Brett Favre a Top 5 QB Ever?

[Babe Ruth]

Absolutely no.

(Mahomes)has 1 MVP, 1 SB, 1 SB MVP. Plenty of QBs have more.
Are you saying Kurt Warner is a Top 5 all time QB?

Agreed.. Mahomes is already an accomplished QB, but not uniquely accomplished (as u show with a Warner comparison).
Even Mahomes' individual stats aren't in the category of unique greatness yet. Passers like Carson Palmer & Testaverde both threw for basically 30,000 more yards than Mahomes (so far). And I wouldn't even say that Palmer & Testaverde were all-time great QBs.
And by another common metric, compared to one's peers.. I'd actually say Brady, past his prime, has been better than Mahomes over the last few seasons. And I think in the next few years, both Josh Allen and Herbert will put up better stats than Mahomes, but I concede that's speculative..
Mahomes is one of the best of his generation.. but he hasn't (all-time Top 5) dominated his peers, or the record books yet.. He has a long way until he has the rings like Brady & Montana.. or league passing records that Tarkenton retired with.

 

[Voight]

Brett Favre isn't a top 10 QB, let alone a top 5.

Hottest take I've seen in a while.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Hottest take I've seen in a while.

I mean, not at all? He's definitely not top 5. I could see maybe top 10 but I wouldn't be surprised if there's ten guys who were better than him. Favre had an insane peak but he's got a lot of duds in his career.

At any rate, there's hotter takes than that spoken on a daily basis.

 

[Voight]

I mean, not at all? He's definitely not top 5. I could see maybe top 10 but I wouldn't be surprised if there's ten guys who were better than him. Favre had an insane peak but he's got a lot of duds in his career.

At any rate, there's hotter takes than that spoken on a daily basis.

I would like to see 10 guys better than him.

I can't see how hes outside the top 10.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I would like to see 10 guys better than him.

I can't see how hes outside the top 10.

Brady, Manning, Rodgers, Montana, Brees, Elway, Marino, Mahomes (yeah, I already put him ahead of Favre. Can anyone here fathom a year where Mahomes would throw more/equal picks than TDs? Let alone multiple ones? Favre did it multiple times post-2000!) Unitas, Young. Some could argue here and here, but I don't think it's a stretch. You could. make an argument for Favre as top 10 just as easily as you can leave him out.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

And I think in the next few years, both Josh Allen and Herbert will put up better stats than Mahomes, but I concede that's speculative..

How unsurprising.

 

[Voight]

Brady, Manning, Rodgers, Montana, Brees, Elway, Marino, Mahomes (yeah, I already put him ahead of Favre. Can anyone here fathom a year where Mahomes would throw more/equal picks than TDs? Let alone multiple ones? Favre did it multiple times post-2000!) Unitas, Young. Some could argue here and here, but I don't think it's a stretch. You could. make an argument for Favre as top 10 just as easily as you can leave him out.

Favre has triple the MVP's as Elway/Marino, 3 more than Brees. Double the All Pros of Marino/Elway. Zero chance Mahomes is ahead of him at this point or even in the top 10 - also he's got a long way to go so he could very well have seasons like Favre's with too many INT's.

Young is the closest too him in terms of accomplishments but lacks the longevity and playoff success (only made the big game once - great performance tho)

 

[Hockeyholic]

Absolutely no.

He has 1 MVP, 1 SB, 1 SB MVP. Plenty of QBs have more.

Are you saying Kurt Warner is a Top 5 all time QB? He's got more hardware than Mahomes. He has a SB and a SB MVP as well as having 2 MVP awards.

Warner wasn't as good as Mahomes is now.

Mahomes is the most talented QB to play the position.

 

[LightningStorm]

1. Brady
2. Montana
3. Rodgers
4. Marino
5. Manning
6. Mahomes (still rising)
7. Brees
8. Favre
9. Young
10. Elway

As great as Favre was, I don't think he has a case for top 5, as all those guys were certainly better. Even his great 3 year peak from 1995-1997 might be on the outside looking in for top 5 peaks. On that note though, I do think he can get underrated by fans who only started watching the NFL in the 2000's, as 90's Favre was a level above his version in the next decade.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

On that note though, I do think he can get underrated by fans who only started watching the NFL in the 2000's, as 90's Favre was a level above his version in the next decade.

In much the same way fans who never saw the 60s and 70s wouldn’t know how or who to put in their top 10.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Warner wasn't as good as Mahomes is now.

Mahomes is the most talented QB to play the position.

