The best NFL quarterbacks for every type of throw

As the NFL continues to embrace advanced metrics, there are stories to tell from those numbers, especially when you match them with tape. One of the things these drill-down stats give you is an interesting set of names when it comes to the best quarterbacks for different types of throws, in different schemes, against different defensive ideas and with certain pre-snap and post-snap advantages and disadvantages.

Last June, when I put together the best quarterbacks for every type of throw, one quarterback stood above all: Aaron Rodgers. Not a surprise given Rodgers’ MVP season, and it should not be a shock that Rodgers comes out on top in the most categories for the 2021 season — after all, he repeated the award.

We also have multiple appearances from Matthew Stafford and Joe Burrow, whose teams faced off in Super Bowl LVI, in large part due to their efforts. Broncos fans should be happy with the frequency of Russell Wilson’s namechecks, and there’s more Kirk Cousins here than you might imagine.

Here, from multiple drops and in multiple concepts/situations, are the best quarterbacks for every type of throw from the 2021 season.

(All metrics courtesy of Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise indicated). 

Zero/One-step drop: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

(Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports)

Mahomes takes the title from Tom Brady, who was the NFL’s most productive quarterback in 2020 on the shortest possible dropbacks. Last season, the Chiefs’ deep passing game wasn’t as consistent as it had been before, and one wonders how the offense will be different without Tyreek Hill, but Mahomes was quite adept with the quick game. In 2021, he completed 135 of 176 passes from zero- and one-step drops for 1,304 yards, 463 air yards, 16 touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 122.4. Mahomes’ 16 touchdown passes from these quick drops doubled Ryan Tannehill, who finished second in the NFL last season with eight.

Because Mahomes plays so much in the pistol formation, and because he’s so good with second-reaction plays, he will occasionally do what most quarterbacks can’t — create explosive plays with those quick drops, as he did on this 75-yard touchdown pass to Hill against the Browns.

Three-step drop: Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

(Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports)

Last season, per Pro Football Focus, Stafford tied with Buffalo’s Josh Allen for the most completions of 20 or more air yards with 39. He also threw 10 deep touchdowns, but the Rams with Stafford did a lot more than just have their new quarterback drop back and air it out. With three-step drops, Stafford 182 of 265 passes for 1,949 yards, 1,155 air yards, 21 touchdowns, four interceptions, and a passer rating of 110.1. Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, and Joe Burrow all had higher passer ratings than Stafford did with three-stop drops, but none of those quarterbacks were able to match Stafford’s impressive touchdown-to-interception ratio. Stafford as always had his reckless moments, but the three-step game seemed to bring out the best in him. Perhaps it’s that the longer Stafford has to drop back, the more time he has to get “creative,” both to his benefit and to his detriment.

However, this three-step fade touchdown to Odell Beckham Jr. against the Cardinals in the playoffs is about as clean as you can draw it up.

Five-step drop: Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings

(Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports)

Say what you want about Cousins (and we certainly have), but he is an above-average quarterback in terms of production. We can’t ignore a guy who finished seventh in DVOA and eighth in DYAR last season. And there was no better quarterback in the league last season when it came to throwing from five-stop drops — that’s where Cousins was at his best, completing 88 of 135 passes for 1,005 yards, 692 air yards, 10 touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 105.9. As was the case with Stafford and the three-step drops, there were other quarterbacks with higher five-step passer ratings (Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, to be specific), but nobody had Cousins’ touchdown-to-interception ratio.

This 21-yard touchdown pass to K.J. Osborn against the Bears shows how Cousins uses those intermediate drops — frequently with hitches at the end, and scanning the field, waiting for openings, until they happen.

Seven-step drop: Daniel Jones, New York Giants

(Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports)

It has been a point of frustration among many observers that the Giants have not allowed Jones to let his freak flag fly as a deep passer over the last couple of seasons. Jones is an incomplete quarterback, which is a primary reason the team didn’t pick up his fifth-year option. It’s clear that this is Jones’ last chance with Big Blue, and we don’t let know what the offense will look like under new head coach and former Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. But if Jones is the guy this season, Daboll might want to consider more deep drops (which ties to more deep passes, of course) than we’ve seen before. That Daboll seems to be pointing to this idea is encouraging.

