Former NFL quarterback turned NBC Sports analyst, Chris Simms, generated some buzz this week after ranking the top 40 quarterbacks in the NFL, and not all of it was positive. You can view his entire ranking below.
That's a wrap on the QB Countdown. Appreciate you all following along even when the ranks trigger angry reactions. Lots of good discussion 👊#simmsqbranks pic.twitter.com/jr6quFAmGP
— Chris Simms (@CSimmsQB) June 28, 2019
Simms named Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers as the top quarterback in the league with last season's MVP, Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs, coming in at No. 2.
Where is six-time Super Bowl champion, Tom Brady, on the list? Down at No. 9. New England Patriots fans didn't take kindly to that placement. Right behind Brady is Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints.
You have to go much further down the list to find the San Francisco 49ers' starting quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, who sits at No. 21. He is sandwiched between Mitchell Trubisky of the Chicago Bears and Sam Darnold of the New York Jets.
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Garoppolo is six spots below Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings, which makes sense as Simms made it clear earlier this month that he favors Cousins over both Garoppolo and Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff.
"Hey, Kirk Cousins is more talented than Jimmy Garoppolo and Jared Goff," Simms told Mike Florio on Pro Football Talk Live. "He's just a better quarterback for my money. Garoppolo, I know we haven't seen a ton of it, he shows glimmers here and there. But I think over the last few years, I'm very comfortable in saying I would rather have Kirk Cousins than Jared Goff or Jimmy Garoppolo."
While Garoppolo has been in the league for five seasons, he has just 10 career starts under his belt. He entered last season as the 49ers' starting quarterback after signing a five-year deal worth up to $137.5 million. Garoppolo's season came to an abrupt end after he suffered a torn ACL during a Week 3 matchup in Kansas City.
Much of the upcoming season is dependent on Garoppolo's health and him living up to his massive NFL contract. The 49ers hope to have Garoppolo full-go for training camp and under center for Week 1 of the regular season.