Recently Pat Kirwan from NFL.com ranked all of the quarterbacks in the National Football League as part of his analysis of the Top 100 players. Kirwan broke down all of the signal callers into groups of give, and listed them in alphabetical order.
New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez was ranked in group D (16-20) with the likes of Jay Cutler, Matt Cassel, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Kyle Orton. Sanchez was listed ahead of veteran players Donovan McNabb and David Garrard, but behind up and coming stars Josh Freeman, Joe Flacco, and Sam Bradford.
I found Kirwan’s assessment quite interesting as it will definitely create a variety of discussions and arguments. In the end I think it comes down to how you evaluate a quarterback. Is it wins and losses? Statistics?
At this point I believe that Mark Sanchez is developing into a very good quarterback, but he remains a work in progress. Sanchez improved in year two and displayed the leadership and tenacity that is required for a franchise quarterback. In order for Mark to get to the next level he needs to become more consistent in terms of his performance on a weekly basis. This will be no easy task for Sanchez, especially considering that the offseason has been a wash up to this point due to the lockout (Jets West can only do so much). In addition the Jets have some uncertainty at the wide receiver position as Santonio Holmes, Brad Smith, and Braylon Edwards could be lost to free agency based on the new collective bargaining agreement.
In the end I think Kirwan’s ranking was fair as Sanchez has made progress, but still has some work to do to become a top 15 quarterback.