The Quarterback position. The most coveted and covered position in the game of American Football. Through the years there have been some unbelievably talented players, many of which that were very difficult to leave off this list. Unfortunately, we narrowed it down to 10, as we give you the 10 best Quarterbacks of all time.
Before we begin, we should mention how we made our picks. As sports fans know, there are many variables aside from raw talent that make a quarterback’s career, just look at his teams defense and offense line as an example.
While no system is perfect, we determined our picks from these primary metrics: Record, Passer Rating, Passing Yards, TD/INT Ratio, Completion %, Yards Per Attempt. Then we considered some outside context as well.
Brett Farve
YEARS ACTIVE: 1991-2010
RECORD: 186-112
PASSER RATING: 86
PASSING YARDS: 71,838
TD/INT RATIO: 508:336
COMPLETION %: 62%
YARDS PER ATTEMPT: 7.1
Playing most of career in Green Bay Packers, Farve managed to start 297 games (which is unheard of) and won 3 consecutive MVPs from 1995-1997 (which is also unheard of). His arm strength, durability and consistency made Farve one of the best Quarterbacks of all time.
Roger Staubach
YEARS ACTIVE: 1969-1979
RECORD: 85-29
PASSER RATING: 83.4
PASSING YARDS: 22,700
TD/INT RATIO: 159:109
COMPLETION %: 57%
YARDS PER ATTEMPT: 7.7
Referred to as “Roger the Dodger” or “Captain Comeback” (which is an amazing name for a Quarterback) Roger played his entire career for the Dallas Cowboys.His career was a few years shorter than planned, due to his service in the Navy, but that didn’t stop him from putting up amazing numbers, leading the Cowboys to 2 Super Bowl victories.
John Elway
YEARS ACTIVE: 1983-1998
RECORD: 148-82-1
PASSER RATING: 79.9
PASSING YARDS: 51,475
TD/INT RATIO: 300:226
COMPLETION %: 56.9
YARDS PER ATTEMPT: 7.1
As one of the top Quarterbacks in his era (and of all time), Elway became the face of the Denver Broncos. He won the 1987 NFL MVP and helped his team win 2 Superbowls, one of which he was named Superbowl MVP (1998). Few can say they won a Superbowl in their last season, but that was just an example of all of Elway’s accomplishments.
Otto Graham
YEARS ACTIVE: 1946-1955
RECORD: 57-13-1
PASSER RATING: 78.2
PASSING YARDS: 23,584
TD/INT RATIO: 174:135
COMPLETION %: 55.8%
YARDS PER ATTEMPT: 9.0
The man, the myth, the legend. His career might have been on the shorter side, mad, did Otto Graham have a cannon for an arm and he sure knew how to use it. He came up in big situations and turned a once mediocre Kansas City Browns team into a contender. With that said, it shouldn’t surprise you that Otto Graham was the kind of Quarterback that turned good Wide Receivers into great ones,
Dan Marino
YEARS ACTIVE: 1983-1999
RECORD: 147-93
PASSER RATING: 86.4
PASSING YARDS: 61,631
TD/INT RATIO: 420:252
COMPLETION %: 59.4%
YARDS PER ATTEMPT: 7.3
Dan Marino seemingly accomplished everything under the sun, other than winning a Super Bowl. Marino demonstrated excellent overall abilities from strength, scrambling and top-notch decision making. He played his entire career in Miami, making him the most recognized Dolphin in franchise history.
Johnny Unitas
YEARS ACTIVE: 1956-1973
RECORD: 118-63-4
PASSER RATING: 78.2
PASSING YARDS: 40,239
TD/INT RATIO: 290:253
COMPLETION %: 54.6%
YARDS PER ATTEMPT: 7.8
An elite Quarterback for his era, Johnny U is known for helping the (then) Baltimore Colts to 3 NFL Championships and a Super Bowl victory. His steady numbers and consistent accuracy led to him becoming one of the best and most clutch Quarterbacks of all time.
Peyton Manning
YEARS ACTIVE: 1998-2015
RECORD: 186-79
PASSER RATING: 96.5
PASSING YARDS: 71,940
TD/INT RATIO: 539-251
COMPLETION %: 65.3%
YARDS PER ATTEMPT: 7.7
Arguably the greatest regular season Quarterback of all time, Peyton Manning put up numbers never before seen. His one weakness? Playoff football. Throughout his career, it was a consistent theme that he would light up scoreboards until the playoffs came up. His single Super Bowl ring was looking disappointed until he led the Broncos to their 3rd ring.
Joe Montana
YEARS ACTIVE: 1979-1994
RECORD: 117-47
PASSER RATING: 92.3
PASSING YARDS: 40,551
TD/INT RATIO: 273-139
COMPLETION %: 63.2%
YARDS PER ATTEMPT: 7.5
In the prime years of San Francisco football, Joe Cool was the top dog. Leading the 49ers to 4 Super Bowl victories and winning 2 MVPs, Montana knew when to shine and it showed year over year. Most notably, he and Jerry Rice were among one of the best Quarterback/Wide Receiver combinations in all of NFL history.
Drew Brees
YEARS ACTIVE: 2001 – Present
RECORD: 155-108
PASSER RATING: 98
PASSING YARDS: 76,577
TD/INT RATIO: 537:237
COMPLETION %: 73.6%
YARDS PER ATTEMPT: 7.6
When it comes to an absolute powerhouse, not many won’t think of Drew Brees. Considered one of the most powerful and accurate throwers of all time, his stats speak for themselves. He’s thrown for more yards than anyone and has one of the best TD/INT ratios of all time. And who can forget that Super Bowl victory following Hurricane Katrina?
Tom Brady
YEARS ACTIVE: 2000-Present
RECORD: 207-61
PASSER RATING: 97
PASSING YARDS: 73,951
TD/INT RATIO: 536:178
COMPLETION %: 60.5%
YARDS PER ATTEMPT: 7.5
At the heart of the New England Patriots dynasty, Tom Brady has accomplished things that nobody has and may never do. He’s a 6x Super Bowl champ, 3x MVP award winner with 2 Offense Player of the Year Awards. At 42 years old, he’s still amazing people, suggesting heightened football conditioning. A career decorated with achievement certainly puts him on this list for such an honor.
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PHOTO CREDIT: andrew campbell
