Last month, ESPN Insider polled 35 NFL coaches and talent evaluators to come up with a definitive list of the best quarterbacks in the league. Stop us when you hear Robert Griffin III's name...
Aaron Rodgers
Tom Brady
Andrew Luck
Ben Roethlisberger
Peyton Manning
Drew Brees
Nothing yet? OK, let's keep going…
Philip Rivers
Russell Wilson
Tony Romo
Joe Flacco
Matt Ryan
Eli Manning
Cam Newton
Hmmm…Still no sign of RGIII.
Carson Palmer
Alex Smith
Ryan Tannehill
Colin Kaepernick
Andy Dalton
Derek Carr
Jay Cutler
Nick Foles
Sam Bradford
Teddy Bridgewater
Wow. Wait, did the coaches and evaluators forget that RGIII is still in the league or something?!
Marcus Mariota
Yo, he didn't even play in the NFL yet! Is he really above RGIII?!
Jameis Winston
Him, either!
Blake Bortles
THE JAGUARS QUARTERBACK IS ABOVE RGIII?!
Robert Griffin III
Ding, ding, ding. There he is! Right above Josh McCown, Brian Hoyer, Matt Cassel, and Geno Smith. According to NFL coaches and evaluators, RGIII is the 28th-best QB in the league. And believe it or not, that was actually a pretty generous ranking! A similar MMQB list had RGIII at—welp—31st.
Despite this, RGIII says he hasn't lost faith in himself. In fact, he's borderline delusional right now and just said that, while other people (er, all people?) might not agree, he thinks he's the best quarterback in the entire NFL. He said those exact words during an interview with WJLA over the weekend.
"I don't feel like I have to come out here and show anybody anything or why I'm better than this guy or better than that guy," he said. "It's more about going out and affirming that for me, I go out and I play, I know I'm the best quarterback on this team. I feel like I'm the best quarterback in the league and I have to go out and show that. Any athlete at any level, if they concede to someone else, they're not a top competitor, they're not trying to be the best that they can be. There's guys in this league that have done way more than me. But I still view myself as the best because that's what I work toward every single day."
In fairness to RGIII, he should think he's the best. We're also willing to admit that there's no way he should land in the 30s on a list of the top QBs in the NFL. But if RGIII is going to go out on a limb like this, let's hope he's able to deliver this season. Otherwise, people are going to be quick to remind him of everything that he said here.
Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com.
[via Washington Post]