No, he is not.

As much as I hate him, Aaron Rodgers is more talented than Mahomes. I would argue that Josh Allen also is.

We saw Mahomes's limitations in the mental aspects of QBing this year. Take away the deep throws and he struggles to find the intermediate routes, panics and bails out of the pocket WAY too soon. That leads to multiple sacks. Was it just an "off" (by his standards) year? I guess we'll see.

He did a lot quickly and he did it in spectacular fashion, but it is way too soon to crown him. For all we know, we might have already seen his peak. Talking about him like he is already top 10 ever is asinine. On the trajectory? Sure.

 

[EpochLink]

No, he is not.

As much as I hate him, Aaron Rodgers is more talented than Mahomes. I would argue that Josh Allen also is.

We saw Mahomes's limitations in the mental aspects of QBing this year. Take away the deep throws and he struggles to find the intermediate routes, panics and bails out of the pocket WAY too soon. That leads to multiple sacks. Was it just an "off" (by his standards) year? I guess we'll see.

He did a lot quickly and he did it in spectacular fashion, but it is way too soon to crown him. For all we know, we might have already seen his peak. Talking about him like he is already top 10 ever is asinine. On the trajectory? Sure.

Mahomes needs to adjust his QB play, the league catches up in a hurry. Y’all don’t think defensive coaches know how to limit Mahomes? Take away the deep passes, make him uncomfortable in the pocket, etc..

I agree, Rodgers is better than Mahomes career wise for now..

 

[Hasbro]

Not really. He basically has the same accomplishments Terrell Davis has.

TD never had a bad playoff game.

 

[Hasbro]

In much the same way fans who never saw the 60s and 70s wouldn’t know how or who to put in their top 10.

Cherry pick some stats. Just as good.

 

[LightningStorm]

That title belongs to John Elway.

Elway is always a complicated QB to rank, in that I could see how one could have him in the top 5 (though you really have to stretch things) and not even have him in the top 10. He was a top 5 talent for a QB with his ability to make plays and throws few QB's could make. But to have him top 5 you'd have to do it based on what he could've done had he not been stuck with Dan Reeves his first 10 years, rather than what he actually did, which is a giant leap. He could be an unstable QB at times with his turnover problems, and his accuracy could be dodgy at times. He is overrated though when he's even debated against his clear cut superior 1983 draftee Dan Marino. I have him at #10, though he'll be overtaken in about 5 seasons. Also worth noting that the Broncos offense was run first with Terrell Davis during both of Elway's SB wins.

And could belong to Patrick Mahomes pretty soon.

Mahomes has easily eclipsed Elway at his very best. The issue with him is sample size, especially since he did show some bad habits in 2021 at times when things got difficult. He has the talent to have a career like Rodgers (not to mention the Chiefs being a better organization than the Packers) but maintaining that level of play as long as Rodgers has is one tall task.

 

[Hasbro]

Elway is always a complicated QB to rank, in that I could see how one could have him in the top 5 (though you really have to stretch things) and not even have him in the top 10. He was a top 5 talent for a QB with his ability to make plays and throws few QB's could make. But to have him top 5 you'd have to do it based on what he could've done had he not been stuck with Dan Reeves his first 10 years, rather than what he actually did, which is a giant leap. He could be an unstable QB at times with his turnover problems, and his accuracy could be dodgy at times. He is overrated though when he's even debated against his clear cut superior 1983 draftee Dan Marino. I have him at #10, though he'll be overtaken in about 5 seasons. Also worth noting that the Broncos offense was run first with Terrell Davis during both of Elway's SB wins.

It was run first with Sammy Winder during the Super Bowl losses.

 

[Sexy Necksy Garland]

I don't hold them against him. Yea, this year he didn't play very well (neither did special teams...) but he's done his part when it comes to the playoffs. Never mind that they fired McCarthy 3 years too late and while the team has done solid drafting, they rarely make major signings or trades so the roster cpould, in theory, be "more talented"

I don't see a case for Marino or Elway to be ranked above him.

McCarthy should have been fired on January 18, 2015 because of January 18, 2015.

 

[Voight]

Elway is always a complicated QB to rank, in that I could see how one could have him in the top 5 (though you really have to stretch things) and not even have him in the top 10. He was a top 5 talent for a QB with his ability to make plays and throws few QB's could make. But to have him top 5 you'd have to do it based on what he could've done had he not been stuck with Dan Reeves his first 10 years, rather than what he actually did, which is a giant leap. He could be an unstable QB at times with his turnover problems, and his accuracy could be dodgy at times. He is overrated though when he's even debated against his clear cut superior 1983 draftee Dan Marino. I have him at #10, though he'll be overtaken in about 5 seasons. Also worth noting that the Broncos offense was run first with Terrell Davis during both of Elway's SB wins.