In 2021, Jones took seven-step drops on 27 dropbacks, completing 22 of 26 passes for 330 yards, 203 air yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 157.2. Two of those attempts came on passes of 20 or more air yards, both were completed, and both were completed for touchdowns. This 52-yard score to John Ross against the Saints’ outstanding defense shows how those deep drops not only mitigated the Giants’ protection issues, but also gave Jones the time to see the field at his relatively elementary level.

Designed rollout: Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

(Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports)

Fresh off the horrific injuries that cost him all but five games in 2020, Prescott was his usual athletic, accurate self in 2021, and his efficiency on designed rollouts to either side of the field was one level of proof. Prescott completed 36 of 49 such passes for 370 yards, 183 air yards, six touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 123.5.

This 35-yard touchdown to CeeDee Lamb on a deep over route against the Patriots shows how Prescott can not only roll out well, but how he uses scramble rules to find open receivers for big plays.

(Side note: Justin Fields had the NFL’s highest passer rating with 138.5 on designed rollouts, and the Bears called them on just 19 of Fields’ attempts. As much compelling evidence as there was that the Matt Nagy era was a huge mistake, there’s another piece of the puzzle).

RPO: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

(Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)

Kyler Murray and Josh Allen were on Rodgers’ heels as the most efficient and productive RPO quarterback, but Rodgers won the day. The Packers have expanded their RPO packages under head coach and offensive shot-caller Matt LaFleur over the last couple seasons, and it works very well — especially in the red zone. In 2021, Rodgers completed 55 of 61 RPO passes for 273 yards, two air yards (!!!), six touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 118.1. Not a lot of “big plays,” but a lot of productive ones. Rodgers can read anything a defense throws at him, and he may have the most transcendent arm talent in NFL history, so when you give him a simple “this or that” option, defenses are generally in big trouble.

With pre-snap motion: Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos

(Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports)

It is indicative of the disconnect between Russell Wilson and the Seahawks that Wilson was the NFL’s best quarterback with pre-snap motion in 2021, and he had the benefit of it less often than any other starter. Perhaps new Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett will realize this, and call it more liberally. In any event, Wilson completed 76 of 109 passes with pre-snap motion for 1,006 yards, 454 air yards, eight touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 113.2 that was the highest among any quarterback with at least 100 attempts.

So, why did Wilson have just 109 attempts with pre-snap motion when Patrick Mahomes led the league with 503? The mind reels. Teddy Bridgewater, who Wilson will replace in Denver, had 147 attempts with pre-snap motion, and former Broncos quarterback Drew Lock, who now competes with Geno Smith for Seattle’s starting job as part of the Wilson trade, had 48 attempts with pre-snap motion, completing 29 passes for 391 yards, 199 air yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 81.3. In that regard, Lock would seem to be a better fit for Seattle than Wilson was — a very odd statement, but we are where we are with that.

Offenses can use motion to indicate coverage, and motion to disrupt defenses and set up advantageous routes. This 10-yard touchdown from Wilson to D.K. Metcalf against the Vikings is a great example of the latter — Metcalf motions to a tighter split pre-snap, and that gives him room to move on the quick out. Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron might want to give Lock and Smith more of this in 2022.

Without pre-snap motion: Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals

(Syndication: The Enquirer)

Burrow proved to be one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks in his second (and first full) professional season, taking the Bengals to the Super Bowl despite an offensive line that was… well, offensive. And he didn’t need pre-snap motion to make it happen. Only Matthew Stafford had more passing touchdowns without motion (33) than Burrow’s 27, and Burrow threw eight interceptions to Stafford’s 10. Burrow completed 330 of 457 attempts for 4,126 yards, 2,183 air yards, and a league-high passer rating of 112.3.

