There is no such thing as a “perfect” NFL quarterback. However, as you can tell from the EA Sports “Madden NFL” ratings, several QBS are almost perfect—with ratings of 98 or 99.
A perfect NFL quarterback is not possible unless you find ways to combine all of the mental and physical traits and put them into one. Hey, who knows how much science and technology will enhance over the next few decades?
Without further ado, we present what the perfect NFL quarterback would look like, using the skills and traits of the league’s very best. So let’s get to it!
What traits does a perfect NFL quarterback look like?
Head & Vision: Patrick Mahomes
Mahomes has cemented himself as the best player in football right now. Since taking over as the starting quarterback in 2018, KC has played in six AFC Championships and four Super Bowls — winning three Lombardi Trophies over the last five years.
The two-time league MVP is as close to a “perfect NFL quarterback” as you’ll get. But it’s Mahomes’ head and vision that especially separate him from every other quarterback.
Only four quarterbacks have a lower career pass interception percentage than Mahomes, at 1.8. That’s especially impressive when you consider the amount Mahomes throws, and the quantity of low-percentage throws he attempts.
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Like Tom Brady, Mahomes is deadly because of his ability to read opposing defenses. He always knows what’s coming, and he excels in distributing the football before the pocket collapses.
Mahomes rarely turns it over because of his football smarts. He sees the field perfectly, and it’s why teams have to pick their poison when defending against him. Throw two-deep coverage at him, and Mahomes will dice you up with short passes.
And not to be captain obvious, but just watch his history of carving up opposing defenses when the steaks are at their highest. The Chiefs won Super Bowl 58 with a lackluster receiving core because Mahomes knew where to go with the football and which weaknesses to exploit. Not because his receivers were getting separated.
Dare him to beat you deep, and he’ll do it more often than not.
What makes Mahomes scary is that his football IQ is on the level of all-time greats like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. But both of those legends had a fraction of the mobility and overall athleticism that Mahomes displays.
Accuracy: Aaron Rodgers
Few regard Rodgers as the GOAT, but there’s a case to be made that he’s the most all-around talented and decorated quarterback in NFL history. Rodgers has no weaknesses in his physical game, but it’s his accuracy that sets A-Rod apart from most other quarterbacks.
Take a look at the active career completion percentage leaders, and you’ll see several surprise names ahead of the four-time league MVP. But of course, Rodgers has played way more games than the rest of those guys, so their percentage will naturally dip over time.
Don’t tell us you’d take Kyler Murray, Tua Tagovailoa, or Jimmy Garoppolo over Rodgers. By the way, the future Hall of Famer has the league’s lowest pass-interception percentage at 1.4.
And then you have Rodgers’ three career Hail Marys and that unforgettable pass to Jared Cook that set up the Green Bay Packers’ game-winning field goal against the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Round.
Rodgers has out-of-this-world accuracy. He just knows how to place the ball in his receivers’ hands, even when the window is the size of a ping-pong ball. What more can we say? Few sights are more beautiful in football than watching Rodgers drop picture-perfect passes with the simple flick of a wrist.
Arm: Josh Allen
Today’s quarterbacks must be mobile and athletic and have a deep arm to shine in the NFL.
For years, Joe Flacco and Russell Wilson had reputations for having the best deep ball in football. Flacco, of course, was never an elite quarterback — and Wilson was more of the “good at everything, great at nothing guy.”
But the Buffalo Bills’ superstar is truly a freak of nature with his dual-threat style of play and his arm. Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert garnered consideration here, but Allen’s arm would be the slight difference-maker in making a PERFECT NFL quarterback.
According to Next Gen Stats, Allen was the best deep ball thrower of 2021. Deep ball is defined as a pass “with 20-plus air yards.” Allen completed 28 of 68 attempts that year for 954 yards, five touchdowns, two picks and a ridiculous passer rating of 100.7. Allen was 10th in 2022 in deep ball throws with an astounding 1,028 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, five picks and a 98.2 passer rating.
And only six NFL quarterbacks had more pass completions of 40-plus yards in 2023 than Allen. And believe us, guys ahead of him like Gardner Minshew, Baker Mayfield, and Tua Tagovailoa do not have better arms than Allen.
Legs, Speed & Mobility: Lamar Jackson
Allow us to put these three categories into one.
And neither should be up for debate.
The two-time league MVP is the only quarterback in NFL history with two 1,000-yard rushing seasons. The 1,206 yards he rushed for in the 2019 season remain a single-season record for a QB.
Jackson is also dynamic as a passer because his speed and mobility allow him to extend plays.
That’s why the perfect NFL quarterback would have Jackson’s legs because he’s a consistent 1,000-yard rushing threat As a QB. And his ability to dance around defenders and extend passing plays makes Jackson borderline unstoppable when he’s on his game.
Scrambling & Elusiveness: Jalen Hurts
Hurts may not quite be as fast as Lamar Jackson. His rushing yards totals will hardly rival Jackson’s, too. But when it comes to getting away from trouble and dancing around defenders to avoid negative-yardage plays, give us Hurts over anybody else.
Don’t let the Eagles’ second-half collapse in 2023 fool you. Hurts was playing lights-out football for a month and a half, and it was thanks to his explosive dual-threat game.
As documented by Nate Tice of Yahoo Sports, Hurts had a FORCED miss tackle or broken tackle rate of 21.9 percent during the 2022 season on designed runs and scrambling plays — excluding QB sneaks and kneeldowns.
