Though the Pac-12 is all but laid to rest now, there will be remnants of the West Coast conference for years to come. In this case, in particular, we take a look at some of the active NFL QBs from the conference and where they rank. Note that not all these are starters but have had some sort of playing time in the NFL recently, like Jake Browning for the Cincinnati Bengals out of Washington. But there's also starters like the Detroit Lions Jared Goff out of California.
Let's take a look at where these current active NFL quarterbacks from the Pac-12 rank.
9. Tyler Huntley – Utah – Baltimore Ravens
Tyler Huntley has been a backup for Lamar Jackson since 2020, coming out of Utah. With Jackson getting banged up from season to season, he's gotten some ample playing time under his belt, including two playoff games. He played in five regular-season games last season in Jackson's absence, winning three out of his five starts.
8. Sam Darnold – USC – San Francisco 49ers
As a backup to Brock Purdy this season, Darnold has only been needed for six passing attempts. For his career, Darnold has been solid as a backup, particularly last season where the 49ers struggled with injuries at quarterback. He played in six games and won four out of the six, throwing seven touchdowns to three interceptions.
7. Davis Mills – Stanford – Houston Texans
Mills was the main starter for the Texans last season, throwing for over 3,000 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. Surprisingly, his number wasn't called for the recent game against the Tennessee Titans when CJ Stroud was unable to play due to a concussion. But he has a ton of experience.
6. Marcus Mariota – Oregon – Philadelphia Eagles
After being the starter for most of the season last year with the Atlanta Falcons, Mariota moved to the Eagles this season as a backup to Jalen Hurts. With years of experience as a starter, Mariota could be one of the better backup options in the league. He's had little playing time this season, attempting only three passes.
5. Jake Browning – Washington – Cincinnati Bengals
Most are just getting to really know who Jake Browning is now as Joe Burrow's replacement. But Browning had a very good career while playing for the Pac-12's Washington Huskies. By the time he left Washington, he ranked first in wins (39), fourth in career passing yards (12,296), sixth in completions (958), eighth in attempts (1,484), and 16th in passing yards per attempt (8.3).
Browning has been a welcomed surprise to Bengals fans in Burrow's absence. Since coming in for the former LSU quarterback, Browning has gone 3-2, keeping playoff hopes alive for Cincinnati in the process. He's also made the Minnesota Vikings regret cutting him.
4. Gardner Minshew – Washington State – Indianapolis Colts
Minshew has bounced around quite a bit in his career, playing for three different teams now. He also did in college but finished his career up at Washington State, where in his lone season in 2018, he threw for 4,779 yards, 38 touchdowns, and only nine interceptions. But this season for the Colts under new head coach Shane Steichen and in replacement for rookie Anthony Richardson, he's helped keep Indianapolis in playoff contention, with the possibility of a division title in play.
3. Jared Goff – California – Detroit Lions
Goff is having one of his best years yet, and the proof is that the Detroit Lions are heading back to the playoffs and could win their first division title since 1993. The former first overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft out of Cal was originally selected to the Los Angeles Rams before being traded to Detroit.
While at Cal, he set 26 school records, including passing yards (12,220), passing yards per game (329.7), touchdown passes (96), completions (977), passing attempts (1,569), total offense (12,086), and total plays (1,739).
2. Justin Herbert – Oregon – Los Angeles Chargers
Though he is done for the year after suffering a season-ending hand injury, when healthy, Justin Herbert is one of the best quarterbacks in the entire league. He's passed for over 4,000 yards every season, except for this one, which now won't be possible due to his injury. He's also thrown for 25 touchdowns or more in each season, and was just five shy of that this season.
While in Eugene, he accounted for 10,541 passing yards, 95 passing touchdowns, and 23 interceptions, with another 560 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.
1. Aaron Rodgers – California – New York Jets
Though he only got to play four plays and 94 total seconds of game time this season for the Jets after being traded over from the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers is still the best not only of Pac-12 quarterbacks in the NFL, but of any in the NFL.
A career spanning over 18 years has given Rodgers plenty of accolades, going from being the first-round pick for the Packers to replace Brett Favre, to winning Super Bowl XLV, to winning four MVP awards. Rodgers is the last of a dying breed so to speak, which made it a shame that we got so little of him this season. But it's plain and that when he is healthy, Rodgers is still one of the best to ever do it, probably even at 40-years-old. Let's just hope he doesn't try to make a comeback this season.
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