Ranking the opposing quarterbacks on New York Jets’ 2020 schedule

Which signal-callers will keep Gregg Williams up at night? The Cam Newton news on Sunday makes it a bit more interesting. 14. Jarrett Stidham, New England Patriots Until we get to see Stidham in extended action, it is tough to gauge anything on him. He did play well in the 2019 preseason, completing 61-of-90 passes for 731 yards (8.1 per attempt), four touchdowns and one interception (102.6 passer rating). 13. Tyrod Taylor, Los Angeles Chargers Taylor seems like a good bet to start the season in front of sixth overall pick Justin Herbert, especially with the rookie getting minimal practice time to make a play for the job. Soon to be 31 years old, Taylor is not much more than an athletic game manager. He refuses to take any risks, which helped him achieve a minuscule interception rate of 1.3% in Buffalo (second-lowest among qualifiers from 2015-17), but that mentality results in yards being left on the field. Taylor averaged just 201.3 passing yards per game with the Bills, last among qualifiers from 2015-17. 12. Drew Lock, Denver Broncos Lock showcased exciting potential with his finish to the 2019 season, leading Denver to a 4-1 finish after a 3-8 start. Despite a solid touchdown-to-interception ratio of 7-to-3, Lock averaged only 204.0 yards per game and 6.5 yards per attempt. He threw for under 200 yards in three games and averaged under 6.0 yards per game in three games, as well. The young franchise quarterback still has a very long way to go in spite of the eye-popping win-loss record attached to his name, but his start was promising given the circumstances. 11. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Miami Dolphins You never know what you are going to get when you put Fitzpatrick under center. He led the NFL with an insane 9.6 yards per attempt for the Buccaneers in 2018, just two years after a horrendous 2016 season with the Jets. Fitzpatrick did an admirable job in 2019, taking control of a lifeless Miami team and making it competitive with a roster that was tailor-made for tanking (and succeeding at it). He ranked 19th out of 33 qualifiers with an average of 6.13 net yards per attempt, which includes sack yardage. That is remarkable given how terrible Miami's offensive line was (league-worst 33.1% pressure rate accredited to the offensive line). 10. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills Allen took some step forwards in 2019, but he also showcased some limitations with his lack of explosiveness despite solid offensive line play and a good one-two punch at wide receiver. With the Bills dominating on defense, Allen morphed into a game manager role, keeping the ball safe and running with it at will but leaving plays on the field - very reminiscent of his predecessor in Buffalo. Allen's average of 5.72 net yards per attempt ranked 27th out of 33 qualifiers, while his passing first down rate (passing first downs divided by pass attempts plus sacks) of 29.3% ranked 30th ahead of only Daniel Jones, Mitchell Trubisky and Mason Rudolph. Among the 20 quarterbacks whose offensive lines allowed a pressure rate below the league average, Allen averaged more net yards per attempt than only Joe Flacco, Marcus Mariota, Devlin Hodges, Rudolph and Trubisky. He averaged fewer passing yards per start than all but Mariota, Hodges, and Rudolph out of the "well-protected" group. Allen's 510 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns are absolutely worth mentioning, but he lost five fumbles and was lucky not to lose a few more as he fumbled 14 times in total. Rushing production at quarterback tends to be overrated - a look at Allen's film reveals many instances in which he decided on scrambling when a longer passing play was available. Relying on rushing yardage is usually a net negative, save for the few quarterbacks who maximize that facet of the game by correctly picking-and-choosing when to use their legs. I don't think Allen is one of those quarterbacks at the moment. The Bills have proven that they can win games with Allen, but I'm not sure he is going to elevate much further beyond what he is right now. His accuracy is wildly volatile and lacking touch, while his feel for the game and overall IQ does not seem proficient enough to allow him to maximize his special physical tools. 9. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals Murray laid a solid foundation to build off of, leading the Cardinals offense to 14th in points per drive (2.02) in his rookie season. His total of 349 completions stands as the most ever by a rookie quarterback under 23 years old, beating the record of 326 set by Peyton Manning in 1998. With a strong offensive line (third-lowest pressure rate allowed in 2019 at 20.4%), a seamless fit in Kliff Kingsbury's innovative offense, and the addition of DeAndre Hopkins, Murray is set up for a massive Year 2 leap. 8. Cam Newton, New England Patriots Newton is the ultimate wild card at this stage of his career, and there is no better place for him to try and recapture his MVP magic than in New England with the support of the greatest coach in history, a fantastic offensive line, and a dominant defense (even if the wide receiver position is still a major weakness). If Newton can get back to 100% physically and acclimate himself in New England's offense, the Patriots just may remain the AFC East powerhouse that they have been over the past two decades. Seamlessly passing the torch from Brady to Newton reads like a Jets fan's worst nightmare. However, it is possible that the Patriots still see Stidham as their quarterback of the future, with Newton brought in simply to provide security and/or competition. It also needs to be considered that Newton has struggled as a passer since his 2015 MVP season. From 2016-19, he posted a passer rating of 82.6, which ranked 27th out of 28 qualifiers over that span (ahead of only Blake Bortles). This could go down as a fruitless shot at the dartboard, or it could be the move that affirms New England's dominance over the AFC East. It's a high-upside pickup with little risk for the Patriots. 7. Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams I think Goff has the talent to rank as high as third on this list, but considering that the Rams are returning the same abysmal offensive line that crushed his numbers in 2019 and parted ways with Brandin Cooks, it is tough to see Goff having a bounceback year in 2020. After back-to-back years with a 100.0+ passer rating in 2017 and 2018, Goff dipped to 22nd in the league with an 86.5 passer rating in 2019. He tied for fourth in the league with 16 interceptions and had the ninth-highest interception rate at 2.6%. On the plus side, Goff was putting up yards at a solid rate, ranking 12th with 6.90 net yards per attempt. Still, that was a steep decline from his 2018 average of 7.52 that ranked fifth in the league. Goff is a good quarterback, but he needs things to be clicking around him to put up elite numbers. 