Welcome to For the Win’s ranking of all 32 NFL starting quarterbacks. These rankings are based entirely on film study, with each passer being graded on six attributes: Accuracy, arm strength, athleticism, pocket presence, field vision and pre-snap ability. For a more thorough explanation of the grading click here.

Some day, Hoyer will make a fine NFL coach. He clearly gets what coaches are asking him to do; actually executing those instructions is just beyond him. Hoyer isn’t accurate and his arm is among the weakest in the league. The game seems to move too quickly for him, which is how such a smart player commits so many turnovers.

If the Jets are truly tanking for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, then they have the right man under center. McCown is 2-20 as a starter over the last three seasons, and it’s easy to see why. His decision-making is poor, he has no arm strength and he’s not comfortable in the pocket. McCown’s only redeeming quality is his underrated athleticism, but that’s not much of an asset.

There’s a reason the Texans traded up to take DeShaun Watson in the first-round: Savage is nothing more than a stopgap. He has good size and a strong arm but offers little else. His mechanics are a mess, which leads to wildly inaccurate throws. Savage will get to his second and third options but not in a timely manner, which leads to him taking too many sacks. Looking the part only gets you so far in this league.

When given a clean pocket, Glennon looks like the kind of quarterback who might command a $15 million-a-year contract. He’s solid. Unfortunately, those clean pockets are hard to come by in the NFL, and pressure melts Glennon. His decision-making and accuracy drop off considerably when bodies are around him. The Bears do have a fantastic interior line, so don’t be surprised if Glennon looks better than expected in 2017.

Goff never had a chance during his rookie season. Not with the disaster he was drafted into. The line was awful; the offensive scheme was outdated. Any rookie quarterback would have struggled in that situation. Goff’s rookie season was one of the worst we’ve ever seen from a statistical standpoint. But there’s still hope for the 2016 first-overall pick. He showed some pocket presence and made some smart reads when given the time.

We usually expect young quarterbacks to make the leap between Years 2 and 3. Bortles went the other way, as his already troublesome mechanics regressed further. Poor accuracy and bad decision-making do not make for a good combination. And Bortles hasn’t looked any better this summer. This will likely be the 2014 first-round pick’s final season in Jacksonville and possibly his last as a full-time starter in the NFL.

This is a projection based on what we saw out Kizer at Notre Dame and the little film he produced for the Browns during preseason. His biggest strength will be his comfort in the pocket. The rookie is unafraid of pressure. He’ll keep his eyes downfield and work through his progressions. Kizer is not an accurate passer at this point in his development. If he’s going to be a long-time starter in the league, he’ll have to improve in that area.

Eagles fans were undoubtedly satisfied with what they saw from Wentz during his rookies season, but his mechanical issues have to be a concern. There’s no guarantee they’ll ever improve, either. Just ask fans in Jacksonville, who have waited three years for Bortles to fix his mechanics. Wentz makes too many flat-footed throws and his long throwing motion makes his questionable decision-making a real problem. Wentz has the physical tools to be a star; he’ll need to sharpen the mental and technical aspects of his game if he’s going to live up to the hype.

Siemian is never going to be a star. He just doesn’t have the arm strength. But the rest of his game is solid, and he has the potential to turn into a mid-level NFL starter. He’s comfortable in the pocket and isn’t afraid to make tight window throws. Siemian will have to speed up his process in the pocket and take more command of the offense before the snap if he wants to be considered more than a stopgap in Denver.

The 2016 season was a disaster for Cutler. After a decent opening game, he injured his throwing hand in Week 2 and could never get healthy. So what should the Dolphins expect from their new starting quarterback? A talented passer who can navigate the pocket but will frustrated fans with head-scratching decisions and lazy mechanics that lead to off-target throws. He still has a special arm.

It’s time we stop asking if Flacco is an elite quarterback and start asking if he’s even a league average starter at this point in his career. His arm is still plenty strong, but Flacco’s accuracy has fallen off a cliff and he’s no longer the fearless pocket passer he was when he helped the Ravens win a Super Bowl. If Flacco’s 2017 season isn’t any better than his 2015 or 2016 seasons, it may be time for the Ravens to move on.

