ANTHONY RICHARDSON, JOE FLACCO, AND JAMEIS WINSTON LEAD OFF CHRIS SIMMS' TOP QUARTERBACK COUNTDOWN, NOW ON 'CHRIS SIMMS UNBUTTONED' AND 'PRO FOOTBALL TALK'
Simms' Top QB Countdown Kicks Off Today with First Three Tiers and Culminates with the Top Five QBs on Monday, June 9; In-Depth Breakdowns for Each Ranking Weekly on Chris Simms Unbuttoned Podcast
'This is going to be a huge offseason for him. His down the field throwing is by far the best thing he does…but he's got to grow and be more mature as a leader with the franchise.' – Simms on Colts' Richardson
'We know his arm is super talented. If you watch his highlights, you'll go, 'Is this one of the best players in football?' But if you watch his lowlights, you'll go, 'Is he still in the NFL?'' – Simms on New York Giants' Winston
'I think he is a guy that could see a resurrection to his career like Sam Darnold did by going to San Francisco if the opportunity arises to where he gets to play.' – Simms on 49ers' Mac Jones
STAMFORD, Conn. – May 19, 2025 – Over the course of the next month, NBC Sports' Chris Simms will unveil his list of the top quarterbacks in the NFL on the Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast and on 'PFT Live.' Highlighting Simms' initial rankings are 2023 first round pick Anthony Richardson of the Colts, Joe Flacco of the Browns, and Jameis Winston of the Giants.
This year's countdown will feature a new format, with Simms focusing on tiers and groups of quarterbacks as opposed to specific numeric rankings until the later rounds. Beginning the countdown, Simms unveiled his quarterbacks ranked in the first three tiers today, with QBs in the 'Wow or Whoa?', 'Backup Supremes,' and 'Caretakers' tiers.
Beginning today and culminating Monday, June 19 with his top five quarterbacks, Simms will unveil a group of quarterbacks on each Chris Simms Unbuttoned episode and discuss his rankings on 'PFT Live' with Mike Florio.
Simms, a third-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2003 NFL Draft who played eight NFL seasons, will also offer in-depth player breakdowns and rankings explanations throughout each week on Chris Simms Unbuttoned.
Simms has had success in projecting college quarterbacks – including naming Jayden Daniels, who was named AP's 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year following a season that saw him lead the Washington Commanders to the NFC Championship Game, as his No. 2 QB prospect in 2024. Additionally, Simms named C.J. Stroud, who was named AP's 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year, as his top QB prospect in 2023, Patrick Mahomes as his most exciting prospect in 2017, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen as his top-two QBs in 2018, and Justin Herbert as his No. 2 QB in 2020.
The rankings will continue this Wednesday, May 21, on the next episode of Chris Simms Unbuttoned.
The following are highlights from this week's edition of Chris Simms Unbuttoned:
Wow or Whoa?
Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts
'This is going to be a huge offseason for him. Can he become a more polished passer? His down the field throwing is by far the best thing he does…but when it's a 5-yard or an 8-yard or a 10-yard throw, it's less than 50% whether he'll hit you or not. They're bad misses, too, and the mechanics are different every time he does it…He's got to grow and be more mature as a leader with the franchise.'
Backup Supremes
Joe Flacco, Cleveland Browns
'Do I really have to say it with Joe Flacco? We know he can go 12-12 for 280 yards and you can go, 'Look at that arm!' And then the next twelve dropbacks, you can go, 'He fumbled three times, he threw three interceptions, and three more of those should've been intercepted.' There's some real greatness, but some real inconsistencies in how he plays the game.'
Malik Willis, Green Bay Packers
'He still has untapped potential and is going up in a big way. There's a reason Jordan Love kept rushing back from injury…Another guy who can make some 'wow' throws and runs, but he just doesn't do it all consistent yet. But it's all going in the right direction, you saw that last year. It got better every time he went in the game. That was a great trade by Green Bay.'
Jameis Winston, New York Giants
'We know his arm is super talented. If you watch his highlights, you'll go, 'Is this one of the best players in football?' But if you watch his lowlights, you'll go, 'Is he still in the NFL?' You just don't trust him game after game to take care of the football. But he can have some games where you'll go, 'You're a backup quarterback and we're playing a good team today, we can run the whole offense and we might be able to win it with you.''
Marcus Mariota, Washington Commanders
'He throws the ball well, but every throw is the same throw. He has no side arm, no arm angles…his throwing, over time, gets exposed for not being 'next level' to be a starter, but he comes in as backup and can run the offense and make some plays. He can rip off a 50-yard run and throw it 60 for a touchdown.'
Caretakers
Mac Jones, San Francisco 49ers
'I'm still not giving up on Mac Jones. A lot of the things we said about [49ers QB] Brock Purdy hold true to Mac Jones if he was in a situation with [49ers head coach] Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers. You'd go, 'He looks pretty good.' I think he is a guy that could see a resurrection to his career like Sam Darnold did by going to San Francisco if the opportunity arises to where he gets to play…So that's where I still look at Mac Jones, I don't think he's as physically talented as Sam Darnold, but Mac Jones' ability to read defenses, take on a lot of offense a little bit like Brock Purdy, and feel like being a step ahead of the defense is elite starter type of stuff.'
Andy Dalton, Carolina Panthers
'The best quarterback to mentor a young quarterback out of this group? Andy Dalton, as we see, has got no ego and he's going to be willing to do that. And we're seeing him do that with Bryce Young.'
Jarrett Stidham, Denver Broncos
'Jarett Stidham, to me, is still a guy that I look at at times where I go, 'Man, the way he throws the ball and all that is a tick better than the rest of this group.' But it's, again, experience and will he get that chance to play? I don't know. I doubt it sitting behind [Broncos starting QB] Bo Nix.'
Tyrod Taylor, New York Jets
'Tyrod's been around a lot. He's been around a lot of great quarterbacks, different systems. He is a total pro. There's a reason teams sign him year after year to be the backup. And there's more physical ability there than people realize, too. He's another guy I'd want in a two-minute drill.'
Gardner Minshew, Kansas City Chiefs
'I would trust him the most [out of this tier] with the ball in their hand late in the game. Experience, accuracy…You need somebody that you can just go, 'Hey, he's going to drop back, he's going to see the field the right way, and he's going to make the appropriate throw.' I think all of them can do that. But, Gardner Minshew, out of the ones I said, can maybe do the most backyard type of stuff in that situation.'
To listen to the full player breakdowns on Chris Simms Unbuttoned, click here.
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