Kirk Cousins moved up two spots in Pro Football Talk’s rankings of NFL quarterbacks but that still didn’t get him into the Top 10.
Chris Simms, who does a Top 40 ranking each summer, placed the Vikings QB 13th. That puts him ahead of Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger (was sixth in 2019); Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady (was ninth); New Orleans’ Drew Brees (was 10th); Indianapolis’ Philip Rivers (was 12th); Buffalo’s Josh Allen (was 23rd); Oakland’s Derek Carr (was 18th); and San Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo (was 21st).
“Cousins, to me, is just outside the Top 12 for a lot of the reasons that you have seen,” said Simms, the son of former NFL quarterback Phil Simms and a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in 2003. “Doesn’t throw the ball great off of different platforms, not necessarily great when the pocket does collapse, he’s got a little bit of an elongated motion.
“But, still, with what he’s asked to do, the ability to throw the ball on the run. … Kirk Cousins, I want to say, ‘Hey, you’re a better athlete than you give yourself credit for. Learn how to hop around the pocket and avoid people and still make throws down the field.’ He can do that. You see enough in the game, and I see plays here and there, to go, ‘It’s there.’ I don’t know if he has the confidence to do it.”
Cousins is coming off a season in which the Vikings earned a wild berth card and upset the Saints in New Orleans in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to San Francisco. Cousins passed for 3,603 yards to finish 16th in the NFL. He was fourth in completion percentage (69.1), tied for eighth in touchdown passes (26) and had a career-high 107.4 passer rating. Cousins’ six interceptions were the fewest he’s thrown in his five years as a starter.