AFC West top 8 quarterbacks ranked worst to best in 2023

4. Jimmy Garoppolo, Las Vegas Raiders

If we were to rank the quarterbacks in their own tiers up to this point, I think you would obviously have O'Connell and Stick at the bottom as "unproven" guys, but you might even be able to bump up O'Connell a bit because he probably has more upside than Stick at this point.

Slightly above those guys, you have the seasoned veteran in Blaine Gabbert, who is what he is at this point.

Towering above all three of those guys is Jarrett Stidham, who had a really great performance last year and has had a number of them in preseason play since he was drafted into the league. He's a young QB with legitimate starter upside.

Then I think slightly above Stidham is where you find Jimmy Garoppolo, in the no-man's-land between a career backup and too good to keep on the sideline. Jimmy Garoppolo is the definition of an effective NFL game manager. He's not always bad and he's not always good. He's rarely spectacular and he's only occasionally a complete liability to his team.

Let's keep in mind -- Jimmy Garoppolo has somehow been to multiple Super Bowls with the 49ers. He wasn't just dragged there. He contributed to those teams in positive ways.

Now, we have to be real here. I lied a little bit before -- Jimmy Garoppolo has been a complete liability to his team at times, but it's not due to his play. It's his health. Garoppolo has always struggled to stay on the field for an extended period of time. We don't even know if we're going to see him play for the Raiders this year.

With that said, I am higher on Garoppolo than most people. I think he's solid when healthy. But will he thrive being reunited with Josh McDaniels?