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Zach Gelb gives his top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL and asks B. Scott if C.J. Stroud could outplay them this season.
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00:00B. Scott, I'll do this right now.
00:01I'll give you my top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL.
00:04And once we get past the first five, because I think the first five aren't debatable,
00:09like maybe the order, but I don't think anyone this time next year are going to say
00:13that one of these five quarterbacks that C.J. Stroud could be better than.
00:18But after you get past the first five, because of how six to 15,
00:25in terms of those names being so interchangeable, I'm curious what you think
00:31about how C.J. Stroud does stack up against those quarterbacks.
00:35So let me start you off at the first five.
00:37I have Josh Allen as the number one quarterback in the NFL.
00:41Then number two, I have Matthew Stafford.
00:43Then number three, I have Patrick Mahomes.
00:46Joe Burrow comes in at four, and then Lamar Jackson in at five.
00:50Like, I think those are the five best quarterbacks in some order in the NFL, correct?
00:55Yeah, I would agree with those five.
00:58Now, I would quibble with the order just a little bit,
01:00but I don't think we have to do that.
01:01I think that should be the consensus top five, yes.
01:05Yeah, and Mahomes, I think putting him down at three is probably the most eye-popping,
01:09but I think it's just coming off the injury.
01:12I would still say he's the most feared quarterback in the league,
01:14but the season that Allen and Stafford just have, I just elevate them there.
01:18And then for Burrow and Lamar, we know they're established.
01:21We know they're great.
01:22They just got to stay healthy and make a triumphant return to the postseason.
01:26And after that, I don't think it's that crazy, and I'm being consistent here,
01:30because two years ago I had C.J. Stroud in this spot.
01:34Then last year, this time last year, I had Jaden Daniels going into that spot.
01:39With the emergence of Drake May, I have Drake May as the sixth-best quarterback in the NFL.
01:45Now, Drake May did not play well in the postseason.
01:47We saw that as bad as C.J. Stroud was, and he was worse than Drake May.
01:51It's not like Drake played exceptionally well up against that Texans defense.
01:55That was a battle of two great defensive football teams.
01:58But I look at a guy like Drake May, I'm curious what that Drake May, C.J. Stroud,
02:04because it wasn't that long ago that C.J. was in this spot,
02:08and then Drake May has quickly taken this league by storm.
02:10Yeah, you laid that out perfectly, right?
02:13Like Drake May and C.J. Stroud.
02:15Now, Drake May has the better version of this because they went to the Super Bowl,
02:19and he was a legitimate MVP candidate.
02:21I know C.J. Stroud finished top eight in MVP voting his rookie year,
02:26but Drake May was literally right there.
02:28Second, yeah.
02:28He finished second.
02:29So he's got the better individual season.
02:32But where the comparison lies between the two is that both of them really have
02:37just this one big year.
02:39And now the need to replicate it, right?
02:42Like Drake May needs to replicate it now.
02:44And C.J. Stroud has had two seasons to replicate his rookie year
02:48and has yet to do so.
02:50So I think both guys are similarly situated,
02:52but the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately nature of sports,
02:56and Drake May literally just coming out of the Super Bowl,
03:00literally just having the top two MVP finish puts him above C.J. Stroud.
03:05But I honestly think that they're similarly situated
03:07and how their years, how their seasons play out in 2026,
03:10will say a lot about where they sit on this list.
03:13That ESPN list that we were talking about earlier had Jalen Hurts
03:17with the executives and coaches ranked as the 17th best quarterback in the NFL.
03:21With how close this list is from 6 to 15, the guys that I were considering,
03:26I'm putting Jalen Hurts at 7,
03:28and I understand he has a great environment around him,
03:30but anytime Jalen Hurts is doubted, he proves you wrong.
03:34And the guy's not only been to two Super Bowls, he's won one.
03:37He's won a Super Bowl MVP.
03:38And quite frankly, he was better than Patrick Mahomes both times
03:43when the Eagles are sitting in the Super Bowl.
