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When it comes to picking the top five of anything, it's never quite as easy as it seems. Whether it be our favorite restaurants, movies, songs, etc. Or, in this case, CJ Stroud narrowing down his top five quarterbacks in the NFL.
On a recent episode of The Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast, Stroud was a guest and revealed his initial five, which were: Kansas City Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes, Baltimore Ravens' Lamar Jackson, himself, Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott, and Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Hurts.
At least he was humble enough to put himself at No. 3.
But calling an audible, Stroud decided he would change his list after more consideration. Using his Instagram account to give his updated list, Stroud kept the top three the same, but moved in Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen to No. 4 and moved Prescott down to five, while Hurts got the boot. He also included that Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was in the top five. Seeing as how Burrow missed a large chunk of last year, he was easy to forget, it seems.
That got us thinking — who are the top five quarterbacks in the NFL? Let's take a look.
1. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
It's hard to argue with CJ Stroud's first choice, which was consistent in both editions. At just 28 years old, Patrick Mahomes is already a three-time Super Bowl winner, while he and the Chiefs have won the last two. Mahomes is almost otherworldly at this point, to where he's already started receiving “The G.O.A.T.” status. It took much longer for Tom Brady to be heralded with that title, but the Chiefs quarterback is doing things at unprecedented rates, like being the fastest to 25,000 career yards (83 games) and fastest to 200 career touchdowns (84). Mahomes is the best quarterback in the league.
2. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
So far, CJ Stroud is two-for-two. And there's good reason for it, too. Though he has yet to reach the ultimate milestone of a Super Bowl berth in his career, Jackson has still been very successful. And remember, most thought he wouldn't be. Jackson, 27, is already a two-time NFL MVP award winner (2019, 2023) and is the best dual-threat quarterback in the league. Jackson has kept the Ravens as a strong contender in what has been a massively competitive AFC conference over the last several years, not to mention the AFC North division that's always tough.
3. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Sorry, Stroud, you're just not quite at the No. 3 spot yet. Similar to what Jackson has dealt with, all that's eluding Allen from going to the next level in his career is making the Super Bowl. But when you're in a conference with Mahomes, that's difficult to do. Allen is top five in yards, completions, attempts, and touchdowns since 2021. Again, what keeps him from being No. 1 in most of those categories is Mahomes, who also bests him in wins during that span by just one game, 36-35.
4. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Look, it was easy to discount Burrow after, one, starting slow last season and then, two, missing a majority later on after he suffered his wrist injury. But when you think about it, it's hard to leave him off of this list when he's healthy. Here's yet another quarterback that's in the top 10 of most passer categories. Those numbers would perhaps be boosted even further if he hadn't missed a number of games over the past couple of seasons, which makes it even more impressive. Mahomes, Allen, and Trevor Lawrence are tied at 50 games during this span. Burrow has played in 42. He's also made a Super Bowl after just his second year in the league. Health is the only thing that holds Burrow back.
5. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Stroud may not be happy that he was left out of the top five, but at least he'll be happy that Prescott still made it after he was No. 4 in his first list and No. 5 in his remake edition. Prescott makes this list because he really is above most of the other quarterbacks in the league currently, even though postseason results are not in his or the Cowboys' favor. What makes Prescott so polarizing also is the team that has surrounded him since really his rookie season back in 2017. At some point in time, he's had one of the league's best running backs, receivers, and offensive lines in the NFL, and yet he's 2-5 in the postseason. Being a top quarterback in the league isn't all about numbers, but it is for Prescott in this case, who has good enough ones to put him in the top five.
Why CJ Stroud was left out
CJ Stroud was consistent in keeping himself just below the two best quarterbacks in the league in his own list, but he wasn't good enough to make our top five.
While he did have a great rookie season — 8th in passing yards, 13th in touchdowns, 6th in passer rating — his completion percentage was still under 65 percent and most of all, he was a rookie. He still has a lot left to prove in this league before he's hailed as a top-five quarterback. Consistency in performance and leading his team to consecutive wins will be key.
Would he be in the top 10? Most likely, but you have to consider where guys like Hurts, Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, and even now Jared Goff are on this list.
