Lists and rankings are fun. They give us something to talk about and debate. The NFL Top 100 for 2020 is voted on by the players during the 2019 season and is generally a reflection of how a player is playing and how much attention they're getting at the time.
It's the ultimate test of subjectivity, as most rankings and lists are, and yet the NFL Top 100 captures our attention every summer just before training camp. Catching out attention late last night on the countdown is where they placed the starting quarterback of America's Team!
Coming in at number 46 is your quarterback Dak Prescott.
This @dallascowboys QB is BACK on the #NFLTop100!@dak comes in at 46 this year. pic.twitter.com/W0V1OBiJ3X
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) July 28, 2020
After missing out on the NFL Top 100 in 2019, Dak Prescott makes his triumphant return to the list. At number 46, he's ahead of four quarterbacks at this point. They are Kirk Cousins, Ryan Tannehill, Josh Allen, and Kyler Murray.
The NFL Network has only released the top 60 names to this point, and so far, the only quarterback to rank ahead of Dak Prescott is San Francisco 49ers signal-caller Jimmy Garoppolo. Garoppolo checks in just three spots ahead of Prescott at number 43.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that Dak Prescott made the top 50 of the top 100. He was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in 2019. He finished top 5 in QBR, second in passing yards, and threw for nearly 5,000 yards. What is a surprise is that Prescott is behind Jimmy G.
Garoppolo's presence ahead of Prescott on the list is further evidence that quarterbacks get all the credit for the success, or lack thereof, of their teams. Yes, the San Francisco 49ers went to a Super Bowl, and yes, they were one of the NFC's best teams in 2019. However, he was the epitome of a bus driver for the 49ers during the NFC playoffs.
The only game Garoppolo attempted more than 20 passes was in the Super Bowl. In the NFC Championship, Garoppolo only threw the ball eight times in a 37-20 win over the Green Bay Packers. In 49ers divisional-round win over the Minnesota Vikings, he only threw the ball 19 times, completing 11 passes for 131 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
In 2019, Jimmy Garoppolo was 19th in pass attempts, throwing 120 fewer passes than Prescott and yet had more interceptions than Dak Prescott. Prescott threw for nearly 1,000 more yards than Garoppolo. The Niners quarterback had 54% of his passing yards come after the catch. Compare that to Prescott, who had just 39% of his passing yards come after the catch.
The NFL is a results-based league, and the 49ers had a better season than the Dallas Cowboys. That much is true. When one team makes it to the Super Bowl, and the other sits at home, it's going to affect the way the players' opinion of those quarterbacks. No position in the NFL gets more credit for a team's success and more blame for a team's failures than the quarterback position.
Jimmy Garoppolo ranked of Dak Prescott on any list is all the evidence you need to know that those voting on the list didn't watch enough of both players. Jimmy Garoppolo is a fine quarterback, but his head coach took the ball out of his hands in the playoffs, including the Super Bowl. Dak Prescott hasn't gone as far in the playoffs — cough, team accomplishment, cough — but he's a better player than Jimmy Garoppolo.
