Written By: JC (JCMoneyDesign)

Graphics By: JCMoneyDesign

I got some great feedback from my first article. It’s exciting to get the creative juices flowing again. So here we go with the second part of my top 12 QB list. Eight through Five features some great talent. Some of these may surprise you. And I’m sure there were probably a lot of you surprised I had Lamar back at Eleven. Anyways, let’s continue down this rabbit hole my friends!
Let’s start the party off right with Mr. Kirk-o-Chains!

#8 KIRK COUSINS Minnesota Vikings

“Football: The final frontier. These are the Voyages of the Minnesota Vikings. Its one-year mission: to overcome a bad defense, to seek out victories and pillage through the NFC North, to go where no Viking has gone before…” Yes yes this does sound familiar to you Trekkies out there. Captain James T Kirk would say something similar before every voyage(episode). Had to throw a little Viking football twist on it for my #8 QB on this list.
My man Captain Kirk Cousins is about to have another big season. FUN FACT: Kirk Cousins is the only QB in NFL history to lead his team to the playoffs with a defense that was at the bottom three in Points Per Game(PPG) and Yards Per Game(YPG) allowed. Now with that being said, the loss of veterans Adam Thielen and Dalvin Cook may be affect this offense a little. But in my opinion, in the second year of Kevin O’Connell’s “AIR RAID” Offense it shouldn’t hinder Kirk much. The backfield will be sufficient enough with Alexander Mattison, Myles Gaskin who’s a pass catching back and Ty Chandler. We also have the addition of first rounder and Biletnikoff winner Jordan Addison out of Pitt. He is going to be a HUGE piece in this O’Connell offense and Kirk is going to love throwing the ball to this elite young man. Justin Jefferson should easily put up WR1 overall type points and TJ Hockenson could be on the path to challenge Kelce as TE1.
Me being the very straight forward and harsh Vikings fan I am… I can admit I’ve been pretty harsh on Kirk. This year is the year. It’s The Year of the Kirk. He’s going over 5,000 passing yards this year. I am finally excited to watch what happens this year. the Vikings should be top tier fantasy offense and Kirk is a great later round QB that can win you a Championship.

MADDEN SCORE of 84
Up 4 points from last year… I guess this Madden rating is about right for Kirk. His total passing yards could break 5,000 this year with this insane receiver core. You can’t tell me you aren’t excited to play as Kirk Cousins on Madden getting to throw to JJ, Hock, Addison and KJ Osborn. Also the addition of Gaskin could be really fun if you override your starter spot and put him in over Mattison. This dude has some hands! Just another fun option for Madden and Kirk users! Although you are going to hate having to play defense.

#7 JOE BURROW Cincinnati Bengals

The Man of many nicknames. Joe Cool, Joey Franchise, Smokin’ Joe, Jackpot Joey, Joe Brrr and his favorite… Joe Shiesty! He plays it cool. One could say this is one of his greatest attributes, which in turn makes it possible to stay calm and collected in the pocket. We all know what this man can do and what his abilities are when healthy. Being that said… injury is why I’ve got this Cool Cat back at #7.
That non contact calf strain back on July 27 still has me a bit worried. We saw what an injury like this did to a guy like Karl Anthony Towns last year. Setbacks from coming back early had Towns out nearly 4 months. Yes it’s a different sport but setbacks and/or new injuries can spark up due to favoring his other leg too much. Another thing I’m afraid of is that start to the year schedule. Week 1, if he starts, Joe faces Myles Garrett who is averaged 1.5+ QBs hits per game and 1 Sack per game in 2022. Week 2 he has to go against a TOUGH Inside Linebacker Duo of Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen. Finally in week 3 he’s got another mammoth of a Linebacker in Aaron Donald. With all that being said, the Bengals Offensive Line has been a for man weak point for Joe’s full career. Add that to a the fact that Joe is now has limited scrambling mobility to escape from being killed out there. Yes I am definitely worried about this man.
IF, and thats a big if, Joe Shiesty can start week 1 and avoid any setbacks at all… He can easily overcome the #7 QB. The weapons on that team alone can help him be a top 4 QB. JaMarr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd have to be among the TOP WR groups out there. Add the ability of Joe Mixon out of the backfield and watch the heck out. Once again my main worry is injury setbacks.

MADDEN SCORE of 95
Joe Brrr? That 95 Madden score is scorching hot Joe! Up 5 points from last year with a HUGE performance. His 3/1 TD/INT Ratio was amazing and also putting up another season with over 4,500 passing yards. Also showing ability to score some TDs on foot with 5 rushing scores. This guy may be hindered by injury in real life but on Madden, Jackpot Joey and the Bengals offense are a dominant option! Definitely a great option to take a team to the Super Bowl many times in Franchise Mode.