The former Alabama and Oklahoma quarterback took this Philly offense to another level in 2022 when he improved as a pocket passer in the NFL. The arrival of AJ Brown certainly helped there, but it also opened up the Eagles’ offensive playbook which allowed Hurts to flash his skills as a crafty runner.
At 6-foot-1 and just over 220 pounds, Hurts doesn’t have the size and build of guys like Josh Allen, Justin Herbert or Jared Goff. But he makes up for it with his natural quickness and ability to evade would-be tackles when trouble begins to close in.
Size, Toughness & Physicality: Josh Allen
Going back to the Bills’ star quarterback here…
Cam Newton was also a good passer, but his size, physicality, and ability to run over would-be
tacklers made him an elite NFL quarterback for almost a full decade.
Well, Josh Allen is similar to Newton in terms of size and toughness. The main difference is that Allen is a more gifted passer, while Newton was more potent as a runner.
At 6-foot-5 and 237 pounds, Allen has the ideal combination of size and toughness to get it done with both his arm and legs. He has thrown for over 4,000 yards and at least 29 touchdowns every year since 2020.
As a runner, Allen has surpassed 500 yards rushing all but one year since his 2018 rookie campaign. He has racked up 53 rushing scores over that period — second-most to only Derrick Henry.
5.5 yards per carry is not half-bad for a quarterback like Allen, either. So yeah, give us his size, toughness, and physicality to build the perfect NFL quarterback.
Poise: Joe Burrow
There’s just something about Joe Burrow that tells us he’d be an A-lister in Hollywood if he were to pursue an acting career after football.
Make no mistake: guys like Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, and Russell Wilson love the media attention and spotlight. Guys like Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, and Justin Herbert are on the quieter end but still fulfill their media and public obligations.
Both on and off the field, Burrow just presents himself with confidence — not cockiness — and swagger. Is it the slick hair? The outfits? The “Joe Cool” nickname? Either way, he’s unquestionably the gold standard for poise among NFL quarterbacks.
Just think about this. Former first overall pick to a terrible Bengals franchise. Has his rookie year cut short by a gruesome ACL and MCL tear. They came back in year two and led the Bengals all the way to a Super Bowl 56 appearance despite playing behind a horrible offensive line that allowed him to take 70 sacks — including the playoffs.
In 2022, Burrow rallied the Bengals from a 0-2 start to finish 12-and-4. They went on to reach the AFC title game again, narrowly losing a heartbreaker to the Chiefs on a last-second field goal.
Most teams are naturally scared going up against Mahomes. Burrow is 3-and-1 against the league’s best player, with all of those games ending in a single score. Because, again, nothing scares Burrow.
Even when he’s playing behind a terrible offensive line, and even when his opponents look better on paper, Joe Cool just comes in and does his thing. No expressions. Little body language. He acts like a programmed robot and does business calmly and collectively.
Clutchness & Leadership: Patrick Mahomes
We decided to group these two categories into one since they go hand-in-hand, and since No. 15 in Kansas City occupies both of them anyway.
Please don’t try to convince us that somebody is more deserving of this spot. Only Tom Brady and maybe Joe Montana can be put ahead of Mahomes on the all-time clutch NFL quarterback depth chart, though Mahomes could be No. 1 when all is said and done.
Mahomes is a ridiculous 17-and-14 in his career — including postseason games — when his Chiefs are trailing by 10 or more points. Think about that for a second. Your team is more likely to lose than win if it’s up on the league’s best player by double-digit points.
And yes, Mahomes trailed by 10 points in each of his first three Super Bowl wins.
Mahomes has six game-winning drives, and five fourth-quarter comeback wins in 18 playoff games. That includes three Super Bowl game-winning drives, by the way, against elite San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles defenses.
Remember when Mahomes was playing on a bad ankle in Super Bowl 57 against the Eagles, a defense that racked up 70 sacks in the regular season? Mahomes wasn’t sacked once in that game.
Mahomes has three playoff losses in his career. The first came against the New England Patriots in the 2018 AFC title game because Mahomes didn’t see the football. That was before the NFL changed its dumb overtime rules.
The second playoff loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl 55 was because Mahomes ran for his life all game long since his offensive line was basically made of duct tape.
The third loss was the 2021 AFC title game. Mahomes didn’t play his best, but 275 passing yards and three touchdowns in an overtime loss to Joe Burrow’s Cincinnati Bengals isn’t exactly an embarrassing way to see your season end.
You can’t be a leader without being clutch and vice versa. When Mahomes’ team is down and in trouble, he just always finds a way to carry them on his back and delivers when it matters most FAR more often than not.
Aaron Rodgers isn’t critical in publicly expressing frustration with his teammates. Tom Brady did it a lot, too, and Ben Roethlisberger largely fractured his relationship with Antonio Brown because of his big mouth to the public.
Regardless of how you feel about open and public criticism, it isn’t for everyone. And it’s rarely a good look on the QB when he’s pointing the finger at his teammates and not himself.
Mahomes doesn’t do that. He didn’t at all blame his o-line for the Super Bowl 55 loss to Tampa. He stood by Kadarius Toney and Marques Valdes-Scantling during the 2023 season, even when they were committing costly boneheaded mistakes.
Mahomes leads by example. He has great energy and passion, but the star NFL quarterback naturally sets the tone with his calmness and clutch genes. And that’s the guy you want in your huddle every day of the week.
