NFL.com columnist Adam Schein posted his ranking of NFL divisions based on starting quarterbacks last week. He had the AFC West as the highest-ranked division while the NFC West, home of the San Francisco 49ers, took the No. 2 spot.
Michael Robinson of NFL Network disagreed with Schein's ranking and reordered the divisions to his liking on Tuesday during an "NFL Total Access" segment. He agreed that the AFC West has the best crop of quarterbacks but dropped the NFC West down his list — all the way to the No. 7 spot below the AFC West, NFC North, NFC South, AFC South, AFC North, and NFC East.
Schein felt the presence and potential of 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was enough to push the NFC West, which also has Russell Wilson, to the No. 2 spot. The division nearly ended up with the highest-ranking on Schein's list.
"I'm still drinking the Jimmy G Kool-Aid, especially with offensive mastermind Kyle Shanahan calling the shots," wrote Schein. "If Garoppolo, coming off the ACL tear that ended his 2018 season in Week 3, is healthy, the Niners are going to surprise a lot of people."
RELATED 49ers' Jimmy Garoppolo helps NFC West grab No. 2 spot in NFL.com's divisional ranking by QB
Why isn't the NFC West better in Robinson's opinion? After all, he spent eight NFL seasons in the division, playing four years with the 49ers and another four with the Seattle Seahawks. Robinson explains that the decision has nothing to do with Wilson but more with the remaining quarterbacks in the division.
Lindsay Rhodes reminded Robinson that the division has Super Bowl quarterback Jared Goff, Garoppolo, and talented rookie Kyler Murray.
"Garoppolo couldn't stay healthy," Robinson explained. "And then you talk about Goff, he got [to the Super Bowl] but what about when Sean McVay couldn't talk to him the last 15 seconds (of the play clock)? I think his quarterbacking gets a little bit bad when you can't talk to him the last 15 seconds."
Below are the rankings by Schein and Robinson.
| Rank | Schein | Robinson |
| 1 | AFC West | AFC West |
| 2 | NFC West | NFC North |
| 3 | NFC South | NFC South |
| 4 | AFC North | AFC South |
| 5 | AFC East | AFC North |
| 6 | NFC South | NFC East |
| 7 | AFC South | NFC West |
| 8 | NFC East | AFC East |
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