The QB GOAT Series: 50-48

We're not into strong Hall-of-Fame territory, but this cohort includes two of the best Super Bowl runs in history, with a defamed regular season stud.

This is the second installment of the QB GOAT series, but the first to delve into the top-50. I wrote up the methodology for how I measure quarterback career value and highlighted a few honorable mentions in a post last week, and now I’m getting to the real list.

I don’t agree 100% with all the rankings, but the beauty of stats-based analysis is that we can take representative data from nearly one million of quarterback dropbacks over nearly a century of the modern NFL to rank-order quarterbacks by value. Good luck watching, grading and comparing every quarterback snap from 1947 to 2022 and then forming your own film-watcher list.

I’m going to take this list in smallish chucks, going three-at-a-time until I get to the final two, who you might be able to guess, though the ordering may remain a mystery.

Without further ado, the 50th, 49th and 48th most value quarterbacks in NFL history.

No. 50: JIM EVERETT

Regular: 46th, Peak: 30th, Playoffs: 91st

If you’re an old, like me, you might remember how futile the Rams of the early 90s were before moving from Los Angeles to St. Louis. In the five-year stretch from 1990 to 1994, the Rams had double-digit losses in every season. Thing had gotten so bad for the franchise that won its division seven-straight seasons during the 70s, that as a kid I remember a random encounter with a Rams fan that wasn’t hesitant to admit his allegiance when asked which team he followed.

Jim Everrett was the starting Rams quarterback for four of those five awful seasons, which does a lot to color his perception and historical context. The thing is, on average Everett was okay during that stretch, but his defenses never ranked better than 25th in a 30-team NFL. Also largely forgotten are two bounce-back seasons Everett had after moving to the Saints as a top-12 quarterback, again because his team mostly lost (7-9 both years) playing with a bottom-7 defense.

The lack of Everett’s team success from 1990-1995 hurt his individual perception, but he produced several valuable seasons for this analysis, even without additional opportunity in the playoffs.

More memorable for Everett are his two peak seasons in 1988 and 1989, when he finished fifth and second in passing efficiency. Everett wasn’t lucking into efficiency on low volume, he led the NFL in touchdown passes both years, and was in the top-5 for attempts seven times in his career. Everett had a relatively short career for a member of the QB GOAT club, yet he’s currently ranked in the top-50 for touchdowns (203, only five fewer than Kurt Warner), pass attempts (4,923, 164 more than Jim Kelly), and completions (2,841, 174 more than Steve Young).

Like many quarterbacks who will get more love from my statistical analysis than historical perception, Everett disappointed when it came to the playoffs. In five starts, he completed less than 50% of his passes, threw 11 interceptions to only seven touchdowns, and his 3.8 ANY/A was almost two full yards lower than his regular season average.

It was Everett’s third, and final, playoff appearance that was likely the the most impactful on his career. The Rams opened in Philadelphia and took down Randall Cunningham and the Eagles 21-7, then traveled to Giants Stadium for a 19-13 victory. Neither win was driven by outstanding play from Everett, but he averaged a heathly 6.3 ANY/A on 81 total dropbacks. What happened the following week in San Francisco would negate all the positive momentum for Everett, and permanently sully his image.

The Rams lost 30-3 in the NFC Championship, and Everett had negative ANY/A. He passed for 141 yards, but threw three interceptions. He only took one sack, but his hesitancy in the pocket the entire game facing a fierce 49ers’ pass rush was encapsulated in that moment. On 3rd & 10 in second half, the Rams were down multiple scores and Everett went back to back, finding no one open, he felt the pressure and crumbled to the ground without being touched. The play was dubbed “The Phantom Sack”, and while it wasn’t that different from the many times immobile quarterbacks like Peyton Manning have fallen down to live another day, it became a symbol of Everett’s “soft” play and inability to ever be a true leader.

The sack probably was a major precipitating factor into Everett’s on-air confrontation with sports radio jock turned ESPN host Jim Rome, who mocked Everett by calling him “Chris”, a reference to iconic women’s tennis player Chris Evert.

Everett may not have been a Hall-of-Fame level quarterback, but his 6’5” frame and elite arm strength made for explosive offense performances, including throwing for 336 yards to a single receiver, the record for most yards in a game, still held by Flipper Anderson almost 35 years later.

No. 49: MARK RYPIEN

Regular: 57th, Peak: 55th, Playoffs: 30th