Just how efficient is your team's quarterback?

No. Really. When he has the ball in his hands, whether he throws it, runs with it, or gets sacked, how efficient is he accumulating yardage? You will find the answer below.

I'm introducing Yards per Drop Back, the all-encompassing quarterback efficiency metric.

This idea was birthed from a common element of the NFL today and what's become common knowledge in smart circles of NFL analysis.

The common element is quarterbacks who can run and do so relatively often. While passing from the pocket is the most time-tested way to sustain success in the NFL, quarterbacks are significantly more athletically gifted than they used to be and are much more involved with yardage accumulation with their legs than ever before.

Also, it's now basically conventional wisdom that passing the football is more efficient than running the football. From a yardage perspective, Expected Points Added perspective, etc. It's science. Well, math, actually.

Anyway, while elementary school students could identify that quarterbacks' yards-per-attempt average range -- in the NFL, almost always between 5.0 and 9.0 -- is higher than running backs' yards-per-carry average range -- between 3.0 and 5.0 -- a rush is guaranteed. A pass isn't.

Therefore, yards per drop back -- when the quarterback is hiked the ball -- is the best way to truly measure quarterback's efficiency as a yardage accumulator. Rushes and rushing yards should count. So should those pesky sacks, and the yardage lost on those takedowns.

Yards Per Drop Back Formula = (Pass Yards + Rush Yards - Sack Yards) / (Passes + Rushes + Sacks)

Here are the figures for quarterbacks through Week 6. The NFL average is currently 6.26.

The Above 8.0 Club

Passes Pass Yards Sacks Sack Yards Rushes Rush Yards Yards Per Drop Back Patrick Mahomes 230 2,104 8 68 16 80 8.33 Dak Prescott 211 1,883 7 54 19 133 8.27 Drew Brees 48 408 1 8 0 0 8.16

What you see here is the cream of the crop, the ultra-efficient quarterbacks heading into Week 7. After running the numbers for the full 2018 season as well, I found that 8.0 YPDB is rarefied air. In fact, Ryan Fitzpatrick's awesome beginning to last year led to an 8.25 YPDB figure, and while sample size must be considered, he was the only qualifying NFL quarterback above the mythical 8.0 threshold.

Mahomes hasn't been himself for most of the past two games, essentially playing one good ankle and one nagging one, and he's still comfortably in the top spot. Look away, Jerry Jones, because despite your 'Boys' three-game losing streak, Dak is still playing very efficient football. By the way, does Jones want Prescott to play well or not? If he does, big money. If he doesn't, Cowboys probably lose but the bank account doesn't take a hit. It's confusing.

Superb 7.0s

Passes Pass Yards Sacks Sack Yards Rushes Rush Yards Yards Per Drop Back Russell Wilson 189 1,704 16 93 36 151 7.31 Kirk Cousins 155 1,374 12 94 17 40 7.17

This tiny, two-quarterback group is the most fascinating in this entire article. Wilson has been jaw-droppingly awesome every week and is probably the front-runner for the MVP. He has willed the Seahawks to their 5-1 start. And, amazingly, when Wilson set various career highs a season ago, his YPDB number was only 6.36.

Then, right behind him, is everyone's favorite Dad-joke telling, big-game losing, whipping boy of a believed to be overpaid quarterback, Kirk Cousins. Now, this is not the time nor the place for me to opine deeply on Cousins, in short, he probably makes too much money relative to how good he is. But that is neither here nor there.

The volume hasn't been there for him this season, as he's thrown only 155 passes to date, but overall, he's been rather efficient. What's crazy is four Vikings running backs currently average an enormous 5.43 yards per rush, so the gap between Cousins' impressive YPDB figure and the yards per carry for Minnesota's ground attack is actually small.

Hovering Above League Average

The largest collection of quarterbacks resides in this range, and anything close to 7.0 YPDB is good. Nearing the 6.0 mark should start to create some cause for concern.

Because of his ability to generate huge plays, Watson has the fundamental ingredient to be a big performer in YPDB but sacks have doomed him early in his career. While 18 sacks through six games may seem high, for Houston, it's respectable. Last year, Watson had been taken down 25 times in his first six outings.

Rivers in ninth at 6.78 YPDB is a sizable dip for him compared to 2018 when he finished third at 7.36. And how about Gardner Minshew? The Mustache has been sacked decently often (14 times) but has shredded through the air. He's making Uncle Rico proud.

Jackson has taken a gargantuan step forward in YPDB, from 5.48 as a rookie to 6.71 right now. Safe to say he's comfortable in Greg Roman's offense after a full offseason to learn it.