03:45So I'll put Jalen Hurts in at 7,
03:47but B. Scott, I don't think it's crazy.
03:49Like, Philadelphia sports fans,
03:50I know them well going to school at Temple University
03:52and living in Philadelphia for seven or eight years.
03:55A lot of fans are on the fence about Jalen Hurts.
03:59And if he doesn't have this really good season this year,
04:03maybe there's a conversation about Howie Roseman
04:05whaling and dealing Jalen Hurts out of Philadelphia.
04:08Dude, I love Jalen Hurts.
04:10As you know, he's a Houston native.
04:12He's from Channel View right outside of Houston.
04:14So people around here really think highly of Jalen Hurts
04:18and his entire family and just how they're built
04:20and what they stand for.
04:22A lot of respect there.
04:23But you tell me if you think I'm crazy,
04:25that I would prefer Jalen Hurts in the postseason,
04:31but probably even C.J. Stroud in the regular season.
04:34Or like Jared Goff or Dak Prescott.
04:38Like there's a handful of quarterbacks in the NFL
04:40that I would rather have for the entirety of a season
04:44or through the length of a season,
04:46but would prefer Jalen Hurts in really specific moments
04:50when I do value intangibles more than say I would
04:55over the course of a 10 to 17 game stretch.
04:59So it's kind of a weird spot to be in with Jalen Hurts
05:02because I honestly, as much as I respect him,
05:05understand where Philly fans are coming from
05:07because when I watch him,
05:09I don't feel like I'm watching a quarterback
05:11who's as talented as C.J. Stroud
05:13or who is as talented as Dak Prescott
05:15or Jared Goff
05:17or a lot of the other quarterbacks
05:18who are going to be on this list.
05:19So he is a tough one for me to evaluate.
05:23It is one thing we talked earlier
05:25that was interesting that kind of he pointed out accurately,
05:28points out accurately that
05:30he's just a different type of quarterback
05:32and I think it makes him harder to evaluate
05:34and decide what to do with him
05:36in rankings like this one.
05:38Yeah, I think you make a good point
05:40because just throwing the football
05:42like Dak Prescott, Jared Goff
05:45are going to have better numbers than Jalen Hurts
05:48but I think it's kind of an antiquated thing that we do
05:51is that Jalen Hurts also adds so much on the ground.
05:55Like athlete-wise, Jalen Hurts is a better athlete
05:58than Dak Prescott, Jared Goff, and C.J. Stroud.
06:01So that running component, I still think it gets lost
06:05where when you watch a game on CBS or on Fox
06:09and they do the quarterback previews
06:11and they have, like let's say if Jalen Hurts
06:13is going up against C.J. Stroud,
06:15when they do the big graphics before the games,
06:17they usually just show the passing numbers
06:19but for Jalen Hurts, the whole story
06:22isn't told by the passing numbers.
06:23It's only a half of a story
06:25because the rushing numbers have been so good
06:27and like even for Lamar,
06:30like Lamar who was phenomenal as a runner,
06:34everyone would just salivate over those numbers
06:36and then it's like you just see the stats
06:38that he puts up through the air
06:39and people then realize like,
06:40oh, Lamar could also throw the football.
06:42So I think Lamar being as great as he has been
06:45even though he doesn't have a Super Bowl
06:46also hurts Jalen Hurts
06:48as that's a tough tongue twister to say
06:51because it's like Lamar is elite
06:53with the passing numbers
06:55and elite with the running numbers
06:56where Jalen Hurts is really only elite
06:58with the running numbers
06:58and the passing numbers aren't the sexiest.
07:01Yeah, and they need the eager run game
07:05to work overall to open up the pass.
07:08Yeah.
07:09And it's not like,
07:11like it's different from Lamar.
07:13So with Hurts, it's different from Lamar
07:14where Lamar himself can be their run game.
