However, each one of these quarterbacks have little quirks that keep them from being one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL.
21. Sam Bradford ( Rams)
Yes, I'm putting Sam Bradford this high. I just have a gut feeling that he's going to be one of those rookie quarterbacks that plays like he is a veteran.
Don't get me wrong. He'll have some rough games and he'll also have to get use to losing more often than winning. In the end I see Bradford having an impressive rookies season and falling somewhere in the middle of the all the major statistical categories among quarterbacks.
20. Kyle Orton (Broncos)
Kyle Orton is the definition of a conservative quarterback. He had a high completion percentage in 2009 and kept his interception somewhat low at 12. He also managed 21 touchdown passes.
Orton usually struggles greatly against good defenses. He threw three interceptions against Pittsburgh last season and barely eclipsed 150 passing yards against Baltimore. With all of that said, there's plenty of NFL teams that would gladly take Orton as their starting quarterback.
19. Matthew Stafford (Lions)
Matthew Stafford showed me something last season in that game against the Browns and that was that he's got that certain toughness that is required of a successful NFL quarterback. Forget about the fact that it came against the Browns. It still took a lot of toughness to do what he did.
Look for Stafford to take a dramatic leap forward in his sophomore season and give the fans in Detroit a five or six win season thanks largely to Stafford and his toughness.
18. Chad Henne (Dolphins)
We got the chance to see what Chad Henne was all about last season when Chad Pennington went down. Thanks to his smooth transition to the starting role it's now Henne's team going into the season.
Not only that, but now he has Brandon Marshall to throw the ball to. That means good things for his passing stats. Henne has an excellent arm that sometimes gets him into trouble. His interception output will go down in 2010 and his touchdown passes will go up.
17. Matt Cassel (Chiefs)
Matt Cassel is one of the few bright spots in Kansas City. He's a real smart quarterback and we saw that first hand when he took over for Tom Brady two seasons ago.
His numbers went down as the Chiefs starter, but can you blame him? He was surrounded by a bad team and did what he could. Lucky for Cassel he now has coordinator Charlie Weiss making the offensive calls and Weiss has a good history with this, most notably Tom Brady.
Cassel's numbers will benifit from Weiss making the calls.
16. Donovan McNabb (Redskins)
If Donovan McNabb was still with the Eagles then he would be higher on the list, but since he's moving into a new system you have to expect McNabb to take some time adjusting before he returns to his old self.
He's also not getting any younger. Despite his age he's still got one of the better arms in the NFL. Thanks to that arm and his veteran leadership he comes close to cracking the top half of the NFL.
15. Carson Palmer ( Bengals)
There's no denying the fact that Carson Palmer is going to hear an ear-full if he doesn't make Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens happy.
I like the Bengals at making a run at the division title with the Ravens. If Terrell Owens plays like he did just three seasons ago in Dallas then this team will be hard to beat, and Palmer's numbers will be among the best in the NFL. Owens may not be what he use to, but oppossing defenses will still have to respect him and that will free up Ochocinco.
Palmer could very easily end up with 25-plus touchdown passes in 2010. He had 21 last season without Owens.
14. Jay Cutler ( Bears)
If Jay Cutler had a superstar wide receiver to throw the ball to then he would easily be in the top ten on this list, but the is reality he doesn't.
He's still one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL talent-wise. The question is can he turn the talent into throwing less interceptions. Offensive genious Mike Martz has prasied his awareness this offseason so we might be in store for Cutler's breakout year in 2010.
13. Eli Manning (Giants)
The monster of a hit that Eli Manning took the other night in the Giants' preseason matchup with the Jets probably didn't help his confidence at all.
Manning is a good quarterback, but he's not a great quarterback. He makes great plays at times, but not enough to make him an elite quarterback. There's still plenty of time for him to make that leap in his career, but he hasn't reach it yet. He has some great receivers to throw to so all that's left is for Manning to execute.
12. Matt Schaub (Texans)
If you were to take Andre Johnson out of the mix then Matt Schaub would be at least ten spots further back on this list. Johnson provides such a huge target for Schaub to throw to that makes him naturally a better quarterback. That's no knock on Schaub. He does great with what he has to work with.
Any quarterback who throws 29 touchdowns, only 15 interceptions, and manages a 98.6 quarterback rating deserves all the credit in the world.
11. Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers)
Even though Big Ben will miss the first four to six games of the regular season, we're still going to consider him the starter. With that said, Roethlisberger has a lot of pressure on him to perform and not let all of this stuff going on off the field get to him.
What Roethlisberger does on the field isn't always pretty, but it's effective. Much like the late Steve McNair was, Roethlisberger just has this uncanny ability to win no matter what. He may have three interceptions in a game and he'll still find ways to keep his team in the game.
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