Where does the Minnesota Vikings quarterback rank among his peers in 2020?
Whether or not Minnesota Vikings signal-caller Kirk Cousins is an upper-echelon quarterback is a chippy topic for NFL pundits and fans.
Cousins spent his first six seasons in the nation’s capital playing for the Washington Football Team and the stigma of doing so follows the 32-year-old relentlessly.
From a numbers standpoint, Cousins undoubtedly has the accolades to run with the elite-caliber quarterbacks in the league. What he doesn’t have is the illustrious win-loss record, nor does he have the championship(s).
In Washington, both of those items were difficult to obtain. His first two seasons in Minnesota have been semi-heartening, but only one playoff win has emerged.
Cousins is the only quarterback in the NFL to throw 25 or more touchdown passes in each of the last five seasons. This stat has no caveats and is not interpretive. If nothing else, the Vikings quarterback is ultra-consistent and steadfastly healthy.
During his second season with Minnesota, he boasted the NFL’s fourth-best passer rating, but even that is disregarded by naysayers. Those individuals must feel a combination of passing yards, touchdowns, completion percentage, and interception stats is antiquated.
So let’s find out how various pundits size up Cousins for the 2020 season via quarterback rankings.
Athlon Sports
Ranking: No. 14
Of this compilation of pundit rankings, this is the lowest we could find for Kirk Cousins in 2020. In a way, that is refreshing as it assures Cousins is literally above average if reputation matters.
Super Bowl LIV champion Patrick Mahomes is the zenith of the Athlon Sports quarterback rankings. His stock is incredibly high right now and rightfully so.
A lucid argument can be made that no signal-caller has ever been this revered. Need proof? Look at Mahomes’ contract. He could potentially make over half of a billion dollars during the next decade. Try to imagine any Vikings player, past or present, receiving that sort of payday.
As for Cousins and the Athlon rankings, a bizarre component is that Kyler Murray places ahead of the Minnesota quarterback by three spots.
If the list is about down-the-road potential, it’s reasonable to surmise Murray can grow into that sort of stardom. But in the now, Murray had a passer rating of 87.4 in 2019, a full 20 points beneath Cousins. Perhaps Athlon prefers national hype, sizzle, and prophecy over raw performance.
Pro Football Focus
Ranking: Tier 3
Pro Football Focus affords themselves a more diplomatic method to determine quarterback power rankings, it seems.
They reserve Tier 1 solely for Patrick Mahomes and Seattle Seahawks signal-caller Russell Wilson which, to many onlookers, is rational. Then, six other quarterbacks are slid into Tier 2. That’s the tier where the debate gets fiery.
Kirk Cousins isn’t worthy of Tier 2 for PFF as he is expatriated to Tier 3. There, he shares space with Las Vegas Raiders passer Derek Carr and 11 others. On Cousins, this is what PFF’s Steve Palazzolo had to say.
"“He made big plays outside the pocket, and while the new system certainly provided more downfield opportunities, Cousins also did a fine job of keeping the offense on point despite injuries on the outside and uneven play from the offensive line.”"
Those are positively uplifting words about the 32-year-old Cousins, but they do nothing to oust him from the same tier as Cincinnati Bengals rookie quarterback Joe Burrow, who has yet to play a single down of professional football.
All in all, PFF essentially asserts that Cousins is currently anywhere from the ninth to 21st-best field general in the business.
NBC Sports (Chris Simms)
Ranking: No. 13
Chris Simms is mostly complimentary of Kirk Cousins and he maintains that the veteran quarterback makes, “a lot of not-easy throws,” within the Vikings offense. A former quarterback himself, Simms also mentions the perception that Cousins is overrated in his 13th spot on the rankings.
Simms goes so far to say that Cousins was a, “whipping boy,” while in Washington because so many loyalists in the burgundy and gold fan base desperately wanted Robert Griffin III to materialize. Griffin ultimately did not last as a starter and when Cousins took over, that same faction of Washington’s most faithful were resentful about it.
Simms’ rankings for 2020 are also unique. Although Cousins does not crack the top 10, neither does Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, or Drew Brees. These are iconic passers that are typically guaranteed standing in the league’s top 10 by reputation alone. Simms sees past that.
