Stokley prefers Flacco to Carr; Rivers and Mahomes atop AFC West QBs
Feb 18, 2019, 6:46 PM | Updated: Feb 19, 2019, 7:51 am
With the Broncos set to acquire Joe Flacco via trade come the beginning of the new league year on March 13, “Stokley and Zach” co-host Brandon Stokley was asked on Monday to rank where the Denver quarterback sits among the signal-callers in the AFC West.
The top two slots, Stokley doled out to reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes and veteran gunslinger Philip Rivers. But in third, he gave the edge to Flacco over Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr.
“I don’t know what I’m going to see with Derek Carr anymore. I really don’t. And I understand the circumstances there in Oakland, but at the same time I would prefer to have, right now, Joe Flacco over Derek Carr,” Stokley said.
Statistically, on average, Carr has a clear edge over Flacco in most passing categories, including yards per game (240.2 to 234.6), touchdowns per game (1.6 to 1.3), interceptions per game (0.7 to 0.8), and completion percentage (62.8 to 61.7).
However, since his 2016 season, wherein he was an MVP candidate, Carr has seen a slight decline in production, throwing for fewer touchdowns, more interceptions, and fewer yards in both 2017 and 2018.
Still, over the past two seasons, Carr holds the edge over Flacco in touchdown passes per game, interceptions per game, and passing yards per game.
Atop the division, Stokley said that while he believes Mahomes’ production will continue, he gives Rivers the slight edge because he’s been productive for a long period of time.
“I still give a slight edge to Phillip Rivers. A slight edge. And I know people probably think I’m crazy for saying that. But, we’ve seen Patrick Mahomes do it for one year, and that is it,” Stokley said. “I’m going off of substance. I’m going off of what I’ve seen repeatedly, year after year. And that’s what I’ve seen from Philip Rivers.
“So, I give him a slight edge and I’ll put him at No. 1 because he’s done it for so long and I’ve only seen it for one year with Patrick Mahomes.”
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.
