QB Survivor: The game is about to get ROCKED!
QB tiers: I put them into tiers
QB Survivor is a test of many things, not just arm strength and red flags. But set aside the cast members for a while because we are also being tested. As readers and fans, you’re being tested to find out what it is that you like in a quarterback and what it is that you definitely do not like. You’re also being tested as readers. This is an unprecedented expirement in “newsletter reality shows” and nobody has any idea how this will go.
I certainly don’t and I’m being tested as a newsletter reality show producer trying to create a game that’s never been made before. Today’s lesson: October might be too soon to start QB Survivor.
OR: There were too many contestants.
I don’t think there are too many contestants because even with a cast as large as 24 quarterbacks, it’s clear that a few prospects not in the game definitely deserve to be in the game.
And as much as one-third of the current remaining cast now seems to be “out of their element” as we reach the one-month mark of the first edition of QB Survivor.
These six QBs might need to be pulled from the game:
QB Jalon Daniels, Underdogs Tribe
QB Stetson Bennett, Underdogs Tribe
QB D.J. Uiagalelei, Leaders Tribe
QB Tanner McKee, Traits Tribe
QB Will Rogers, Leaders Tribe
QB Tyler Van Dyke, Hype Tribe
Why?
Daniels - Injury
Daniels refuted a report that he is out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. However, Daniels seems likely to miss some time and backup Jason Bean has kind of picked up the slack, even though Kansas his lost their last three games. It’s enough to think that Daniels, a junior, will return for more college football next year.
Bennett - Performance
One of the last QBs voted into Survivor, Bennett just isn’t having the type of breakout season that would catapult him into the draft conversation as an undersized walk-on. Bennett has just seven touchdowns in seven games, with two of those coming against Vanderbilt in his most recent start. For a 5’11 QB, you would just need to see some sort of Russell Wilson or Kyler Murray type of campaign and that’s not even close to the case.
Uiagalelei - Performance
D.J. was benched on Saturday. It’s rare to see a player touted as a franchise QB the year after he gets benched. Dabo Swinney said that Uiagalelei is still the starter, but how much longer will that be the case?
McKee - Performance
He’s mediocre. There’s no other way to put it. I don’t comprehend some reports that McKee is a first round pick or that the Seahawks should draft him.
Rogers - Performance
The Will Rogers explosion may have been snuffed out with his last two difficult matchups, facing Kentucky and Alabama: 55-of-97, 434 yards, one touchdown, one interception. After padding his stats in the air raid against Bowling Green and Memphis, Rogers’ more difficult games don’t do a lot to help his NFL Draft case.
Van Dyke - Injury/performance
Van Dyke was already on the ropes, but he was injured in his most recent start against Duke and could miss time.
My opinion would be that these are the bottom-six quarterbacks of the 21 remaining in the game. (Read a full spreadsheet with QB stats right here.) I would also say that there’s a group right behind them that hasn’t been trending in the right direction lately (Jaren Hall, Cameron Ward, Dillon Gabriel, Anthony Richardson) and a few more that I’m just not sure about (Garrett Shrader, Michael Penix, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, K.J. Jefferson, Will Levis).
For me, the top remaining would be the group that is led by Bryce Young, followed in no order by C.J. Stroud, Grayson McCall, Hendon Hooker, Cameron Rising, and Sam Hartman. Who would be your top-five or bottom-five or any list you’d like to share?
I am going to create a poll to vote for who you want to SAVE from the bottom-five. Be careful not to vote somebody out. This is who you want to save and keep in the game. The Substack poll only lets you choose five options, so that’s why Tyler Van Dyke isn’t on it. Van Dyke might just have to be removed from the game for injury/performance reasons.
Outside of the bottom-five, there’s the group of quarterbacks who seem to really want into the game.
QBs who want in:
Bo Nix, Oregon
Since he failed to get voted into QB Survivor, Nix has played the best football of his life. Over his last four starts, Nix has completed 72% of his attempts for 1,137 yards, 10 TD, one INT, rushing for 292 yards and another five touchdowns, and Oregon has won six in a row. Nix has always had the tools, he just played so poorly at Auburn and then got dominated by Georgia in Week 1 that it was hard to assume he’d climb back into the draft conversation. Oregon has five more games, then potentially a Pac-12 championship game, then either a bowl game or an appearance in the CFP. Lots of time for Nix to raise his stock… or lower it again.
Jayden Daniels, LSU
The former ASU starter has played well for most of the season, but especially turned it on as of late. After losing to Hendon Hooker three weeks ago, Daniels has thrown five touchdowns and rushed for six touchdowns in the last two games. He has only thrown one interception and Daniels has rushed for 524 yards and nine touchdowns.
Max Duggan, TCU
The fourth-year starter is on a tear. Excluding a Week 2 win over Tarleton State, Duggan has still thrown 14 touchdowns and one interception, plus 230 rushing yards and four touchdowns, over his last five games. Duggan is helped by the fact that he has Quentin Johnston, arguably the top-rated receiver in the 2023 draft, but how much of TCU’s success should Duggan be credited with?
I will take into consideration any comments about how many QBs to remove from the game and how many to allow in. It seems like Bo Nix would be a great addition to the cast at this point. For now, let’s hold another vote on who to let in if you could only choose one:
Let Bo Nx in, he's knocking on the door hard and it's starting to get colder outside in Oregon.
Van Dyke to stay in. Bo Nix to join.