Instead of placing Brady, Roethlisberger, and Brees high on his list, Simms had signal-callers like Ryan Tannehill, Cam Newton, and Kyler Murray (again) out-rank these legends.
Sporting News
Ranking: No. 12
Moving on up, inch by inch. Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer wrote the following about Kirk Cousins.
"“Cousins didn’t need to throw as much with Minnesota’s highly successful run-heavy offense, and he never threw the ball better. When he needed to bring the big pass plays, he did, showing off his signature zip. Most important, his much-improved high efficiency got the Vikings to the playoffs. Going into his age 32 season, he has the challenge of adjusting to a new offensive coordinator and new, rookie starting wideout in Justin Jefferson.”"
Iyer’s apropos statement on Cousins throwing the football better than ever is mirrored in his 2019 numbers. Last season, Cousins accrued the highest passer rating and the top Pro Football Focus grade (84.4) of his eight-year career in the NFL.
One of the interesting items of note in Iyer’s assessment is that Cousins tops Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan by one spot. That rarely happens anywhere as pundits still think of Ryan and his 2016 MVP trophy.
In addition, this list places Lamar Jackson over Russell Wilson, which hands the young Baltimore Ravens quarterback a lot of instant credibility, albeit heavy on the recency spectrum.
New Arena
Ranking: No. 11
New Arena sandwiches Minnesota’s quarterback between Matthew Stafford (10th) and Carson Wentz (12th). On the whole, this is a fair seeding for Kirk Cousins. Any placement in power rankings teetering on a top-10 designation is commendable.
Statistically, Cousins has outperformed Wentz and Stafford considerably in the last two seasons. Yet, the aforementioned reputation of his ties-to-Washington often overshadows Cousins’ production. He probably will need to reach a Super Bowl, at the very least, to shatter the narrative.
New Arena’s Harris Ahmadzai and Dylan Fraychineaud explained their ranking of Cousins.
"“The deal was labeled as a flop after 2018 when Cousins and the rest of the Vikings sorely disappointed. However, the former Michigan State Spartan bounced back nicely in 2019 — leading Minnesota to a rare road-victory over the Saints in the Wild Card round. In two years with the Vikings, Cousins has tossed 56 touchdowns and just 16 interceptions.”"
“Flop” is a reach to describe the 2018 campaign as Cousins tossed 30 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions. Overall though, the 8-7-1 team record was a letdown.
NFL Spin Zone
Ranking: No. 10
As evidenced by our first top-10 ranking, NFL Spin Zone’s Samuel Teets holds Kirk Cousins in a relatively high regard.
In his estimation, Cousins is a more-sure bet than Ben Roethlisberger and Matthew Stafford in 2020. The usual talent bedfellows like Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz are ahead of Cousins in these rankings, but a top-10 finish is not too shabby.
According to Teets, Cousins is detached from the top tier of NFL signal-callers in this regard.
"“Unless Cousins begins performing better against elite competition, he’ll always hover between the 10th and 15th places on this list. In other words, he’ll always be one of the better starters in the NFL, but he’ll never be considered elite. It’s unfortunate because a quarterback with Cousins’ offensive weapons should perform at an elite level.”"
Vikings fans that have watched Cousins’ last three outings against the Chicago Bears can feel these observations in their bones.
Pro Football Network
Ranking: No. 9
The No. 9 slot is the top ranking thus far that Kirk Cousins has notched in reputable editions of 2020 quarterback power rankings. This marks the second time in this examination that he is classified as a top-10 signal-caller.
Pro Football Network’s Shane Tyler opined on Cousins.
"“Since 2015, he’s started in all but one contest, completed 69 percent or more of his passes three times, and threw 25 or more touchdowns each year. I get the frustrations, but he’s easily top 12 at the position.”"
There are two other mentionable factoids on the seedings by Tyler. Foremost, he still anoints Aaron Rodgers as a top-five NFL quarterback despite his certifiable performance downturn amid the last five seasons. He positions Rodgers at No. 4 on his list.
Also of note, it is the only occasion of these seven ranking entities where Russell Wilson is granted the league’s top-quarterback honors.
For posterity, of these seven separate analyses, Cousins’ average ranking is right between 11th and 12th.