Who are the top 5 QB's of all-time?

[Jetsfan80]

Leading up to the start of the season, I'll be posting a thread once every day or so devoted to determine the top 5 all-time at each position, as voted on by JN.

I am using football-reference.com's AV (Approximate Value) metric to help compare across eras.  The "Peak AV Average" means the average "score" for each player's among their top 5 performing years in the league, to help establish which players had the high peaks and which players were more of the "compilers" over a long career.  Utilizing a "peak AV" also allows for players with careers shortened by injury to be included.

Also note that AV only goes back so far, so some players from the earliest days in NFL history (primarily the 30s, 40s and early 50s) are, unfortunately, excluded.

 

Yesterday, JN voted on RB's:

 

 

 

Today, we vote on QBs!

Below are the candidates and their resumes, ranked in the order weighted by AV/Peak AV:

 

1.  Tom Brady, NE/TB (2000-present)

• Career AV:  316
• Peak AV Average:  20
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  3
• Pro Bowl Selections:  15
• Career Passing TDs:  624

2.  Peyton Manning, IND/DEN (1998-2015)

• Career AV:  271
• Peak AV Average:  19  
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  7
• Pro Bowl Selections:  13
• Career Passing TDs:  539

3.  Aaron Rodgers, GB (2005-present)

• Career AV:  218
• Peak AV Average:  20
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  4
• Pro Bowl Selections:  10
• Career Passing TDs:  449

4.  Drew Brees, SD/NO (2001-2020)

• Career AV:  277
• Peak AV Average:  18  
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  1
• Pro Bowl Selections:  13
• Career Passing TDs:  539

5.  Brett Favre, ATL/GB/NYJ/MIN (1991-2010)

• Career AV:  259
• Peak AV Average:  17
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  3
• Pro Bowl Selections:  11
• Career Passing TDs:  508

6.  Steve Young, TB/SF (1985-1999)

• Career AV:  168
• Peak AV Average:  19
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  3
• Pro Bowl Selections:  7
• Career Passing TDs:  232

7.  Philip Rivers, SD/LAC/IND (2004-2020)

• Career AV:  218
• Peak AV Average:  18
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  0
• Pro Bowl Selections:  8
• Career Passing TDs:  421

8.  Fran Tarkenton, MIN/NYG (1961-1978)

• Career AV:  233
• Peak AV Average:  17
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  1
• Pro Bowl Selections:  9
• Career Passing TDs:  342

9.  Dan Marino, MIA (1983-1999)

• Career AV:  216
• Peak AV Average:  17
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  3
• Pro Bowl Selections:  9
• Career Passing TDs:  420

10.  Dan Fouts, SD (1973-1987)

• Career AV:  163
• Peak AV Average:  18
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  2
• Pro Bowl Selections:  6
• Career Passing TDs:  254

11.  Patrick Mahomes, KC (2017-present)

• Career AV:  75
• Peak AV Average:  19
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  1
• Pro Bowl Selections:  4
• Career Passing TDs:  151

12.  Matt Ryan, ATL/IND (2008-present)

• Career AV:  203
• Peak AV Average:  17
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  1
• Pro Bowl Selections:  4
• Career Passing TDs:  367

13.  John Elway, DEN (1983-1998)

• Career AV:  206
• Peak AV Average:  16
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  0
• Pro Bowl Selections:  9
• Career Passing TDs:  300

14.  Russell Wilson, SEA/DEN (2012-present)

• Career AV:  158
• Peak AV Average:  18
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  0
• Pro Bowl Selections:  9
• Career Passing TDs:  292

15.  Kurt Warner, STL/NYG/AZ (1998-2009)

• Career AV:  113
• Peak AV Average:  18
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  2
• Pro Bowl Selections:  4
• Career Passing TDs:  208

16.  Ken Anderson, CIN (1971-1986)

• Career AV:  160
• Peak AV Average:  17
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  1
• Pro Bowl Selections:  4
• Career Passing TDs:  197

17.  Joe Montana, SF/KC (1979-1994)

• Career AV:  166
• Peak AV Average:  16
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  3
• Pro Bowl Selections:  8
• Career Passing TDs:  273

18.  Johnny Unitas, BAL/SD (1956-1973)

• Career AV:  145
• Peak AV Average:  16
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  5
• Pro Bowl Selections:  10
• Career Passing TDs:  290

