NFL QB tiers From franchise guys to just

A year ago I engaged in one of the ultimate exercises in futility, . I sought to find natural points of delineation between clusters of pa sers. More NFL One spring later, Im going to double down on the matter and take a look back at last years list and adjust it accordingly. Ill be grading myself, more or le s, and taking stock of which QBs are rising and which have taken a tumble, perhaps for good. As a reminder from a year ago, this isnt a 1-32 ranking, per se, but more of me trying to find seven firm categories that apply acro s the board, and then seeing which quarterbacks make the most sense within them.I opted to limit it to 32 quarterbacks again this season. There are five additions to the list from a year ago -- , , , and -- and six departures: , , , and . I opted DeVante Parker Jersey to leave within the top 32, because I still believe he is a starting quarterback in 2017, somewhere. And by somewhere, I mean you, Houston, which explains the absence of or, gulp, from this list.I also dont have any of the current quarterbacks on the list -- sorry, Osweiler -- because I am holding that spot open for Garoppolo. Frankly, Im very comfortable with Jimmy G on this list rather than any number of stop-gap backups like , , , etc. If you currently are without a contract -- Cutler, Fitzpatrick, -- at this stage of the offseason, you arent on the list. I went back and forth on adding to the ledger, but in the end I stuck with , who represented the here a year ago. All things being equal, I expect Lynch to win that job eventually this year, although, for the record, I would put Siemian in Tier 5 (guys, veterans and place holders) if he were included.Some of the biggest risers include , who bounced back in 2017 with an MVP campaign after one of the worst seasons of his career. , and showed me enough to get a nice bump up a few tiers as well. As I wrote a year ago, I agonized over putting Taylor in at least Tier 4 a year ago. On the other end of the spectrum, and took a tumble, and while I was only lukewarm on to begin with (he didnt crack my rising stars category), he plummeted, too.By and large I feel pretty good about my maiden voyage with this list a year ago and mostly there are cosmetic changes, like shipping out a Raheem Mostert Jersey journeyman at the bottom of the list in place of another journeyman who has now secured that starting job. I think Id give myself a solid B, overall, for the 2016 effort. Below I break down the tiers again and show where I differ from a year ago: Tier 1: Bona fide franchise quarterbacks2016: , , , , 2017: Brady, Rodgers, Roethlisberger, Wilson, Newton, I struggled with where to put Brees a year ago and after much hand wringing I barely slotted him in Tier 2, with concerns about Father Time catching up to him and how much the had to throw the ball from behind and what that might mean for his health moving forward. But he shouldve been in this group all along and he showed it again in 2016. Im giving Newton a mulligan because he had no offensive line and other teams were allowed to a sault him, beginning with the opener in Denver a year ago.Tier 2: Top pros, proven winners2016: Brees, Tony Romo, Joe Flacco, , , Carson Palmer2017: Matt Ryan, Manning, Rivers, , Matthew Stafford, Romo Ive long been bullish on Carr, and his MVP-like campaign hastened his ascent from Tier 3 (rising stars) to this list. It wont be long before he Raekwon Davis Jersey is in the top tier. Staffords game has improved since joining up with coordinator Jim Bob Cooter and cutting down on some mistakes. I still believe Romo can be a very high-end starter if given the chance, though this obviously could be his last stand. Will Ryan drop off some after losing coordinator Kyle Shanahan to the and losing the Super Bowl in dramatic fashion? Regardle s, barring a total flop he belongs in this tier.Tier 3: Rising stars2016: , , , Derek Carr2017: Mariota, Winston, Luck, Dak Prescott, , Jimmy GaroppoloLucks serious injury turn the last two seasons has to give you pause. Hes going to mi s this entire offseason and who knows how much of the preseason recovering from shoulder surgery and his ascent has stalled some the past two years. Mariota and Winston could end up in Tier 1 before all is said and done. I also refuse to believe that the Pats Thomas Morstead Jersey squat on Garoppolo for multiple years and I would love to see what he can do starting every Sunday. Prescotts 2016 season was historic and took the league by storm after Romo got hurt again in the preseason. Well see if there is any sophomore slump with expectations now sky high. Wentz is also on the right trajectory in Philly. Tier 4: You can win with them2016: , Blake Bortles, , Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford, Teddy Bridgewater2017: Cousins, Dalton, Tyrod Taylor, Ryan TannehillI went back and forth with putting Cousins in the second tier after a second-straight franchise record season with the . If he does it again this season after losing top targets and in free agency, hell be there soon enough. Taylor continues to make great decisions with the football and develop. Hopefully some stability in Buffalo will only help him. Tannehill blo somed under quarterback guru Adam Gase and took major strides, though him mi sing offseason work recovering from a knee injury is hardly ideal.Tier 5: Guys, veterans and place holders2016: , Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jay Cutler2017: Smith, Flacco, Palmer, Josh McCown, Brian Hoyer, Mike Glennon, Flacco needs a bounce-back season after going through expected rough patches in his return Jesse Davis Jersey from ACL surgery a year ago. He still has no weapons and Baltimores defense has fallen off significantly from its stint as a perennial Super Bowl threat and pre sure is mounting for Flacco to get back to top form. Hes thrown 17 interceptions in the last two seasons (26 games), which has to stop. This is Palmers last stand, after seriously contemplating retirement a year ago. I have tempered expectations, at best, for Glennon in Chicago, and Bradford takes a small step up from a year ago after staying healthy and managing the game with the .Tier 6: Good luck2016: Taylor, RG III, Brock Osweiler, Tannehill, Bradford, Blaine Gabbert2017: BortlesWell, I certainly had the Osweiler thing tagged. What. A. Disaster. I suspect weve seen the last of RG3 or Gabbert starting an NFL game for quite some time, if not forever. Bortles may be on his last legs in Jacksonville -- anything close to his 2016 play and Tom Coughlin will be moving on from him. Tier 7: The verdict is out2016: , Paxton Lynch2017: Goff, LynchNothing has changed much here, other than the fact that these two are very raw was amplified in their limited debuts as rookies. Former coach Jeff Fisher held off on playing Gof