6. Derek Carr, Las Vegas Raiders Carr has steadily progressed throughout his career. After four seasons of measly yardage numbers, he finally eclipsed the league average in yards per attempt with a mark of 7.3 in 2018, his fifth season. He then set a new career-high of 7.9 in 2019, which ranked ninth in the league. Carr's 100.8 passer rating was a career-high as well, also ranking ninth in the league. Carr's career-year led the Raiders to No. 7 in pass offense DVOA. Now, he did have plenty of luxuries at his disposal - a fantastic offensive line that allowed the fourth-lowest pressure rate (21.1%), a strong run game led by Josh Jacobs, and an elite receiving tight end in Darren Waller - so he has not quite proven to be capable of carrying a team yet. Nevertheless, Carr finally seems to be a legitimately above-average starting quarterback. 5. Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns Mayfield does not deserve to be here based on career production. The man just ranked 31st in passer rating, for crying out loud (78.8). I just have a gut feeling about Mayfield, and I'm investing heavy stock into him. After watching extensive film of his 2019 season, I came away much more impressed than I expected to be. Many of his 21 interceptions (second-most in the league) were sheer bad luck - drops, bad routes, ricochets, you name it. Mayfield flashed elite throws constantly in 2019. He has a special touch, especially in the deep range. Additionally, he is adept at subtly maneuvering in the pocket to create throwing windows. His field vision is better than you would expect it to be - he makes the right decision at a solid rate, but there just were not many good options available for him last year. In addition the bad luck with interceptions, Mayfield was not dealt a great hand on the whole. Freddie Kitchens' scheme was abysmal, particularly in the way that it minimized the impact of Odell Beckham. The Browns were severely lacking in talent at the two tackle spots, tight end, and wide receiver (beyond the Beckham/Jarvis Landry duo). Fast forward to the present, and many of those issues may be fixed. Kitchens is out, and Kevin Stefanski is in after leading Kirk Cousins to his most efficient season. The Browns have a potentially formidable duo at tackle with Jedrick Wills and Jack Conklin. Austin Hooper gives Cleveland a legitimate threat at tight end and a third target after Beckham/Landry. Mayfield did not regress quite as much as many have been led to believe. His star potential is obvious when you flip on the tape and look beyond the numbers. I think he is going to be a very good quarterback for a long time, starting in 2020. 4. Philip Rivers, Indianapolis Colts This is a somewhat ambitious ranking for Rivers as he heads into his age-39 season after ranking 17th in passer rating (88.5), but I am intrigued to see what he can do behind a tremendous offensive line in Indy. Rivers can still push the ball downfield at a high level. He ranked 11th with 7.03 net yards per attempt in 2019 and even had the Chargers at No. 9 in passing offense DVOA despite playing behind an offensive line that was tagged with the second-highest pressure rate allowed (32.9%). Rivers' statistical decline was mostly due to an uptick in interceptions - he tossed 20 of them, third-most in the league (his 3.4% interception rate was also third-worst). Moving from Los Angeles' porous offensive line to Indianapolis' sturdy one should help Rivers get his interceptions down. If he can do that while continuing to make plays downfield at the same level he has in recent years, he should be back into the top-10 conversation. Just two years ago in 2018, Rivers ranked fifth in the NFL with a 105.5 passer rating. I think Rivers has still got it. The old man just needs some protection. 3. Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers Is Garoppolo the third-most talented quarterback on this list? Definitely not. He may not even be in the top-six. However, regardless of what you think of his physical abilities, Garoppolo just continues to produce incredibly efficiently at a consistent level. Going back to his first two NFL starts with the Patriots back in 2016, Garoppolo has averaged at least 8.0 yards per attempt in four consecutive seasons. His average of 8.4 yards per attempt over the past four seasons ranks second behind only Patrick Mahomes (8.6). Garoppolo wins with his brain, focusing on making the correct decision at an extremely consistent rate. When a quarterback is able to do that, he doesn't need to make highlight-reel worthy throws to be effective. That is especially the case when the quarterback in question has the support of an elite run game and offensive line. 2. Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks Wilson had an MVP-caliber 2019 season. He absolutely carried the Seahawks, producing at an elite level and leading the offense to success in spite of a very poor offensive line. Wilson ranked fifth in the league (and first among the 13 quarterbacks to start all 16 games) with a 106.3 passer rating and ranked second behind only Aaron Rodgers with an interception rate of just 0.97%. He led the Seahawks to No. 5 in offensive DVOA despite an offensive line that I had ranked 25th in the league. Seattle was the only team with a bottom-12 offensive line (on my list) to make the playoffs. Among qualifiers, only Aaron Rodgers (102.4) has a higher career passer rating than Wilson (101.2). The next man on this list will be coming for that throne in due time. 1. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs It is tough to pick a number that does justice to Mahomes' greatness. Here are some of his rankings among 33 qualifiers over the past two seasons: 1st in yards per attempt (8.58) 1st in net yards per attempt (7.98) 1st in touchdown passes over 20 yards in the air (28) 2nd in passer rating (110.0) 2nd in yards per game (304.3) - trails Ben Roethlisberger by 0.1 2nd in touchdown percentage (7.1%) 7th-lowest interception percentage (1.6%) Yeah, he's decent. Which quarterback do you think will sneakily cause more trouble for the Jets than many realize? How difficult do you think this slate of signal-callers is overall?