The Bills refuse to commit to Taylor long-term and you can understand why they’re so hesitant. On one hand, he’s productive and capable of creating when a play breaks down; on the other, he’s one of the reasons the Bills’ offensive plays break down so often. He’s not entirely comfortable in the pocket and misses open receivers far too often. Still, Taylor is capable of leading a successful offense as long as his coaches employ an offense that caters to his strengths: Supreme mobility and one of the prettiest deep balls in the league.

Cousins has produced like a top-10 quarterback over the last two years. His tape does not match up with the stat sheet. He has a weak arm, struggles with his accuracy when attacking the intermediate areas of the field and still makes confounding decisions when facing any amount of pressure. Cousins does a good job of diagnosing defenses before the snap, but struggles to adapt to shifting secondaries after it.

Smith’s weaknesses as a quarterback are well known: He doesn’t have the arm to challenge defenses downfield and is overly conservative to the point where his aversion to turnovers actually hurts his team at times. Those are valid criticisms but Smith remains a solid starter who will never be the reason his team loses a game. If he was just a bit more comfortable in the pocket, Smith would land in the top-half of the QB hierarchy.

Dalton is another smart quarterback whose Football IQ is diminished by a lack of pocket presence. He can read a defense pre-snap, knows how to get his team into the right play, he’s relatively accurate and has just enough arm strength to make the throws required of an NFL quarterback. But when pressure gets to him, Dalton’s game just falls off a cliff. He’ll bail from the pocket prematurely and miss open receivers. With the Bengals offensive line taking a big hit in the offseason, we could see more of “Bad Andy” during the 2017 season.

If Mariota continues on his current trajectory, he’ll be a top-10 quarterback by the end of the 2017 season. He needs to do a better job of setting his feet and keeping his eyes downfield in condensed pockets. Other than that, Mariota doesn’t have any obvious weaknesses. He’s supremely accurate when his feet are right and knows how to get through his progressions.

Winston is the next great NFL quarterback. If he can just cut out some of the sloppiness from his game, Winston will be in the elite conversation by the time he turns 25. He’s that good in the pocket. The 23-year-old understands coverages and knows how to attack them. He throws with anticipation and has more than enough arm strength to make any throw in the route tree. With the talent he now has around him in Tampa, Winston has a real shot at bringing home the MVP award in 2017.

Many have anointed Carr as top-10 quarterback, but we want to see more development from the Raiders star before we elevate him to that status. Carr has benefitted from a great offensive line that has kept him clean. His decision-making and accuracy suffer on the rare occasion he has to deal with pressure, and Carr has to do a better job of being patient in the pocket when conditions aren’t ideal. That said, he has the potential to develop into a top-flight quarterback as soon as this season.

Giants fans have to be concerned with what they saw out of Manning in 2016. He missed routine throws far too often. His arm strength is waning. The odd decisions that have plagued him throughout his career do not seem to be going away. Did a porous offensive line play into all of those issues? Of course, but Manning struggled even in a clean pocket. At 36, Manning’s days as a fringe top-10 quarterback are likely over. Will he be able to adjust to a declining physical skill-set? He’ll have to in 2017.

Bradford is somehow both overpaid and underrated. He’s been labeled a checkdown artist who is unable to threaten defenses deep, but he’s actually one of the best deep ball passers in the league. The problem is an offensive line that does not give him enough time to show off his arm talent. Bradford is willing to hang in the pocket against pressure but smart enough to not hold onto the ball too long. If the rush closes in before his receivers get open downfield, Bradford will hit his checkdown. That happened far too often in 2016; hence all the throws short of the first-down marker.

A lot of people have written off Prescott’s fantastic rookie season as a product of a tremendous supporting cast in Dallas. Now, the 24-year-old does have a stellar support system, but Ezekiel Elliott was not making those smart checks before the snap. The offensive line wasn’t going through progressions quickly. Dez Bryant wasn’t keeping Prescott composed in tight pockets. Dak has plenty to work on heading into his sophomore season — his footwork could improve and he could get the ball out of his hands a little quicker — but don’t expect a drop off in his play.