07:17I know they've got Derrick Henry
07:19and they've had running backs
07:20to kind of pair with him over the years,
07:22but Lamar himself can be
07:23one of the more dynamic rushers
07:25regardless of who his running back is.
07:28Whereas we've seen,
07:29and you've seen this even closer than I have,
07:30whereas with Philly,
07:32if it's not working with Saquon
07:34or whoever their running back is,
07:37it's not like Jalen Hurts
07:38is necessarily dynamic enough
07:40to just be the rushing attack
07:42in and of himself.
07:43He needs a partner.
07:44They need the rushing game
07:46and the passing game
07:47to work in tandem
07:49and to complement each other.
07:51And if one of them is not working
07:53and they become one dimensional,
07:55it's not like he's the type of quarterback
07:56that can go out there
07:57and win you the game with his arm.
07:59And so that's what kind of gets him
08:01to the demerits.
08:02And then that's the issue
08:03that the Eagles run into
08:04when their offense
08:05is not clicking on all cylinders.
08:08I like that you brought up
08:09Dak Prescott, by the way,
08:10because it flows perfectly for my list.
08:12He is my eighth best quarterback
08:14in the NFL.
08:15And I've never thought about it this way
08:17until now, B. Scott.
08:19If the Texans and the Cowboys
08:21had a baby,
08:22they'd be in the Super Bowl.
08:24Like, if you put Dak on this offense
08:27and you get Nico Collins
08:28and then just take one of CeeDee Lamb
08:30or George Pickens
08:31and you have the Texans defense
08:33with some of the pieces
08:35on the Cowboys offense,
08:36that's a Super Bowl caliber team.
08:38Oh my God.
08:38So are you telling me, Zach,
08:39that we need to move the Texans
08:41and the Cowboys
08:41to Austin or San Antonio
08:42and call them the spray?
08:44Everybody in Texas come together
08:46and we get ourselves
08:47a Super Bowl contender.
08:48Who's for it?
08:497-1-3-5-7-2-4-6-10.
08:51Then let us know if you're for it.
08:52But that would be a wild idea.
08:55A wild concept.
08:56I'm with you, though.
08:57If they had a baby,
08:58if football teams could have a baby,
09:00I'd wonder how much baby making
09:01would actually happen out there.
09:03I'm just going to go out
09:04on a limb here.
09:05I don't think many Cowboys fans
09:07are too fond of Texans fans
09:09and I don't think too many Texans fans
09:11are fond of Cowboys fans.
09:12I don't know what will give you
09:13that idea.
09:15Yeah, it's a hot take.
09:16It's a scorching hot take, you know?
09:18But sometimes the person
09:20that you hate the most
09:21is someone that you need the most.
09:23And if we could just merge
09:24those two franchises
09:25and put them in San Antonio
09:27and we call them like
09:29the Texans-Cowboys
09:30or something like that,
09:32man, that's a great team.
09:34Zach, there's no doubt.
09:35No doubt in my mind.
09:37Just hatred aside,
09:38the I-45 hatred aside,
09:40the Cowboys would absolutely
09:41take this Texans defense.
09:43And the people of Houston,
09:44and I'll say this as a Houstonian
09:46and speak for all of y'all,
09:47all the millions of y'all,
09:48we would absolutely take
09:49that offense that they got
09:50over there in Dallas.
09:51No doubt about it.
09:51And maybe we would make them
09:53the Houston Cowboys
09:54because I think D'Amico Ryans
09:55would be the coach
09:56over Brian Schottenheimer.
09:58It's a coin flip
09:59between the McNairs
10:01and the Jones family.
10:03Obviously, the Joneses
10:04are in the Hall of Fame,
10:05Jerry Jones.
10:07But I think that
10:08you move them to Houston
10:09and you make them
10:10the Houston Cowboys.
10:11Man, we're probably
10:12annoying a lot of people
10:13on a Sunday
10:13by just having this conversation.
10:15Man, not a great way
10:16to endear ourselves
10:17to the people of Houston
10:18talking about merging them
10:20with the Cowboys.