Mahomes has easily eclipsed Elway at his very best. The issue with him is sample size, especially since he did show some bad habits in 2021 at times when things got difficult. He has the talent to have a career like Rodgers (not to mention the Chiefs being a better organization than the Packers) but maintaining that level of play as long as Rodgers has is one tall task.

I get everyone wants to harp on Reeves, but when they did finally win the championship those teams were stacked & had a ton of talent. Much more talented then the squads they had when he was the coach.

 

[MVP of West Hollywd]

Favre is not in the top 5. His peak may be but the player he was in second half of his career was not in that convo. A player like Rodgers has been more consistently elite. Brady, Manning, Montana and Rodgers should be in top 5. I'd give the 5th spot to an old timer in Unitas to account for playing in less QB friendly league and having 3 MVPs and 4 rings and playing at a high level into his mid 30s. But some other players like Marino can also be above Favre. Elway seems like one of the most overrated athletes in sports to me, the equivalent of if Luck kept playing until the Colts won back to back titles at 37/38 with a dominant rusher... Which would be a pretty damn good, easy HOF career, but not top 5 all time, considering I don't think he quite got there in terms of being a Brady/Manning/Rodgers/Brees/Mahomes/etc.

 

[Hasbro]

I get everyone wants to harp on Reeves, but when they did finally win the championship those teams were stacked & had a ton of talent. Much more talented then the squads they had when he was the coach.

Yeah Dan Reeves should have been livid with his GM providing him with so little talent! The kind of GM who would take Ted Gregory with out ever seeing him play, or would draft Tommy Maddox, or would trade for Rickey Hunley.

@Voight Do I need to reveal who was making personnel decisions in that span or are you taking the hint?

What I don't get is why is it held against Elway that he performed better when he had better players around him, but not all the other QBs who had better talent through out their careers or were put in systems that were actually suited for them.

 

[Babe Ruth]

In much the same way fans who never saw the 60s and 70s wouldn’t know how or who to put in their top 10.

I notice a lot of these top 10 lists, overlook/exclude pre-1980 QBs.
Tarkenton is the quarterback I feel gets most overlooked by newer fans. When he retired he held records for most completions, passing yards, passing TDs from basically the first 50 years of the NFL, and he's usually MIA from these top 10 lists..

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

I notice a lot of these top 10 lists, overlook/exclude pre-1980 QBs.
Tarkenton is the quarterback I feel gets most overlooked by newer fans. When he retired he held records for most completions, passing yards, passing TDs from basically the first 50 years of the NFL, and he's usually MIA from these top 10 lists..

Between recency bias and changes in the game its difficult to assess. I started watching in the 70s so I don't really have a personal recollection of guys like Unitas, Young, Baugh etc. My guess is a lot of us having this conversation didn't really see Montana/Marino/Elway etc save for stats and reputation.

I agree with you on Tark. He, Staubach and Bradshaw are all-timers from that decade for sure.

Personally, I prefer not to rank them individually but in tiers or groups.

 

[Richard]

Favre is the most overrated QB in NFL history. He is more Vinny Testaverde than Tom Brady.

Btw, Dan Marino was the best QB in NFL history.....

 

[Babe Ruth]

Top 5 for you. Why or why not?

Mine in order:

Montana
Manning
Brady
Rodgers
Elway

Mahomes, bumping your thread for an additional thought.. I'm curious, why your list (& a lot of others in this forum), have Manning, and no Brees.. or Manning ahead of Brees ? If you compare these two contemporaries, Brees had 10,000 more passing yards, more passing TDs, and won a Lombardi for arguably the once worst franchise in the league (?)
These lists are subjective, but I find it strange Manning gets a disproportionate amount of love over Brees..

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Mahomes, bumping your thread for an additional thought.. I'm curious, why your list (& a lot of others in this forum), have Manning, and no Brees.. or Manning ahead of Brees ? If you compare these two contemporaries, Brees had 10,000 more passing yards, more passing TDs, and won a Lombardi for arguably the once worst franchise in the league (?)
These lists are subjective, but I find it strange Manning gets a disproportionate amount of love over Brees..

Brees is mostly a stat compiler. He is a great QB, perhaps top 15. He is clearly not in Manning's class though.