Stafford is now the highest-paid player in NFL history. While he’s certainly overpaid (most QBs are), the Lions would be hard pressed to find a better replacement. Stafford has the best arm in the league and he’s dialed back on the mistakes over the last two seasons. He’s still a little too panicky in the pocket which causes him to throw from awkward platforms, but Lions offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter has done a nice job of reining in the 29-year-old and limiting those awkward throws.

Palmer’s production dropped off after an MVP-caliber campaign in 2015. He may have actually played better in 2016, though. His supporting cast did not. The Cardinals offensive line was devastated by injuries and inconsistent play. The receiving corps — outside of the always reliable Larry Fitzgerald — forgot how to catch the football. Palmer didn’t let it affect his play. The 37-year-old still knows how to navigate the pocket. He’ll routinely make tight-window throws with ease. And he knows how to break down a defense before the ball is snapped.

The wear and tear on his body sadly appears to be catching up to Rivers, who, when fresh, is still one of the five-best pocket passers in the league. He instantly processes coverages before and after the snap and knows how to find space in even the tightest of pockets. Rivers’ arm is starting to fail him, though. That becomes abundantly clear as we get later into the season. For a third year in a row, Rivers’ play dropped off in the second half of the 2016 season.

Coming off maybe the worst season of his career in 2015, Ryan’s MVP-winning campaign in 2016 will go down as one of the best we’ve seen from an NFL quarterback. So what changed? Did Ryan really improve that much? Not really. Sure he cut out the inexplicable mistakes that defined his 2015 season, but he was largely the same player he was the previous season. The players (and play-calling) around him got better. Even in 2015, Ryan was efficient with his movement in the pocket, threw with anticipation and could quickly read a defense. His arm strength remains a growing concern and he’s still liable to throw a pass into tight coverage. Those aren’t really issues when you’re throwing to wide open receivers every other play, as Ryan was in 2016 thanks to Kyle Shanahan and a brilliant receiving corps.

Everything went wrong for Newton in 2016. He couldn’t stay healthy and neither could his offensive line. The coaching staff did not make the necessary adjustments, sticking with a downfield passing scheme that the offensive line just wasn’t capable of blocking for. Carolina’s receiving corps was unable to consistently separate from coverage, which forced Newton to be place the ball perfectly in tight windows in order to complete passes. And he was forced to do so while running for his life behind a makeshift line. The 2015 MVP has received a lot of criticism for his 52.9% completion percentage, but that number was really just a reflection of the team’s failure to put a competent supporting cast around its franchise quarterback.

Newton remains an underrated pocket passer. He always keeps his eyes downfield in the pocket and does a good job of diagnosing and attacking coverages. The 28-year-old does not get enough credit for the work he does in the pre-snap phase, where his game has really improved over the last few seasons.

From a statistical standpoint, the 2016 season was easily the worst of Wilson’s career. The film told a different story. The Seahawks’ highest-paid player has taken big steps as a pocket passer. He’s reading defenses faster than ever and getting past his first read consistently. This wasn’t always the case. In the past, Wilson would bail from clean pockets if his first read wasn’t open. Various injuries limited Wilson’s scrambling ability and he responded by expanding his game. A healthy Wilson could very well enter the top-tier of quarterbacks in 2017.

Is there a more frustrating top-10 quarterback in the league? Roethlisberger should be higher than fifth on this list. He does everything at a high level; he just doesn’t do it consistently. Big Ben is accurate and has a strong arm. He knows how to work the pocket and create time for receivers to get open. He can read defenses in an instant and get the ball out quickly. But there are times he goes into full-on Bortles mode and throws a terrible interception or two. Those one or two moments of magic he produces seemingly every game outweigh the mistakes, but imagine how good Roethlisberger (and the Steelers offense) would be if he could just cut down on those unforced errors.

