In recent days, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Chris Simms has been going through his yearly exercise: ranking the NFL’s top quarterbacks. On Tuesday’s “Chris Simms Unbuttoned,” the NBC Sports analyst listed his top four: the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, followed by the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen, the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow and the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes.

Mahomes has been listed as No. 1 in four of Simms’ last five countdowns. Simms still thinks the Kansas City superstar is one of the best he’s ever seen.

“He’s mastered winning,” he said on Tuesday. “He’s the ultimate winner. And I know some people are going to say, ‘Isn’t that the only point? To win?’

“Yeah, I get that. I know. [But] winning is not a quarterback stat. I know we like to put it there — and I take it there and take it into context — but it’s not like, ‘Oh, he wins, he’s No. 1.’”

Simms stepped into Mahomes’ shoes to describe how Kansas City’s players and coaches allow Mahomes to use all of his skills.

“I don’t have to force the issue,” said Simms. “I don’t have to make this throw that Joe Burrow or Josh Allen might have to make, because my defense is awesome and they’re gonna hold them under 15 points.

“So I have a luxury right here of taking a chance and just throwing a ball into the double coverage down the field, right? Or holding the ball too long in the pocket — [because] wait, there was somebody open, but now, I want more. Let me see if I can make something happen. My defense will keep us in the game, right?”

Simms believes Mahomes is still at the top. But right now, other quarterbacks are outplaying him.

“[He’s] the man, the myth [and] the legend,” declared Simms. “[He’s] one of the greatest I’ve ever seen — and maybe the clutchiest quarterback in football. Still, the quarterback play week-in and week-out — and I don’t think he would disagree with me here — has not been as high level the past two seasons as [it has for been for] Burrow, Lamar or Josh Allen.”

And Simms isn’t simply making excuses to mark Mahomes down. The MVP of Super Bowl LIX — who led the Philadelphia Eagles to a 40-22 defeat of the Chiefs — doesn’t get much credit for ‘just winning,’ either. In Monday’s podcast episode, Simms ranked Jalen Hurts 10th — behind Jayden Daniels, Matthew Stafford, C.J. Stroud, Justin Herbert and Baker Mayfield.

“Really kind of an incredible year when you really think about it,” said Simms of Hurts. “The ultimate leader, that’s the first thing I’ll say. He’s tough, he’s the same guy all the time. He can handle the Philadelphia criticism good or bad and seems to take it all in stride. He brings a skillset to [the Eagles’] offense that makes them almost indefensible with all the talent they have. What he brings to the table puts it over the top to where you’re just like, ‘Oh my God, what do we defend?’”

One Philadelphia media source immediately described Simms’ ranking of Hurts as “throwing shade” at the Eagles’ quarterback.

My take

It’s easy to rush to Mahomes’ defense whenever an analyst doesn’t rank him as the NFL’s best quarterback — but I think Simms has done a good job explaining his ranking of the Kansas City quarterback.

After watching how the Chiefs struggled to keep good wide receivers on the field during the last two seasons, it’s kind of wild to think about Mahomes benefiting from his supporting cast. Simms, however, is doing what he should: he’s including Kansas City’s defense and coaching in the equation.

Simms is right: even with 2024’s middling group of wideouts — which allowed opposing defenses to focus more on tight end Travis Kelce — Mahomes had the luxury of playing just well enough to win; he knew he could count on defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s unit to hold the line.

As Simms notes, Hurts had a strong supporting cast — and has plenty of talent of his own. He just hasn’t been able to elevate Philadelphia players the way Mahomes has done. It’s true: Hurts’ unique skill set is a significant part of why the Eagles’ signature tush push play works so well; its use is an outsized factor in the Eagles’ offense. But this particular talent is hardly a quarterback trait. To put it another way: could Hurts have taken the Chiefs’ pass-catching corps to a Super Bowl win — like Mahomes did in 2023? It doesn’t seem likely.

So while we don’t like to see Mahomes ranked fourth, Simms is approaching this honestly. If we focus just on their skills as quarterbacks, Jackson, Allen and Burrow played better in 2024; they had the league’s top three QBR scores. But Simms recognizes that when the chips are down in the most significant moments, Mahomes (whose QBR ranked eighth in 2024) is still the quarterback to beat.

Hurts, of course, did defeat Mahomes in February’s biggest moment — but for now, Simms has figured it correctly: that win didn’t prove Hurts is a better quarterback.

Can Mahomes return to the top of Simms’ ranking for 2026? It’s going to be interesting to watch.

Poll
Did Chris Simms rank Patrick Mahomes correctly?