Chris Simms, an NFL analyst for NBC Sports, is currently in the process of unveiling his annual ranking of the top 40 quarterbacks in the league, and he has already made some controversial picks involving former SEC stars.
Simms is rolling out the list slowly, starting with the bottom of the rankings.
At No. 40, Simms named rookie Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa, of University of Alabama fame.
4⃣0⃣ Tua Tagovailoa
Talent is certainly there in a lot of areas. Definitely a leader that guys gravitate to. We all know the injury Qs. Will also see how he does when he doesn’t have all the best players on the field with him like he did at Alabama #SimmsTop40QB
— Chris Simms (@CSimmsQB) May 26, 2020
Simms subsequently ranked former Auburn University quarterback Jarrett Stidham at No. 35. Stidham is projected to start for the New England Patriots this season following the departure of future NFL Hall of Famer Tom Brady.
“We obviously haven’t seen a lot, but Stidham reminds me of Tony Romo. Superb movement within the pocket. Doesn’t have an arm like Brady (not many do) but quick release, real accurate, real smart,” tweeted Simms.
Joe Burrow, the rookie QB out of LSU, was ranked at No. 26.
2️⃣6️⃣ Joe Burrow
I am very confident he’ll be successful. The cleanest film I’ve ever seen from a QB in the draft. No weakness to his game, and his ability to process information and read-react gives him a Peyton Manning-like ceiling.#SimmsTop40QB— Chris Simms (@CSimmsQB) June 8, 2020
Simms was interviewed on WEEI radio to discuss the rankings to-date.
He did not sound like a fan of the former Crimson Tide star bringing up the tail end of his rankings.
“[Stidham is] more talented than Tua,” Simms asserted. “[Tua] is a creation of Alabama. You don’t think Jarrett Stidham, or like Justin Herbert would have set the world on fire if they got to play with four first-round receivers and two first-round tackles?”
Asked about Burrow’s relative spot in the list, Simms doubled down and further heaped praise on Stidham.
“The difference between Tua and Joe Burrow is when I evaluated them, Joe Burrow makes way more high-level, NFL-type throws — people not open, protection not good, he still makes a play. You have a hard time finding that on any of Tua’s tapes. I don’t give Tua credit when I go, ‘He threw the five-yard slant to a wide-open guy and he ran 80 yards. Woah, he’s so amazing. He’s the only guy who can do that.’ Or like the three receivers on the right all run across the formation and pick for the backfield, the back coming out of the backfield, and he throws a four-yard pass to the only guy who it was intended for on the play and we all go, ‘Look at the quarterback play by Tua.’ That is the perfect example of what you’re doing for me there. You’re giving all the accolades, Alabama kicks the crap out of everybody for the last 15 years with all these quarterbacks, but now you want to tell me Tua is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I don’t agree with that,” Simms outlined.
“Getting back to that, Stidham to me, of the guys I have in the 30s, he has the biggest potential to make a big-time jump,” he added. “People thought I was crazy after Patrick Mahomes’ rookie year and I ranked him like 29 and people were like, ‘Oh my God, you haven’t even seen him play. He was 4-7 at Texas Tech.’ I was wrong to put him at 29, I should have put him at four or five, probably somewhere in there.”
“Again, I could be off on Stidham. He could be way greater than what I say, way off. I am not saying my list is in stone, but my list has been pretty good the last few years, and I certainly like the potential of Jarrett Stidham, what I saw in college, and he was very impressive in the preseason. The fact that New England likes him, makes me like him too,” Simms remarked.
Simms further discussed the picks on his own podcast. You can listen to the Tua-related podcast here and Stidham here.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.