Overrated/underrated positions: Quarterbacks

I think a lot about how teams win Super Bowls. It has probably fueled most of what I write. Because of that I also spend a lot of time thinking about positions and it wouldn’t surprise me if that was true of a lot of us. After all, positions are what determine how much a player is paid and where he is drafted.

Needs are almost always tied to positions, not players. People don’t usually say, “What this team needs is Tua Tagovailoa.” They say, “What this team needs is a quarterback” and Tua was one of those in the draft this year. The Los Angeles Rams didn’t need “Trent Williams” to fix their problems this year (though I’m sure they wouldn’t have turned down Trent Williams), they needed offensive linemen.

They didn’t really get any new ones, but of course needs are different to everyone including Les Snead and Sean McVay.

We think a ton about positions and we have set in stone beliefs about those positions. It takes decades sometimes to unravel our feelings about a position.

It took a long time for the tight end position to go from one player to the next until you finally got to George Kittle and his value. It took a long time for the running back position to go from one player to the next until you got to Derrick Henry making less from the Tennessee Titans than what Chris Johnson got nine years earlier.

Positions mean so much to the game of football and narratives drive so much of how we view them. I am attempting to challenge every narrative and to come away with an answer of how true that narrative really is or at least, add empirical evidence to it so that the next time you have a conversation about team needs and keys to winning a Super Bowl, you have a little more substance in your arguments.

With that I’m beginning a look at each position and asking if they are overrated, underrated, or adequately rated. I decided to start with the big one: quarterback. My thoughts are recorded in the podcast below, but I’ve posted my personal belief in a one-sentence summary and a table for reference during the show.

If you disagree with me, that’s fine, though particular points you have may be addressed in the podcast.

Quarterbacks: Overrated

Why: They’re not as responsible for wins and losses as narratives would lead you to believe, only one quarterback can win the Super Bowl every year and it’s almost never the best one that season or even top five