Since 2008, there wasn’t a discussion about who the best quarterback in the NFC North was. The conversation started and ended with Aaron Rodgers during his time with the Green Bay Packers. Now that Rodgers is a part of the New York Jets, the conversation has opened back up. The title for the best quarterback in the division is firmly up for grabs.
If you look at each candidate, they all have an argument for the crown. In this exercise, we dig into the four quarterbacks and decide who deserves to be named the best quarterback in the NFC North.
All statistics are brought to you by Pro Football Reference unless otherwise stated.
4. Jordan Love
To put it plainly, we have no idea what the Green Bay Packers are getting out of Love.
In ten games, he has completed 50/83 of his passes (60.2% completion percentage) for 606 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. He has a QB rating of 79.7.
Love has logged 93 snaps in his career. Between 2021 and 2022, 67 quarterbacks have logged 90 or more snaps. Of those 67, Love ranked 44th in EPA/play, 46th in success rate and 53rd in completion percentage over expected.
These numbers came from one spot start in 2021 against the Kansas City Chiefs and a few snaps here and there in lopsided games. Love has never had a chance to get into a rhythm until now. So nobody truly knows what we will see from the former first-round pick out of Utah State.
He’s shown flashes of becoming the next heir to the Green Bay lineage of quarterback play. But the numbers that he’s put up thus far are underwhelming. Unless he puts it all together this season, there will be more questions than answers surrounding Love.
3. Justin Fields
Over his first two seasons, Justin Fields has completed 351/588 of his passes (59.7% completion) for 4112 yards, 24 touchdowns and 21 interceptions. He has the same QB rating as Love at 79.7.
Fields is another quarterback that is in the wait-and-see stage of his development. However, the Chicago Bears have already shown how they will deploy Fields. He is a dual-threat weapon. His 7.1 yards per attempt led all rushers, not just quarterbacks. His ability to use his feet has helped make up for his early struggles throwing the football.
His struggles are there. Adjusted net yards per attempt (ANY/A) is a formula to measure a quarterback’s performance per dropback. Thirty-three quarterbacks started nine or more games in 2022. Of those thirty-three, Fields finished dead last in the metric. A big part of that is the lack of supporting talent around him. Chicago is rebuilding their roster. That’s understood. The ownage will still land on Fields’ shoulders.
The Bears have started to surround him with more talent. They’ve spent a first-round pick on Darnell Wright. They’ve acquired D.J. Moore and Chase Claypool to help the receiver room. There have been strides made to help Fields.
He has to take that next step.
2. Kirk Cousins
Before you exit the window, Minnesota Vikings fans, hear me out.
Over his 11-year tenure in the league, Kirk Cousins has completed 3249/4866 of his passes (66.8% completion) for 252 touchdowns and 105 interceptions. That amounts to a QB rating of 97.8.
During his five years in Minnesota, he has been 1877/2770 (67.8% completion) for 37,140 yards, 153 touchdowns and 50 interceptions. That’s a QB rating of 100.9.
If Cousins has been anything for the Vikings, he has been consistent. At this point in his career, Cousins is who he is. He is a good quarterback who will have weeks where he looks great. But he is not elite.
Over the season, Cousins ranked 18th in ANY/A and 23rd in QBR in 2022. So, how did he lead a passing offense that ranked 6th in yards and 4th in touchdowns scored? Two words. Justin. Jefferson.
Kevin O’Connell’s unique usage of Jefferson was also a factor, but this offense goes as Jefferson goes. Cousins fed Jefferson at a clip that we have seen only a few other times in history. Jefferson’s 184 targets tied for 17th most since 1992.
With the addition of Addison, we can expect the ball to spread out as there is more talent at the position. But with Kirk going into his 12th season, don’t expect much more than we’ve seen already: Good, sometimes great play from the quarterback position that will get you to the playoffs.
1. Jared Goff
Goff has completed 2250/3502 of his passes (64.2% completion) for 25,854 yards, 155 touchdowns and 70 interceptions.
The first season in Ben Johnson’s offense was quite a success for Goff. He posted a 7.45 ANY/A, his best mark since 2018 (7.69) when he led the Los Angeles Rams to a 13-3 record and a Super Bowl berth.
When Goff is in an offense like Johnson’s or McVay’s, he is able to get a lot out of it. He has a deep ball that makes defenses have to respect it. He has the arm to make all necessary throws to keep defenses honest.
Last season he also showed the command of the offense that was missing from his 2019 and 2020 campaigns with the Rams. Goff has a chance to grow with this offense, which added talent such as Jahmyr Gibbs and welcomed Marvin Jones, Jr. back this offseason.
Maybe 2022 was an anomaly. Maybe Goff goes back to the quarterback who fans had to question if he had enough juice to win games. Until that regression happens, Goff is the best quarterback in the NFC North.