19.  Warren Moon, HOU/MIN/SEA/KC (1984-2000)

• Career AV:  163
• Peak AV Average:  14
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  0
• Pro Bowl Selections:  9
• Career Passing TDs:  291

 

Just missed the cut:  Randall Cunningham, Roger Staubach, Eli Manning, Cam Newton, Ben Roethlisberger, Matthew Stafford, Terry Bradshaw

Honorable mention:  Otto Graham (pre-1960s era)

[Creepy Lurker]

Other:ZACH WILSON 

[Jetsfan80]

Just now, Creepy Lurker said:

Other:ZACH WILSON 

* Chase Streveler

[Larz]

Montana

Elway

 

everyone else 

 

nobody from the 2 hand touch era deserves it. Nobody 

[Grandy]

No representation for Otto Graham fans.

But yeah, Peyton is the best I've ever seen.

[Trotter]

Wow - impressive list.

I know these are not your rankings - so this is not at you - but montana at 17? 

No Bradshaw?  

Brees #4?

And where is Boomer?

[Trotter]

Just now, Trotter said:

Wow - impressive list.

I know these are not your rankings - so this is not at you - but montana at 17? 

No Bradshaw?  

Brees #4?

And where is Boomer?

And thank you for doing these the past few weeks - very time consuming on your part and very entertaining.

[Jetsfan80]

2 minutes ago, Trotter said:

Wow - impressive list.

I know these are not your rankings - so this is not at you - but montana at 17? 

No Bradshaw?  

Brees #4?

And where is Boomer?

 

AV definitely favored more modern QB's (hence Matt Ryan's unfortunate inclusion...yuck), and the other flaw is that it is a regular season rating system only.  So Montana and Bradshaw's rings had no bearing on the metric.  

Boomer wasn't on the radar.  

[greenwichjetfan]

Another PFF flaw. They categorized the great Jim Brown as a FB, and the infamous fraud brady* as a QB. 

Peyton and Rodgers are the best I've ever seen for entirely different reasons. Mahomes has a real shot, but I'd love to see him without Reid, Kelce, and Reek. One down, two to go.

If I had to choose one QB for one game, it would be tough, but I'd ultimately go with Rodgers. Peyton is the ultimate grand master at calibrating the offense pre-snap to get to the perfect play, and then executing post snap. However, Rodgers is not that far behind. Meanwhile, the gap between Rodgers' athleticism vs. Peyton's is significantly in Rodgers' favor, enough so to tilt the overall decision. 

[JustInFudge]

Rodgers > Mahomes > Montana > Manning > Marino

[Hael]

Montana ~ Brady > Rogers > Unitas > Graham.

Manning/Brees/Ryan are incredibly overrated b/c of the pass game explosion and the fact their teams were basically completely stacked for offense for the majority of their tenures.  Favre/Marino/Elway are perennially overrated but talented.

Otto Graham and Unitas are underrated b/c of the era bias.  Steve Young is always underrated.  Rogers is imo underrated as well, b/c despite the fact that almost everyone sees him as the most talented qb to ever play, the offensive skill players on his teams have always been overrated. 

Brady is probably better than Joe was, mainly b/c of longevity, but idgaf, Montana was the best i've ever seen.

[JoeFan]

Not including post-season games is particularly egregious when ranking quarterbacks.  In fact, it is a joke.  Without question, the 2 best qbs were Brady and Montana.
Some other observations: Manning was a choker.  Before you jump down my throat, check out his lifetime post-season record.  Then check how many of those losses were at *home!* Disgraceful. Hell, even the JETS beat Manning in the playoffs.  I bet that many of you were at that game, as I was.  It was 41-0, and the Colts were favored in it!  Manning was throwing dirt balls the whole game.  He lost to PENNINGTON!

Other notes: Favre was the most overrated qb in history.  There were numerous playoff games which he lost when an interception was directly responsible.  
Johnny Unitas should be #3 on the list.  He was by far the best of his era, and was Mr. Clutch.  I was a Giants fan in those days, so I hated his freakin’ guts.

Dan Marino belongs in the top 5.  I know he never won a super bowl, but context is important.  Poor running game and defense.  He belongs just behind Rogers, because Marino couldn’t escape the rush as well as Rogers does.  They were/ are the best passers ever.

Including Matt Ryan on this list is an insult.