The Bengals were creative with formations and personnel without motion — they ran a ton of 3×1 sets, and Burrow often liked to throw to the iso receiver; especially in the red zone, and especially when the receiver was Ja’Marr Chase. Forcing those one-on-ones with Chase made for some very unpleasant days for enemy cornerbacks. The Chiefs felt that a lot in Week 17…

Burrow was far less effective with pre-snap motion, which is different — he completed 133 of 205 passes for 1,590 yards, 609 air yards, 12 touchdowns, eight interceptions, and a passer rating of 91.7.

With play-action: Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings

(AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Wait. Kirk Cousins makes this list twice? Yup. Cousins has always been an above-average play-action and boot-action quarterback, and in 2021, he completed 104 of 149 passes with play-action for 1,368 yards, 677 air yards, 12 touchdowns, two interceptions, and a league-high passer rating of 119.8. As is the case with Russell Wilson and pre-snap motion, you can certainly wonder why the Vikings didn’t use more play-action last season as a result; Josh Allen led the NFL with 240 play-action attempts. Perhaps new head coach Kevin O’Connell, most recently the Rams’ offensive coordinator, will have something to say about that.

On plays like this 45-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson against the Bears in Week 18, Cousins shows his knack for using boot-action to give himself additional time for plays to develop. From there, it’s just a nice downfield throw, and Jefferson torching his unfortunate defender.

Without play-action: Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals

(Syndication: The Enquirer)

Joe Burrow don’t need no stinkin’ pre-snap motion, and apparently, he don’t need no stinkin’ play-action, either. It’s very unusual for a young quarterback to throw aside two of the primary cheat codes for any quarterback and still excel, but Burrow is That Guy. One reason for this is the Bengals’ high rate of quick-game concepts; only Tom Brady (579) had more attempts of zero to three steps than Burrow’s 507. A specific reason for Burrow’s apparent distaste for play-action might be that he’s one of those quarterbacks who don’t like to turn his back to the defense, turn back around, and see a different spun coverage.

In any event, without play-action in 2021, Burrow completed 382 of 537 passes for 4,478 yards, 2,252 air yards, 31 touchdowns, nine interceptions, and a passer rating of 108.4. That tied him with Aaron Rodgers for the NFL’s best, but Rodgers had 26 touchdowns and four interceptions without play-action. You could split hairs here, but we’ll take the higher touchdown total and deal with a few more picks.

Burrow and Dak Prescott tied for the league lead with eight touchdowns on passes of 20 or more air yards without play-action, and this 32-yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins against the Steelers in Week 12 has neither play-action nor pre-snap motion; it’s just Burrow picking out his matchup favorite from the pocket, and nuking Pittsburgh’s defense along the way.

When blitzed: Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

(Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

Sometimes, football is pretty simple. And in the case of Matthew Stafford, it’s exceedingly simple: If you blitz him, your defense is going to die. Against five or more pass-rushers last season, Stafford completed 112 of 151 passes for 1,398 yards, 724 air yards, 17 touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 140.0. For context, Joe Burrow had the second-best rating against the blitz among quarterbacks blitzed at least 50 times last season at 123.8, and Russell Wilson finished third at 123.6. So, Stafford stood apart in this way in a very clear fashion in 2021.

Stafford has the pocket movement skills and out-of-pocket ability to evade pressure, but he shines against the blitz because he’s so quick and adept at picking up the one-on-one matchups that are the inevitable outgrowth of too many guys coming at your quarterback. On this red zone touchdown pass to Odell Beckham Jr. against the Cardinals in Week 14, Stafford just offsets Arizona’s front-side overload blitz with the quick backside slant.

Wherever and however you come at Stafford with the full-court press, the ball’s coming out, and you’re not going to like it.