You have to watch Luck play to truly appreciate what he’s doing in Indianapolis. The numbers do not do him justice. He’s a wizard in tight areas, moving subtly to find open space in order to get a throw off with the pass rush bearing down on him. His eyes never drop, which allows him to find receivers late in the down. Luck makes his reads quickly. He rarely misses throws. And he has the arm strength to push the ball downfield with accuracy. In 2016, he cut down on the back-breaking mistakes. Luck has done all this with a bum shoulder. It’s scary to think how good he’ll be when fully healthy. We should find out in 2017 … eventually.

Is Brees the most under-appreciated quarterback in the league? He’s become an afterthought in the “best quarterback in the league” discussion for reasons beyond his control. The Saints haven’t given him a competent defense to work with in years. The offensive line has been underwhelming, and, until last season, his receiving corps wasn’t great either. But Brees just keeps putting up other-worldly numbers thanks to a computer-like mind and a feel for the pocket that makes up for his lack of height. His arm strength has declined, but Brees is still able throw downfield with touch and accuracy. He is much closer to the top-two guys on this list than many believe.

We’ve never seen a quarterback play the position quite like Rodgers did down the stretch of the 2016 season. He was sublime over the second half. Easily the best quarterback in the game. But consistency matters, and that’s why he’s No. 2 on this list. We’d like to see a little more composure in the pocket, which is really the only “weakness” in his game at this point. Rodgers has the best combination of arm strength and accuracy in the league, and he knows how to use it. He sees the field clearly and makes good decisions before and after the snap. At his peak, Rodgers is the best quarterback this league has ever seen.

It seems like we say this every year, but Brady just keeps getting better. The 2016 version of Brady was better than the versions we saw during what should have been his prime. The five-time Super Bowl champ has improved his athleticism and pocket movement over the last few years. He never needed much time to find an open receiver, but now he has the ability to extend plays with his legs. It’s unfair. Brady says he wants to play until he’s 45, and we have no reason to think he won’t be able to.

Methodology

Rankings like this are always going to be subjective in nature, but we tried to eliminate any preconceived notions by disregarding stats and team success, which can be influenced by a number of factors outside of a quarterback’s control.

Instead, quarterbacks are judged based on film study. Every evaluation was based on all-22 game film from a few of that player’s most recent starts.

Emphasis has been placed on process rather than result. If a quarterback made the right play but was let down by a teammate or a defender made a spectacular play, he was graded positively. Conversely, if he made a poor decision but was bailed out, he was graded negatively.

Based on this film study, each quarterback is graded in six categories on a scale of 1-to-10, the averages producing the final scores determining the overall rankings. Here’s how those grades were weighted: Accuracy: 20% Arm Strength: 15% Athleticism: 10% Pocket presence: 20% Field vision: 20% Pre-snap: 15%

Attributes

Accuracy:

This category is self-explanatory, but it goes beyond simply getting the ball to a target. How well does a quarterback place the ball? Does he allow the receiver to run after the catch? Can he consistently hit on deep balls? All of these factors go into a passer’s accuracy grade.

Arm Strength:

We’re not only grading a quarterback on how far he can sling it but also how he harnesses his arm strength. Does he know when to fire it in a tight window and when to throw a touch pass? Can he make the staple NFL throws, like a 15-yard out? Does he a throw a tight, wind-cutting spiral or is he prone to throwing ducks?

Athleticism:

Similar to the arm strength grade, a quarterback’s athleticism is graded on his ability to apply it. Can he throw on the move? Does he know when to leave the pocket?

Pre-snap:

A quarterback’s job starts before the ball is snapped. Winning before the snap is almost as vital as winning after it. Does the quarterback see blitzes before they occur and act accordingly? Can he pick out mismatches or weaknesses in the defense and take advantage? If so, he’ll get high marks in this category.

Field Vision:

Maybe the most important category on this list, and certainly the most holistic. This grade factors in a quarterback’s ability to read defenses, find open receivers, anticipate openings before they occur and make sound decisions. A passer who can see the field clearly can overcome his physical shortcomings.

Pocket Presence:

This category is all about how a quarterback commands a pocket. Can he go through his progressions with bodies around him or does he bail at the first sign of pressure? Does he climb the pocket or fade back, making his tackles’ jobs more difficult?