NFL

Aaron Rodgers trade: Ranking all the AFC, NFC starting QBs after Packers, Jets strike blockbuster deal

by
SaC Bot
April 24, 2023

USATSI

Aaron Rodgers is finally headed to the Jets. A month after the Packers great announced he planned to play for New York in 2023, the two teams agreed Monday to a blockbuster deal that’ll grant the former MVP’s wishes. There are lots of immediate winners and losers from the trade — perhaps none bigger than Jordan Love, who will officially take over as the Packers’ quarterback.

But how does Rodgers’ move from the Packers shake up the QB landscape across the league, especially considering he’ll switch conferences for the first time in his 18-year career? Quite a bit, to be honest.

Here’s how we’d rank all 32 NFL QBs, separated by conference, in the wake of the trade:

AFC

If Zach Wilson were still tentatively slated to be the Jets’ QB1 in 2023, you could make a strong case he’d replace Mills as the 16th and final starting QB in the AFC pecking order. Now, at least according to our gut-reaction rankings here, we’re talking about the Jets entering 2023 with a borderline top-five signal-caller in the conference.

Mahomes, Burrow, Allen, Herbert and Lawrence are the next-generation studs — either ultra-athletic or ultra-poised prototypes who could just as easily register as the six best QBs in the entire NFL. Jackson, whose Ravens future remains unclear, could also fit in that category, and he might even boast a higher floor than Rodgers thanks to his unmatched electricity as a runner. But precision passing is still in A-Rod’s arsenal, and that counts for a lot, especially if you’ve got a playoff-ready roster around you.

No matter how you slice it, Rodgers’ arrival should be a major boost for the Jets’ stock in the AFC playoff race, and especially in the AFC East, where he already projects as superior to the Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa, who’s got major medical concerns; and Mac Jones, who’s under pressure to deliver in a revamped Patriots offense.

NFC

Rodgers’ departure from the NFC only intensifies the murkiness of this conference’s QB collection outside of, say, the top two: Hurts is a bona fide star after his 2022 breakout as the dual-threat leader of the Eagles, and Prescott, while streaky last year, has been a solid, steady hand for the Cowboys. But everyone else here, Love included, has a major question mark.

Cousins is the definition of solid, if unspectacular, and might well be leaving the NFC North himself after 2023. Fields has MVP-level athleticism but still has room to grow as a passer on the rebuilding Bears. Goff, Smith and Carr are essentially in the same boat as Cousins — serviceable, occasionally likable veterans who don’t necessarily project as long-term answers. And Jones had an efficient 2022 but, like Fields, has to prove he can win throwing the ball with an improved supporting cast.

That’s where Love comes in: Purdy, Stafford and Murray are all more experienced at the NFL level, but none of them are sure bets to be better in 2023, all coming off injury. It’s possible, if an NFC team spends a high pick on a top QB prospect, that Love could drop down the list, but the fact the Packers are moving on from a future Hall of Famer like Rodgers and still getting a likely top-10 signal-caller in the conference — and a talented 24-year-old one, at that — should be encouraging in Green Bay.

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Author: Cody Benjamin
April 24, 2023 | 6:14 pm

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