By Gil Martin
The NFL is a quarterback-centric league in 2021. If you want to have a chance to win the Super Bowl, you need to have one of the game’s better signal callers under center.
Each year in the NFL Draft, teams are so eager to find the next great quarterback. The first three picks in the 2021 Draft were all quarterbacks with Trevor Lawrence going first overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars, BYU’s Zach Wilson going second overall to the New York Jets and Trey Lance of North Dakota State going third overall to the San Francisco 49ers.
Each year, several teams trade up to make sure they could get the chance to select their next franchise quarterback. Quarterbacks are always overvalued in the draft. Roughly half of the quarterbacks drafted in the first round fail to realize their potential in the NFL.
If they come through, the team that drafts them becomes a contender for several years to come. If the quarterback selected is a draft bust, the franchise that selected him will likely have at least three losing seasons until they can add a new quarterback and start the process all over again.
For more information about fantasy football and all fantasy sports, check out http://www.captaingambling.com/
Here is a look at the top five quarterbacks in the NFL heading into the 2021 season:
5. Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Brady may be 43 and isn’t as physically talented as he was in his prime, but he remains an extremely effective quarterback after 21 years in the league.
Brady still threw 40 touchdown passes last season while throwing for 4,633 yards and accumulating a quarterback rating of 102.2 which is higher than his career mark of 97.3.
The former University of Michigan star led the Bucs to their first Super Bowl title in nearly 20 years and won the big game for the seventh time in his Hall of Fame career. No team has won more Super Bowl titles than Brady.
While Father Time remains undefeated, Brady remains one step ahead of the game because of his hard work off the field regarding diet, exercise and film study.
4. Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
Wilson earned Pro Bowl honors for the fourth straight season and the seventh time in his NFL career in 2020 after tossing 40 touchdown passes and for 4,212 yards.
Wilson has taken his team to the playoffs eight times and led them to the Super Bowl twice including one championship.
He is mobile, elusive and maximizes the talent around him with his toughness and leadership. Wilson has struggled with disappointing offensive lines in recent years, but still manages to lead his team to victory on a consistent basis.
At 32, Wilson is still in the prime of his career and should be an elite quarterback for at least another five years or more if he stays healthy. Almost any NFL team would love to have Wilson under center.
3. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Allen struggled in his first two seasons in the NFL but 2020 was his breakout year. The former Wyoming star completed more than 69 percent of his passes while throwing for 37 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions while accumulating a quarterback rating of 107.2. He accomplished this despite Buffalo’s lack of a running game last season.
At 6’5” and 237-pounds, Allen has great size for the position. He also has a strong arm and can elude the pass rush with his athleticism.
The addition of Stefon Diggs to the Bills last year gave Allen an elite receiver to throw to and certainly helped speed up his development.
He led Buffalo to the AFC Championship Game last year after throwing five touchdown passes in the playoffs.
Allen is just 24 and his best football should still be ahead of him. That’s great news for Bills fans.
2. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
Aaron Rodgers may be the most gifted quarterback of all-time. He is 37 now but is still playing at an elite level. In 2020, he won his third league MVP Award after throwing a career-high 48 touchdown passes and having a league-best quarterback rating of 121.5.
The former Cal star has thrown 412 touchdown passes and only 89 interceptions in his career and has a career quarterback rating of 103.9, one of the best of all time. He also led the Packers to a Super Bowl title after the 2010 season.
Rodgers is presently unhappy in Green Bay and may be traded before the start of the 2021 NFL season. If he does, it will change the balance of power in the league immediately.
1. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Mahomes has played only four seasons in the NFL and started in three of them but he’s already one the best quarterbacks in the game. He has already been to three Pro Bowls, been named league MVP once and led the Chiefs to a pair of Super Bowls, winning once.
Mahomes is daring, athletic and has a great arm. His mobility allows him to evade the rush and he has excellent leadership qualities. He can make plays that few other quarterbacks can even dream of, let alone pull off.
When Mahomes is under center, the Chiefs become one of the league’s most dangerous teams and he is the best quarterback in the NFL today.
