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Who’s the best under center in the NFL? Sam Farmer ranks the quarterbacks top to bottom

It's hard to argue that New England's Tom Brady is not the NFL's best quarterback. So we will not.
(Streeter Lecka / Getty Images)
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Ranking the NFL’s quarterbacks, with comment from Los Angeles Times NFL columnist Sam Farmer:

Rk, Player, Team, Comment

1. Tom Brady, New England: Five rings and, even at 41, still the platinum standard.

2. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay: He’ll miss Jordy Nelson, but Jimmy Graham will help.

3. Drew Brees, New Orleans: Completed an NFL-record 72% of his passes last season.

4. Russell Wilson, Seattle: Responsible for 86% of Seahawks’ total offense in 2017.

5. Carson Wentz, Philadelphia: Set Eagles season record for TD passes even missing three games.

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6. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh: Did his part in the playoff loss: 469 yards, five TDs.

7. Philip Rivers, Chargers: More than halved his INTs last season, from 21 to 10.

8. Matt Ryan, Atlanta: Despite dip in numbers, still stands in pocket and makes throws.

9. Andrew Luck, Indianapolis: No QB has taken more of a beating, yet he produces.

10. Deshaun Watson, Houston: He could be in the top three. Too small a sample size.

11. Matthew Stafford, Detroit: Wins for a team without 100-yard rusher since 2013.

12. Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco: Like Watson, looks really good but need to see more.

13. Kirk Cousins, Minnesota: Found a way to thrive in a dysfunctional organization.

14. Derek Carr, Oakland: Jon Gruden will strive to find Carr of 2016 — 28 TDs, six INTs.

15. Cam Newton, Carolina: Can be exceptional or lousy, depends on which Cam shows up.

16. Jared Goff, Rams: Coming off a strong year and growing into Sean McVay’s offense.

17. Marcus Mariota, Tennessee: Excellent two years ago but 2017 numbers hit the skids.

18. Dak Prescott, Dallas: By own admission, he made “a lot of mental mistakes” last year.

19. Eli Manning, N.Y. Giants: Two rings, but benched last season for the first time.

20. Alex Smith, Washington: Coming off great year, but big weapons downgrade in D.C.

21. Joe Flacco, Baltimore: Where did the deep ball go? Yards per completion in the gutter.

22. Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay: Talented, yes, but too many red flags off the field.

23. Sam Bradford/Josh Rosen, Arizona: Bradford can’t stay healthy. Rosen is intriguing talent.

24. Andy Dalton, Cincinnati: As the years go by, MVP push in 2015 looking like an anomaly.

25. Case Keenum, Denver: Overachiever, so he could be better than this ranking.

26. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City: NFL’s best arsenal of skill-position players should mask rawness.

27. Sam Darnold, N.Y. Jets: Framework is in place, now Darnold can grow into job.

28. Ryan Tannehill, Miami: Still hanging onto his job, but it’s a tenuous grip.

29. Blake Bortles, Jacksonville: Coming off wrist surgery, inaccurate short-to-middle range.

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30. Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago: Seven TDs, seven picks, 77.5 rating — definition of so-so.

31. Tyrod Taylor/Baker Mayfield, Cleveland: When a team is 1-31, odds are against young QB.

32. Josh Allen/AJ McCarron, Buffalo: Allen’s 56% completion rate at Wyoming is troubling.

sam.farmer@latimes.com

Follow Sam Farmer on Twitter @LATimesfarmer

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