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NBA analyst ranks Patrick Mahomes ahead of Lamar Jackson, throws shade at Joe Burrow
Nick Wright narrows his quarterback rankings to three, omitting Joe Burrow, citing playoff performance and consistency as key factors.
The Kansas City Chiefs suffered a devastating loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX. Although many would expect this to affect players’ rankings, NFL analyst Nick Wright remains vocal and adamant in his support for Patrick Mahomes as the best quarterback at the moment. Usually adopting four quarterbacks for his premium list, Wright stirred a controversy by claiming only three names claim the credit now.
Who did Nick Wright drop off the list?
During a recent episode of his show ‘What’s Wright?’, the anchor claimed that Mahomes still claims the top rank in his list. In addition, he shortened his list of quarterbacks from four to three, making the choice to drop the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow. “It’s not currently a big four in the NFL; it’s a big three. It’s really a big one, and then two other guys,” he claimed.
Wright then clarified his stance by explaining, “I do not think it’s fair to penalize Lamar so much for bad playoff performances that he drops beneath a player who hasn’t been in the playoffs the last 2 years in Joe Burrow.” The Bengals have been missing in action from the playoffs since 2022.
“I love Joe, but he starts the year slowly. He does have an embarrassment of riches on the outside, catching the ball,” Wright added. “If somebody says Jalen Hurts is 4, and what you’re losing in the prolific stats Joe Burrow gives you, you’re adding in toughness, availability, the tush push, and huge playoff moments. And Joe’s biggest accomplishment ever is being 1-1 against Patrick in AFC Championship games.”
He then listed out his top names by saying, “Here’s what my rankings would look like. If I were doing it, I would go one Patrick, two Josh, three Lamar, four Joe, five Stafford, six Jalen Hurts, seven with an asterisk of it’s probably too early, but I give it to him, Jayden Daniels. Eight, Baker.”
Joe Burrow’s performance metric
Regardless of Wright’s reasons for his list, Burrow being left out of not only his top four but also his top eight has caught many fans by surprise. During the 2024 season, Burrow managed to lead the league in passing attempts, completions, yards, touchdowns, and yards per game.
His career completion percentage currently stands at 68.6%, as per StatMuse. When it comes to career win percentages, Mahomes leads the way with a .797. Jackson ranks just behind him with a .716, and Allen has a .675 win percentage himself. Burrow himself currently sports a percentage of .572, as reported by The Sports Rush.
With contribution from Stuti Gupta
