off at a high rate for the first time. I think he still is one of the most talented and gritty QBs in the league and he will only get better.

The hype around Deshaun Watson this offseason was crazy and it went so far that people picked him to win MVP this year. I think we all looked at him as something special and I thought he was clearly the best quarterback when he came into the draft, but he is still learning the nuances of being an NFL quarterback. Coming off that ACL he looked down on the rush way too much in those first few games and he needs to get more consistent overall. However, he’s incredibly dynamic and poised.

Rodgers and Brady aside, is there anybody in the league who can lead his team down the field quicker than Big Ben? I mean it seems like when the Steelers have the ball at the end of the game with just some time on the clock, they get into the end-zone or into field goal range every single time. He still has those one or two games a season, where he throws multiple picks and you scratch your head, but for every one of those he has one where he just goes off.

Unlike some of those other guys in this category, Smith doesn’t always operate in one of those explosive offenses where he just throws it all over the field. The Redskins are at their best when they run the ball down the opponent’s throat and have their quarterback going play-action. However, Smith is still excellent at what he does. He loves to work the middle of the field, extends play with his legs and takes care of the ball.