Bert Jones was better than half of the QBs on this list.

To the OP.  Thank you for providing these lists.  However, if you ever do this again, please use a different reference source.   This one sucks big time.km

 

 

 

 

 

[Jet9]

Has to be broken down by era because this era is Madden-Influenced dog sh*t. 

[Trotter]

Best overall I have to go montana.

best pure passer marino, fouts and joe willie.

best to get out of an impossible situation, the snake.

[slimjasi]

I accidentally left Unitas off my ballot, but my top five are:

1) Brady 

2) Montana

3) Unitas 

4) Marino

5) Manning 

 

[Blackout]

6 hours ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Leading up to the start of the season, I'll be posting a thread once every day or so devoted to determine the top 5 all-time at each position, as voted on by JN.

I am using football-reference.com's AV (Approximate Value) metric to help compare across eras.  The "Peak AV Average" means the average "score" for each player's among their top 5 performing years in the league, to help establish which players had the high peaks and which players were more of the "compilers" over a long career.  Utilizing a "peak AV" also allows for players with careers shortened by injury to be included.

Also note that AV only goes back so far, so some players from the earliest days in NFL history (primarily the 30s, 40s and early 50s) are, unfortunately, excluded.

 

Yesterday, JN voted on RB's:

 

 

 

Today, we vote on QBs!

Below are the candidates and their resumes, ranked in the order weighted by AV/Peak AV:

 

1.  Tom Brady, NE/TB (2000-present)

• Career AV:  316
• Peak AV Average:  20
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  3
• Pro Bowl Selections:  15
• Career Passing TDs:  624

2.  Peyton Manning, IND/DEN (1998-2015)

• Career AV:  271
• Peak AV Average:  19  
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  7
• Pro Bowl Selections:  13
• Career Passing TDs:  539

3.  Aaron Rodgers, GB (2005-present)

• Career AV:  218
• Peak AV Average:  20
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  4
• Pro Bowl Selections:  10
• Career Passing TDs:  449

4.  Drew Brees, SD/NO (2001-2020)

• Career AV:  277
• Peak AV Average:  18  
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  1
• Pro Bowl Selections:  13
• Career Passing TDs:  539

5.  Brett Favre, ATL/GB/NYJ/MIN (1991-2010)

• Career AV:  259
• Peak AV Average:  17
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  3
• Pro Bowl Selections:  11
• Career Passing TDs:  508

6.  Steve Young, TB/SF (1985-1999)

• Career AV:  168
• Peak AV Average:  19
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  3
• Pro Bowl Selections:  7
• Career Passing TDs:  232

7.  Philip Rivers, SD/LAC/IND (2004-2020)

• Career AV:  218
• Peak AV Average:  18
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  0
• Pro Bowl Selections:  8
• Career Passing TDs:  421

8.  Fran Tarkenton, MIN/NYG (1961-1978)

• Career AV:  233
• Peak AV Average:  17
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  1
• Pro Bowl Selections:  9
• Career Passing TDs:  342

9.  Dan Marino, MIA (1983-1999)

• Career AV:  216
• Peak AV Average:  17
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  3
• Pro Bowl Selections:  9
• Career Passing TDs:  420

10.  Dan Fouts, SD (1973-1987)

• Career AV:  163
• Peak AV Average:  18
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  2
• Pro Bowl Selections:  6
• Career Passing TDs:  254

11.  Patrick Mahomes, KC (2017-present)

• Career AV:  75
• Peak AV Average:  19
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  1
• Pro Bowl Selections:  4
• Career Passing TDs:  151

12.  Matt Ryan, ATL/IND (2008-present)

• Career AV:  203
• Peak AV Average:  17
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  1
• Pro Bowl Selections:  4
• Career Passing TDs:  367

13.  John Elway, DEN (1983-1998)

• Career AV:  206
• Peak AV Average:  16
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  0
• Pro Bowl Selections:  9
• Career Passing TDs:  300

14.  Russell Wilson, SEA/DEN (2012-present)

• Career AV:  158
• Peak AV Average:  18
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  0
• Pro Bowl Selections:  9
• Career Passing TDs:  292

15.  Kurt Warner, STL/NYG/AZ (1998-2009)

• Career AV:  113
• Peak AV Average:  18
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  2
• Pro Bowl Selections:  4
• Career Passing TDs:  208