#6 TREVOR LAWRENCE Jacksonville Jaguars

One of my absolute favorite prospects this year to keep moving up the ranks board is William Trevor “Sunshine” Lawrence. Yes you heard that right, William Lawrence. We all know this young man as T-Law, Sunshine but if you ask him, he just prefers Trevor. This young man had lots of hype coming out of college talking about him being the next big thing in the NFL. Well he goes first overall to the Jaguars. They hire new head coach Urban Meyer(PUKE), who ends up getting fired after going 2-11 and having off field issues. Jaguars end up going 3-14 to finish the year and Trev finishes as QB23. Let’s call that Rookie season a wash.
2022 rolls around. it was a new Sunrise for our guy Sunshine who turned everything around in his sophomore season. It’s amazing that he was able to take a 3 win team to the playoffs and win a game, which in turn makes me VERY excited for year 3. The biggest problem on this Jaguars team is that Offensive Line. Especially with them losing RT Jawaan Taylor to free agency and LT Cam Robinson to suspension. Jags Coaching staff need to do whatever they can to keep Trevor on his feet. Him being able to evade being sacked has definitely been a big help to his success.
I have him here at #6 and I’m confident in his production. His completion percentage and on-target rate have gone up a good amount. The huge years that Evan Engram and Christian Kirk had were very detrimental to this success rate. Also seeing Travis Etienne bounce back and have 1,400 all purpose yards definitely helped as well. Now my boy Trev just got an amazing new weapon in Calvin Ridley whom should ultimately help strengthen this WR core even more. The sky is the limit for Sunshine and even though he is a Clemson Alumni, I’ll be having as much shares as possible of him as I can.

MADDEN SCORE of 82
Trevor’s bump up of 6 points from last year is mediocre at best. He most definitely made some big strides that should have been accounted for. If I was a ranker, he’d have a Madden rating of 86. Sunshine is one of them old school type QBs with some flare, which can be lots of fun if you love to huck the ball! Getting a new fun addition to the WR room is going to launch Trevor up the ratings boards. If you get board throwing deep, have some fun with Etienne on the Play Action. I think the Jags will be a fun team to mess around with on Franchise Mode.

#5 JUSTIN FIELDS Chicago Bears

I may get a lot of grief for having Fields this high at #5. Guess what, I’m willing to die on this hill. The NFL is starting to move towards this type of Quarterback which is kind of exciting. This kid is absolutely lethal on the ground with his rushing abilities. There were weeks in fantasy were he could single handedly help you win your week for you. And you know what’s wild?! He was basically free as a late round steal in most single QB leagues.
Justin finished 6th amongst QBs last year with basically nobody but Cole Kmet catching passes. “How did he do that?”, you may be asking yourself. well, would it shock you if I told you he finished 7th amongst running backs in rush yards? Yes even more than Christian McCaffrey. How about if I said he had the second most rushing yards in a season ever by a QB? Oh did I also mention he set a new record for most rushing yards in a game by a QB with 178 yards. Yes, it’s incredible I know know. “But what about his throwing ability?”, you ask?
Well even though he has a strong arm he truly hasn’t been affective downfield. His on-target accuracy has been less than subpar and same thing with his completion percentage. Here is the deal though. Fields was tied for the most sacks in the NFL last year with 55. He legit wasn’t throwing to anyone who you’d even consider flex worthy in fantasy football last year. Legit the Tight End was their best option at pass catcher in 2022. Well in 2023 they have drafted an upgrade at Left Tackle with the 10th pick to strengthen their line. Also they traded for a very talented wide receiver in DJ Moore whom finished at minimum a top 24 receiver over his last 4 years. I am ALL IN on my man Justin Fields!

MADDEN SCORE of 76
This score legit makes me giggle. Him only 2 points up from last year just blows my mind with the leap he took. If Lamar is a 91 Madden rating then my guy Justin surely needs to be an 81 at minimum. He was just as affective on the ground as Lamar was, if not better. Their accuracy ratings were somewhat similar. And he’s finally getting a receiver worth a damn. If his Madden rating is up in the 80s next year, I’m goin to riot. He’s another one of those CHEAT CODE types, which equals unlimited fun on the run!

Be on the lookout for the third and final part of this article, my 4-1 QB Rankings. Thanks again for reading and truly hope you enjoyed it!