Bruce Arians was hired to get the most out of Jameis Winston but as of now, Winston has actually been less efficient (6.29 YPDB) than he was last season (6.89).

Below League Average, But At Least 6.0

Passes Passing Yards Sacks Sack Yards Rushes Rush Yards Yards Per Drop Back Aaron Rodgers 180 1,307 10 86 14 52 6.24 Case Keenum 160 1,136 7 70 7 12 6.19 Derek Carr 161 1,117 8 48 10 27 6.12 Mason Rudolph 94 646 3 25 8 19 6.09 Carson Wentz 214 1,458 10 53 21 82 6.06 Jared Goff 246 1,727 12 92 14 13 6.05 Joe Flacco 196 1,435 15 114 11 11 6.0

As a reminder, the NFL average in YPDB is 6.26, so use that as a Mendoza Line of sorts. And this chart probably represents the second-most interesting group in this article. What a mix of names.

The eye test has told us Rodgers has seemingly leaned on his defense for much of the season, and that is, in a way, confirmed by YPDB. Also, despite a down year in 2018, Rodgers YPDB was higher then (6.36) than it is now (6.24), but the season is still decently young.

And while he'll never be mistaken for a franchise quarterback, Keenum continues to play honorable football, especially considering the talent around him. In Denver last year, his YPDB was 5.80. Ehhh. Right now it's 6.19 and not many teams are envious of Washington's offensive line and receiver situation.

Then there's Wentz and Goff, forever compared after going No. 1 and No. 2 in the 2016 NFL Draft. Wentz has probably played better than his YPDB indicates, then again, he's never really been that efficient in his pro career, which might come as a surprise. In 2018, his YPDB was a tick above league average at 6.36 (average was 6.35). In 2017, when Wentz was the MVP favorite before his injury, his YPDB was 6.45. Decent. Not outstanding.

I don't know what to do with Goff. He's very naturally talented and finished fifth in 2018 with a 7.17 YPDB. He can look like Aaron Rodgers. But he can still also look like the rookie that averaged 4.3 yards per attempt.

Respectably Close To 6.0 Threshold

An alternate label here could be "Young Quarterbacks and QB Purgatory Passers." Josh Allen has worked the short and intermediate levels of the field better from inside the pocket this season than he did as a rookie but the long runs and deep balls haven't been there yet for him in Year 2, which has led to his YPDB dipping from 5.70 in 2018 to 5.54 currently.

Murray has improved in each of the past two weeks -- facing the Bengals and Falcons will help -- and is nearing that 6.0 threshold. Kyle Allen has surprised everyone but hasn't necessarily stood out in the YPDB department.

Bridgewater has held down the fort for the Saints with Brees on the mend, yet has struggled with efficiency thus far. As for Mariota, it was time. A change needed to be made in Tennessee.

Close To Being Less Efficient Than Traditional Run Play

Passes Pass Yards Sacks Sack Yards Rushes Rush Yards Yards Per Drop Back Chase Daniel 60 426 5 44 6 6 5.46 Jacoby Brissett 167 1,062 6 52 24 66 5.46 Ben Roethlisberger 52 351 2 7 1 7 5.4 Ryan Fitzpatrick 70 435 6 28 4 19 5.32 Cam Newton 89 572 6 43 5 -2 5.27 Mitchell Trubisky 106 588 8 43 5 21 4.75

No major surprises here, well, maybe outside of Newton and Roethlisberger, although they're small sample size quarterbacks this year due to injury.

Brissett is becoming the consummate game manager, and the Colts are an upstart team. But their quarterback is not exactly helping to move the ball efficiently. The 5.46 YPDB is just slightly better than Ryan Tannehill's figure in 2018.

And my goodness, Trubisky needs to step up his game when he returns from injury. Big time. Last year, he finished 12th with a YPDB of 6.65, a figure that was helped by rushing but impressive nonetheless.

Might As Well Hand The Ball Off

Passes Pass Yards Sacks Sack Yards Rushes Rush Yards Yards Per Drop Back Josh Rosen 109 567 16 93 3 13 3.8 Luke Falk 73 416 16 96 0 0 3.59 Colt McCoy 27 122 6 44 2 14 2.62

On most teams, Rosen's YPDB of 3.78 would scream "JUST HAND THE BALL OFF," but the 2019 Dolphins are not most teams. Their running back trio of Kenyan Drake, Kalen Ballage, and Mark Walton has averaged just 3.29 yards per attempt through six games. Miami's offensive line has been pretty brutal.

Falk isn't on the Jets anymore, so I'll skip him.

McCoy made his sole start of 2019 ... against the Patriots in New England. And it was ugly.