10:21Absolutely not.
10:22But it definitely
10:24addressed things.
10:25You put Dak
10:26with Pickens and Lamb
10:28and then you got
10:28Will Anderson,
10:29you got Stingley,
10:30and then you also got
10:32Daniil Hunter.
10:33Could be a super season
10:34and put them in the AFC too.
10:36Easier than the NFC.
10:37Look, Texas is not above
10:40the idea of thinking
10:41that it should be
10:42its own country anyway.
10:43Not to go down that road.
10:45But look, this could work.
10:47This could work.
10:48If Texas,
10:50if the two Texas teams
10:51could somehow merge,
10:54we would be cooking
10:55with grease out here.
10:56No doubt about it.
10:57Coming up next hour,
10:58even though we don't
10:58have a next hour,
10:59we'll do Texas A&M
11:01and the Houston Cougars
11:02merging as well.
11:04That would be the Longhorns
11:05and the Aggies
11:06and there would be a mutiny.
11:08I think the Cowboys-Texans thing,
11:11I know we're joking,
11:12but I think that could
11:13actually work conceptually.
11:16I think we could get
11:16those people to see
11:20the common ground
11:21or the common good
11:22that could come of it,
11:22the greater good
11:23that could come of it,
11:24and actually work something out.
11:26There is no chance in hell
11:28that you're going to ever
11:30get the Aggies
11:30and the Longhorns
11:31to coexist for anything.
11:34Anything.
11:34Yeah, I think you're going
11:36out on a limb on that one.
11:37I think you're 100% right.
11:40Number 9 best quarterback
11:42in the NFL.
11:42Actually, Baker Mayfield.
11:44I think people forget
11:45Baker walked into Tampa Bay
11:47replacing Tom Brady,
11:48and I know they just missed
11:49the postseason last year
11:50because of a technicality,
11:52but Baker's put up
11:53some prodigious numbers
11:54with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,
11:56and now it's going to
11:56kind of be a new era
11:57because Mike Evans is done.
11:59You've got a Mecco Bucca there.
12:01Chris Godwin is still
12:02a productive player
12:04and living as a good running back,
12:05but that's a team in the South,
12:07the NFC South.
12:08I'll be fascinated to see
12:09who's going to win
12:10that division this year.
12:12I'll probably still lean Tampa.
12:14I don't love Carolina,
12:17and I look at the rest
12:18of that division.
12:19Atlanta, they can never
12:20get it right.
12:21I'll tell you,
12:22the Saints could be
12:23a dark horse team
12:23to win that South this year
12:24because I like that quarterback
12:25in Tyler Shaw.
12:26All right, you finally
12:27struck a nerve now.
12:28You finally struck a nerve
12:30with me, Zach,
12:30with Baker Mayfield
12:32on this one.
12:32I got at least,
12:34I mean, I know we were
12:35kind of relating this
12:35to C.J. Stroud,
12:36but I got at least
12:38three quarterbacks
12:39that I would take over
12:39Baker Mayfield
12:40before I got here.
12:42I mean, whether we're talking
12:43Well, hold off on those.
12:44Go ahead, but Baker Mayfield,
12:46I think we were having
12:47this conversation earlier.
12:48C.J. Stroud absolutely
12:49needs to be better
12:50than Baker Mayfield
12:51in 2026,
12:52no doubt about it.
12:53Yeah, because let me just
12:54give you my 10th quarterback,
12:55and then I have a bunch
12:56of honorable mentions,
12:57and I think they're going
12:58to be fun to compare
12:59those honorable mentions
13:00to C.J. Stroud.
13:02My 10th one
13:03is Justin Herbert.
13:04Like, the 9th and 10th
13:06spots were really difficult
13:07because I was, like,
13:08considering Caleb Williams,
13:09I was considering
13:09Jared Goff, Jordan Love,
13:11you know, maybe throwing
13:12Sam Darnold in there,
13:13but the 9th and 10th spots,
13:15I ended up going with
13:16Baker and Herbert.
