It's fair to have questions about Las Vegas Raiders quarterbacks Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell, but where NBC Sports analyst Chris Simms has them in his quarterback rankings deserves some scrutiny.
For starters, O'Connell didn't even make Simms' list, which is fair considering the limited sample size we have of him. But Simms puts Minshew at No. 39 of 40, which is problematic when you see who is ahead of him.
The former NFL quarterback puts the Philadelphia Eagles' Kenny Pickett, the New England Patriots' Jacoby Brissett, the Minnesota Vikings' Sam Darnold and the Carolina Panthers' Bryce Young all ahead of the Raiders signal-caller.
Lest we forget, Minshew nearly took the Indianapolis Colts to the playoffs in 2023 and has proven to be a serviceable option under center during his career. The same cannot be said for Pickett, Young and Darnold, at least at this point in their careers.
Top 40 QB Countdown continues today with #35-31. @ahmedNBC will also read some of your reactions/questions on 40-36.
— Chris Simms (@CSimmsQB) May 15, 2024
Fire away. pic.twitter.com/CeNW0yiY5Q
You can check out Simms' mostly positive comments about Minshew at the 26:45 mark in the video below. But those positive comments are not reflected in his rankings.
Simms has only revealed Nos. 40-31 thus far. Here's how things shake out, along with the name of the tier each quarterback is in:
Chris Simms' QB Rankings
"Backup +"
40. Jarrett Stidham, Denver Broncos
39. Gardner Minshew, Las Vegas Raiders
38. Kenny Pickett Philadelphia Eagles
"Throwbacks"
37. Joe Flacco, Indianapolis Colts
36. Jacoby Brissett, New England Patriots
"The Young & The Reckless"
35. Jameis Winston, Cleveland Browns
34. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
33. Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings
32. Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts
"For Hire"
31. Ryan Tannehill, Free Agent
Minshew should be a handful of spots higher than he is currently