Without the blitz: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

(Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports)

Rodgers was the NFL’s best quarterback against no blitz and against no pressure in 2021. So, maybe pressure him more often? Tough to do when the Packers run a lot of RPO and quick-game stuff — as we’ve seen, Rodgers is also a wizard with run-pass options. When facing four or fewer pass-rushers in 2021, Rodgers completed 295 of 407 passes for 3,319 yards, 1,458 air yards, 22 touchdowns, three interceptions, and am NFL-best passer rating of 108.8.

Now, if you’re not blitzing Rodgers, you obviously hope that there are enough defenders in coverage to at least give Rodgers pause as he scans the field for targets. But if you have Allen Lazard running a leak from right to left, and pushing off against single coverage, that doesn’t always work — and Rodgers obviously has the pinpoint accuracy to make those matchups favorable to the Packers. The Lions found that out (again) on this 29-yard touchdown in Week 18.

Under pressure: Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos

(Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports)

Through his time with the Seattle Seahawks, Russell Wilson had to deal with poorly constructed and poorly coaches offensive lines (hello, Tom Cable), which generally amounted to a high pressure rate. It’s also true that Wilson has had the tendency to run himself right into even more pressures. That’s a Broncos problem now. What isn’t a Broncos problem is how well Wilson threw against pressure in 2021 — he completed 64 of 129 passes for 880 yards, 632 air yards, 10 touchdowns, three interceptions, and an NFL-best passer rating of 88.0.

Because Wilson is so used to pressure, he doesn’t just hit the hot route automatically when it happens — he’s perfectly happy to go through his progressions, and if the hot is the best option, that’s fine. On this touchdown pass against the 49ers, watch how Wilson reads the backside tight end and running back, clocks D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett to the front side, and eventually hits D’Wayne Eskridge for the score. Given all his receiver options in Denver, we can expect Wilson to keep this up in his new home.

Without pressure: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

(Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

So… what we just said about Rodgers as the NFL’s best passer without a blitz to deal with? He’s also the best when not under pressure of any kind. In those instances last season, he completed 337 of 434 passes for 3,713 yards, 1568 air yards, 27 touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 122.1. A lot of those touchdowns were simple red zone concepts where Rodgers would throw a fade to one of his bigger receivers, or a quick slant to Davante Adams, and that was that.

Adams is gone now, traded to the Raiders, but Rodgers can still do things like this without pressure — a two-yard slant touchdown to Allen Lazard against the Bears that looked all too easy.

In the pocket: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

(Syndication: Journal Sentinel)

Our Aaron Rodgers coronation ends with his excellence in the pocket. Rodgers has always been more than mobile enough to frustrate opposing defenses, especially because once he slips the pocket, you then have to deal with the otherworldly arm talent. When he’s allowed to stay in the pocket? Bad things, man. Bad things.

In 2021, from the pocket, Rodgers completed 347 of 486 passes for 3,866 yards, 1373 air yards, 30 touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 115.1. Four of those touchdowns were on throws of 20 or more air yards, and if you let Aaron Rodgers hang around in the pocket long enough to hit it big downfield… well, that’s on you. That’s where he’ll make ridiculous throws like this 20-yard touchdown pass to Allen Lazard against the Vikings. Not sure how you defend that. 

Outside the pocket: Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills

(AP Photo / Mark LoMoglio)

The Bills’ quarterback is a royal pain for enemy defenses when he leaves the pocket for a couple of reasons. The first is that he’s the Bills’ best running back, and he’s more than happy to go all Cam Newton on you with his 6-foot-5, 237-pound frame. Including the playoffs last season, Allen ran 139 times for 867 yards and six touchdowns. Then, you also have to deal with the idea that Allen will leave the pocket, and kill your defenses with one of those “What did he just [expletive] do?” throws, and that’s what we’re focusing on here. In 2021, Allen completed eight of 18 passes outside the pocket for 257 yards, 225 air yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 130.8.

When you combine Allen’s athleticism and arm talent… I mean, I’m really not sure what else the Patriots were supposed to do here.

1

1