13:17So, like, those top 10
13:19quarterbacks that I just
13:20gave you,
13:20Allen Stafford,
13:21Mahomes, Burrow,
13:22Lamar, Drake,
13:23Hurts, Dak,
13:24Baker, and Herbert,
13:26how many do you think
13:27at the end of the year
13:28out of those 10 only
13:29before we get to
13:30the honorable mention
13:31that you think
13:32C.J. Stroud could be
13:33better than?
13:33Yeah, so Hurts,
13:34since Herbert's on the list,
13:35I feel like he could
13:36easily be better than him
13:37because we've actually
13:38already seen him
13:39beat Justin Herbert
13:40in a playoff game,
13:42and I think that
13:44Herbert's helping him
13:45a lot.
13:46It's just him
13:47passing the eye test.
13:48I mean,
13:49he just looks like
13:50the guy, right?
13:51And I think he's
13:52looked like the guy
13:52since the very beginning,
13:54despite the fact
13:55that he's got
13:56some of these
13:56similar failures
13:58and playoff shortcomings,
13:59I would say
13:59even more so,
14:00even more so
14:02than C.J. Stroud.
14:03So Justin Herbert,
14:04I think,
14:05is the clear candidate
14:07on this list,
14:08and then Baker Mayfield
14:09as well.
14:10Like, I know
14:10I took exception
14:11to him even being
14:12on this list.
14:13Those guys that you
14:13mentioned,
14:14honorable mention,
14:14I would have all of them
14:15above Baker Mayfield
14:17from Jordan Love
14:18to, I forget the rest of them,
14:20but pretty much
14:21every single guy
14:22that you mentioned
14:22I would have had
14:23over Baker Mayfield,
14:24and I actually like
14:25and respect Baker Mayfield.
14:26But he needs to be better.
14:27C.J. Stroud needs
14:28to be better than him
14:29and certainly needs
14:30to be considered
14:30better than Justin Herbert,
14:32unless, caveat,
14:34Justin Herbert
14:34finally puts it together
14:35in a similar way
14:37that we're saying
14:38that C.J. Stroud
14:38needs to put it together,
14:39right?
14:40Like, I think
14:41at their best,
14:42at their ceiling,
14:43at their highest potential,
14:45that Justin Herbert
14:46is a better quarterback
14:47than C.J. Stroud.
14:48But I don't think
14:49there's any shame in that
14:50just because I think
14:51that highly of
14:52Justin Herbert's potential,
14:53but just based off
14:54of where they are
14:55right now,
14:55C.J. Stroud
14:56needs to be,
14:57I think,
14:57ahead of him
14:58in that conversation
14:59just as a more
15:00accomplished guy,
15:00and if he does
15:01his part this year,
15:02I think he will be.
15:04So my top 10 quarterbacks
15:05in the NFL,
15:06Josh Allen,
15:06Matthew Stafford,
15:07Patrick Mahomes,
15:08Joe Burrow,
15:08Lamar Jackson,
15:09Drake May,
15:10Jalen Hurts,
15:11Dak Prescott,
15:11Baker Mayfield,
15:12and Justin Herbert.
15:14On the other side,
15:15I'm going to go through
15:16the honorable mentions,
15:17and I'm just going to get
15:18a yes or a no out of you,
15:19B. Scott,
15:20and we'll have a conversation.
15:21Are the honorable mention
15:25quarterbacks
15:25first off,
15:26then C.J. Stroud,
15:27because, like,
15:28I just went through
15:2910 quarterbacks.
15:30I got 11,
15:3112, 13,
15:3114,
15:3215,
15:3217 total quarterbacks.
15:34We're going to see
15:35with the remaining guys,
15:37like the next six or seven guys,
15:38how many of those guys
15:40can C.J. Stroud
15:41maybe outplay
15:42heading into this season.
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