16.  Ken Anderson, CIN (1971-1986)

• Career AV:  160
• Peak AV Average:  17
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  1
• Pro Bowl Selections:  4
• Career Passing TDs:  197

17.  Joe Montana, SF/KC (1979-1994)

• Career AV:  166
• Peak AV Average:  16
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  3
• Pro Bowl Selections:  8
• Career Passing TDs:  273

18.  Johnny Unitas, BAL/SD (1956-1973)

• Career AV:  145
• Peak AV Average:  16
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  5
• Pro Bowl Selections:  10
• Career Passing TDs:  290

19.  Warren Moon, HOU/MIN/SEA/KC (1984-2000)

• Career AV:  163
• Peak AV Average:  14
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  0
• Pro Bowl Selections:  9
• Career Passing TDs:  291

 

Just missed the cut:  Randall Cunningham, Roger Staubach, Eli Manning, Cam Newton, Ben Roethlisberger, Matthew Stafford, Terry Bradshaw

Honorable mention:  Otto Graham (pre-1960s era)

 

Where the F is Otto Graham???

7 championships.without cheating

[Charlie Brown]

6 hours ago, Grandy said:

No representation for Otto Graham fans.

But yeah, Peyton is the best I've ever seen.

OTTO GRAHAM WAS PHENOMENAL!

AUTOMATIC OTTO!!

I can't take it anymore!! Won 7 Championships.. no cheating had been a FB/RB so he was a terrific runner!!

[southparkcpa]

Anyone who doesn’t have Brady number 1 is lying to themselves and is in denial. He has lost more SBs than most other QBs have won

His teams normally won 12 games a year…..   Jets haven’t done that in 23 years. 

 

The guys a tool but he is GOAT.   

Google it…..  he’s 1 on pretty much every NON Jet biased list. 

[GandWFan]

1) write in - Joe Namath.  The most important and impactful of all AFL qbs.

2) write in - Bart Starr 

3) write in - Kenny Stabler

4) write in - Len Dawson

5) Brett Farve

 

 

[GandWFan]

Otto was just a little before my time.

[Jet9]

46 minutes ago, southparkcpa said:

Anyone who doesn’t have Brady number 1 is lying to themselves and is in denial. He has lost more SBs than most other QBs have won

His teams normally won 12 games a year…..   Jets haven’t done that in 23 years. 

 

The guys a tool but he is GOAT.   

Google it…..  he’s 1 on pretty much every NON Jet biased list. 

While I don't deny his talent (and his best talent is his brain), this era needs an asterisk with the rules being what they are. Every year or so you see records getting broken or some 27 year old QB is in some statistical conversation with a guy like Fouts or Marino. It's....well, it's fake. Like Steph Curry breaking some 3 point record at 33 years old. Lol, no. It's like moving the MLB fences in to 250 feet and then being amazed at all the home runs and records being broken. It's nonsense. I understand that sports go in waves and trends but this NFL stuff is entirely manufactured. 

 

JMO. 

 

 

ETA: Brady might possibly be the whiniest little bitch ever when he does actually get knocked on his ass. 

[Jets Things]

In my lifetime...

1) Montana

2) Brady

3) Manning

4) Marino

5) Brees

[jgb]

6 minutes ago, Jet9 said:

While I don't deny his talent (and his best talent is his brain)

Sort of makes you wonder why media, fans, and NFL teams are so obsessed with laser cannon arms and "ceiling."

Give me the guy who can exploit the weakness of the defense with his brain over lug nut Jeff George any day.

Draft for talent (at least until the NFL cracks the code to brain scan QB prospects to determine their football processing speed) but after the draft, it's all about getting the job done, baby.

[southparkcpa]

7 hours ago, Jet9 said:

While I don't deny his talent (and his best talent is his brain), this era needs an asterisk with the rules being what they are. Every year or so you see records getting broken or some 27 year old QB is in some statistical conversation with a guy like Fouts or Marino. It's....well, it's fake. Like Steph Curry breaking some 3 point record at 33 years old. Lol, no. It's like moving the MLB fences in to 250 feet and then being amazed at all the home runs and records being broken. It's nonsense. I understand that sports go in waves and trends but this NFL stuff is entirely manufactured. 

 

JMO. 

 

 

ETA: Brady might possibly be the whiniest little bitch ever when he does actually get knocked on his ass. Absolutely!

