Last month, The Athletic published the annual survey by Mike Sando known as the Quarterback Tiers, which evaluates NFL quarterbacks according to a panel of NFL coaches, executives, and insiders. This survey has been a key assessment tool for over a decade.
In a new approach, readers were also invited to participate by categorizing quarterbacks into various tiers, from Tier 1 (elite, franchise quarterbacks) to Tier 5 (not an NFL starter). More than 45,000 readers contributed over half a million votes.
Reader Vs. Expert Rankings
Generally, both readers and experts reached similar conclusions, as evident in the close overall rankings of the 35 quarterbacks.
However, analysis of reader data revealed a noticeable home-team bias. While The Athletic cannot pinpoint the teams readers support, it does track the teams they follow in its app. Through anonymized data, it became apparent that readers rated their team’s quarterback higher than other readers did.
Each of the 32 teams had followers who consistently rated their team’s quarterback more favorably than the general average, sometimes significantly. For instance, Patriots and Ravens followers rated Drake Maye and Lamar Jackson as Tier 1 quarterbacks, while most others viewed them as Tier 2.
Home-Team Preference Influence
The home-team preference resulted in roughly a half-tier increase. This difference is illustrated through how experts and followers rated quarterbacks like Jackson (1.6 on average) versus Jared Goff (2.1).
Across all teams, the largest favorable fan bump was seen for quarterbacks such as Tyler Shough (Saints) and Drake Maye.
Conversely, Deshaun Watson from the Browns experienced almost no fan boost. Both experts and followers put him in Tier 5, indicating a general consensus on his performance level.
Expert and Reader Alignment
Expert evaluation and reader rankings aligned closely. Most quarterbacks showed slight shifts, often only one or two positions. Top-ranked quarterbacks — Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and Matthew Stafford — were rated similarly by both their teams’ fans and opposing fans.
A few discrepancies existed where readers’ ratings dropped about 0.3 tiers below expert opinions on average. For example, readers placed more votes in Tier 5, compared to panelists who distributed votes across multiple tiers.
Significant Differences
Instances where readers rated quarterbacks lower demonstrated perceptions of certain players being overrated. This group included Deshaun Watson, Aaron Rodgers, and Tua Tagovailoa.
Watson’s troubling history includes allegations of sexual misconduct from over 20 women and having played only 19 games over four seasons due to injury. Readers rated him at 4.8 on average, whereas experts rated him at 3.8.
Rodgers, Steelers’ veteran quarterback, chose to play another season, declaring it his last. Meanwhile, Tagovailoa was initially named the Falcons’ Week 1 starter before an injury ruled him out. Experts considered both players Tier 3, though readers placed them lower in Tier 4.