Ranking 32 NFL QBs by tier

— -- You know you're onto something interesting when an NFL head coach requests a few additional moments with your laptop.

"Let me see that one more time," one coach said, leaning forward in his chair.

I asked 26 league insiders to grade every projected starting quarterback on a 1-5 scale, with "one" reserved for the best and "five" for the worst. Eight general managers, two former GMs, four pro personnel evaluators, seven coordinators, two head coaches, two position coaches and a top executive participated, attacking the project with gusto almost across the board.

The result of the polling is a composite ranking of all 32 NFL starting quarterbacks, and an understanding of how some of the league's most important evaluators separate the best from the rest at the position. With their input, we were able to compile an average rating of each QB, to rank them in a 1-32 pecking order, and to divide the starters into general tiers. I've passed along insights from voters when applicable.

Five QBs cracked Tier 1, including one surprise. Ten other QBs fell into Tier 2 and nine landed in Tier 3. The remaining eight starters fell into Tier 4. Five of them received nearly as many Tier 5 votes, but not enough to drop any of them into that bottom level.

"That is a pretty good consensus of where we are at in the league," one of the GMs said upon surveying the overall results.

The head coach referenced earlier has finished staring at the results. Now, it's your turn.

Tier 1 |  Tier 2 |  Tier 3 |  Tier 4