 I don't disagree... BUT I spent 3-4 minutes looking for a list where he is NOT number 1 and didn't find one. I would add that the NFL had meetings saying in any situation, Brees, Brady, Manning get the call. THEY were the face of the NFL for years.

Basically ALL sports writers/experts have him at 1.  That was my point.  Only in a JET/AFC East  market will he be overly disrespected

 

 

 

[Biggs]

9 hours ago, GandWFan said:

1) write in - Joe Namath.  The most important and impactful of all AFL qbs.

2) write in - Bart Starr 

3) write in - Kenny Stabler

4) write in - Len Dawson

5) Brett Farve

 

 

Starr has to be included.  He also makes the case that coaching players how to play actually matters.   No gas all plan.  

[Long Island Leprechaun]

I would have included Staubach before a stiff like Phillip Rivers. For all you Brady fans, just imagine him playing back in the days of Namath, Staubach, Bradshaw (won't even bother to consider the era prior). Staubach alone suffered 20 concussions in his career. Brady would have folded up like a cheap piece of foolscap under that kind of pressure and he wouldn't have survived more than a few seasons with the beatings those guys took. He's a touch football QB, which is pretty much what the game has become. When you can't be touched, you've got a quick release and good vision, you can become a superstar. Imagine Dan Marino in today's game. Or Montana. Those guys would have looked like Superman compared to Brady and his prissy "records." 

And by the way where's Jim Brown? 

[JetsFanatic]

How is it possible Jim Brown is not on

this list????

[JetsFanatic]

On a serious note, it is virtually impossible to compare QBs from different eras. When Unitas and Namath played you could hit the QB and mug the receiver throughout his route. That is why percentage completion and TD/Int rates were much poorer back in the 60’s and 70’s. If Namath or Unitas played in today’s NFL he would put up incredible numbers. 
 

That said nobody scared me more than Dan Marino as an opposing QB.

[Untouchable]

1. Brady

2. Montana 

3. Elway

4. Manning

5. Marino

[JetsFanatic]

10 hours ago, GandWFan said:

1) write in - Joe Namath.  The most important and impactful of all AFL qbs.

2) write in - Bart Starr 

3) write in - Kenny Stabler

4) write in - Len Dawson

5) Brett Farve

 

 

Namath would put up tremendous numbers in today’s NFL

[Obrien2Toon]

Kelly wouldn’t have been in my top 5, but feel like he should’ve at least made the list

guy is so underrated 

Manning

Montana

Elway

Marino

Brady

—————-

Young

Rodgers

Kelly

Brees

 

[chirorob]

3 minutes ago, JetsFanatic said:

Namath would put up tremendous numbers in today’s NFL

If you could sober him up for the games.

A lot of his problems were self inflicted, but yes, woth medical the way it is now, the knee wouldn't have been an issue, and the arm was fantastic.

 

[chirorob]

17 minutes ago, JetsFanatic said:

On a serious note, it is virtually impossible to compare QBs from different eras. When Unitas and Namath played you could hit the QB and mug the receiver throughout his route. That is why percentage completion and TD/Int rates were much poorer back in the 60’s and 70’s. If Namath or Unitas played in today’s NFL he would put up incredible numbers. 

Totally agree.

For context, look at the 85 Bears highlights.  Half of those sacks would be penalties now.  There's a reason you didn't have 38 year QBs very often.

That said, Brady is the best of this generation.   Montana was the best before him, probably Staubach the best of his, and Johnny U was the best of his.

[The Crusher]

18 hours ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Leading up to the start of the season, I'll be posting a thread once every day or so devoted to determine the top 5 all-time at each position, as voted on by JN.

I am using football-reference.com's AV (Approximate Value) metric to help compare across eras.  The "Peak AV Average" means the average "score" for each player's among their top 5 performing years in the league, to help establish which players had the high peaks and which players were more of the "compilers" over a long career.  Utilizing a "peak AV" also allows for players with careers shortened by injury to be included.

Also note that AV only goes back so far, so some players from the earliest days in NFL history (primarily the 30s, 40s and early 50s) are, unfortunately, excluded.

 

Yesterday, JN voted on RB's:

 

 

 

Today, we vote on QBs!

Below are the candidates and their resumes, ranked in the order weighted by AV/Peak AV:

 

1.  Tom Brady, NE/TB (2000-present)

• Career AV:  316
• Peak AV Average:  20
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  3
• Pro Bowl Selections:  15
• Career Passing TDs:  624

2.  Peyton Manning, IND/DEN (1998-2015)

• Career AV:  271
• Peak AV Average:  19  
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  7
• Pro Bowl Selections:  13
• Career Passing TDs:  539

3.  Aaron Rodgers, GB (2005-present)

• Career AV:  218
• Peak AV Average:  20
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  4
• Pro Bowl Selections:  10
• Career Passing TDs:  449

4.  Drew Brees, SD/NO (2001-2020)

• Career AV:  277
• Peak AV Average:  18  
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  1
• Pro Bowl Selections:  13
• Career Passing TDs:  539

5.  Brett Favre, ATL/GB/NYJ/MIN (1991-2010)

• Career AV:  259
• Peak AV Average:  17
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  3
• Pro Bowl Selections:  11
• Career Passing TDs:  508

6.  Steve Young, TB/SF (1985-1999)

• Career AV:  168
• Peak AV Average:  19
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  3
• Pro Bowl Selections:  7
• Career Passing TDs:  232

7.  Philip Rivers, SD/LAC/IND (2004-2020)

• Career AV:  218
• Peak AV Average:  18
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  0
• Pro Bowl Selections:  8
• Career Passing TDs:  421

8.  Fran Tarkenton, MIN/NYG (1961-1978)

• Career AV:  233
• Peak AV Average:  17
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  1
• Pro Bowl Selections:  9
• Career Passing TDs:  342

9.  Dan Marino, MIA (1983-1999)

• Career AV:  216
• Peak AV Average:  17
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  3
• Pro Bowl Selections:  9
• Career Passing TDs:  420

10.  Dan Fouts, SD (1973-1987)

• Career AV:  163
• Peak AV Average:  18
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  2
• Pro Bowl Selections:  6
• Career Passing TDs:  254

11.  Patrick Mahomes, KC (2017-present)

• Career AV:  75
• Peak AV Average:  19
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  1
• Pro Bowl Selections:  4
• Career Passing TDs:  151

12.  Matt Ryan, ATL/IND (2008-present)

• Career AV:  203
• Peak AV Average:  17
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  1
• Pro Bowl Selections:  4
• Career Passing TDs:  367

13.  John Elway, DEN (1983-1998)

• Career AV:  206
• Peak AV Average:  16
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  0
• Pro Bowl Selections:  9
• Career Passing TDs:  300

14.  Russell Wilson, SEA/DEN (2012-present)

• Career AV:  158
• Peak AV Average:  18
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  0
• Pro Bowl Selections:  9
• Career Passing TDs:  292

15.  Kurt Warner, STL/NYG/AZ (1998-2009)

• Career AV:  113
• Peak AV Average:  18
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  2
• Pro Bowl Selections:  4
• Career Passing TDs:  208

16.  Ken Anderson, CIN (1971-1986)

• Career AV:  160
• Peak AV Average:  17
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  1
• Pro Bowl Selections:  4
• Career Passing TDs:  197

17.  Joe Montana, SF/KC (1979-1994)

• Career AV:  166
• Peak AV Average:  16
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  3
• Pro Bowl Selections:  8
• Career Passing TDs:  273

18.  Johnny Unitas, BAL/SD (1956-1973)

• Career AV:  145
• Peak AV Average:  16
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  5
• Pro Bowl Selections:  10
• Career Passing TDs:  290

19.  Warren Moon, HOU/MIN/SEA/KC (1984-2000)

• Career AV:  163
• Peak AV Average:  14
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  0
• Pro Bowl Selections:  9
• Career Passing TDs:  291

 

Just missed the cut:  Randall Cunningham, Roger Staubach, Eli Manning, Cam Newton, Ben Roethlisberger, Matthew Stafford, Terry Bradshaw

Honorable mention:  Otto Graham (pre-1960s era)

Hit me up when you do the top 5 inactive players of all time. 

[GandWFan]

13 minutes ago, JetsFanatic said:

Namath would put up tremendous numbers in today’s NFL

Yes he would.  Plus he gave the AFL credibility at a time when they where viewed as the JV squad.  

He was one of the best pure passers, a giant personality and an important figure in the history of the game.  

(And he didn't cheat)