I’ve limited the list to the starting quarterbacks for each of the 32 teams. There are others guys floating around, sure, but they either suck, or are untested rookies. Or they’re Kirk Cousins, who could probably be starting on at least a quarter of other teams were he not wrapped cosily under RG3’s arm. Obviously this is based on opinion, and subject to debate. Let us know what changes you’d make.

32. EJ Manuel (Buffalo Bills)

Look, the guy’s an injured rookie. They don’t come much more obscure than that. I can hardly put him any higher can I?

31. Blaine Gabbert (Jacksonville Jaguars)

He’s shaved off the luscious locks, but Gabbert looks as much of a liability as ever. The Jags don’t exactly have anyone else though, so he’s safe for now at number 31. If it were a list of cool names though, he’d be top 5 (Drew Brees at 1, of course).

30. Jake Locker (Tennessee Titans)

I’d have taken Ryan Fitzpatrick as starter if I coached the Titans. Although I guess coaching the Titans you’d be forgiven for being a little crazy. Jake Locker battled through injury last year, hopefully the offseason has done him some good and he can repay some faith from fans and teammates.

29. Brandon Weeden (Cleveland Browns)

He’s the quarterback for the Browns. He never had a chance.

28. Matt Flynn (Oakland Raiders)

He’s only ever made two NFL starts, so I don’t think I’m underselling the guy here. Although that one start was a 300-plus passing yardage effort in place of the rested Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay. He was stuck on the bench watching Russell Wilson breakthrough last season, but he’s got a shot to start for Oakland now so we’ll finally get to see what this guy’s really made of.

27. Christian Ponder (Minnesota Vikings)

Ponder’ll be the starter next week, barring some rapid turnaround, but Matt Cassel will be nipping at his heels if he has another year like the last one. You can’t rely of Adrian Petersen to run 2000 yards again, but he’ll have to if Ponder can’t cut down on the turnovers. He did initially get some help on the receiving end in Percy Harvin, but now Harvin will miss the entire season through injury, so, umm… back to ‘Plan A’?

26. Carson Palmer (Arizona Cardinals)

This guy can sure sling it, posting over 4000 yards on a rubbish Oakland team in 2012, but I just can’t imagine a scenario where Palmer can take this team – with this offensive line – to anything better than an 8-8 season.

25. Mark Sanchez (New York Jets)

Look, Mark Sanchez isn’t actually as bad as people say he is. He did after all knock Tom Brady out of the playoffs a few years back. He’s just unfortunate to play in the city with the most magnified media coverage and the most sardonic fans. Geno Smith well and truly blew his preseason chance to eclipse Sanchez, so it’s Marky Mark for the immediate future.

24. Josh Freeman (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

I like this guy. Good young quarterback, plenty of upside still, mobile and has a strong arm. But he plays for a terrible team. The Buccs will rely on running back Doug Martin on offense, Freeman will play the straight man.

23. Philip Rivers (San Diego Chargers)

Once a top ten passer - now a walking, talking interception dispenser.

22. Alex Smith (Kansas City Chiefs)

Smith was an overrated talent while playing in a stacked San Fran team. It’s gonna be quite the fall back to earth playing for this messy Kansas City offense (Dwayne Bowe excepted).

21. Ryan Tannehill (Miami Dolphins)

This guy was the sleeper rookie of the year last season. Beneath the hype of RG3 & Luck, and the preseason story of Russell Wilson, Tannehill firmly established himself as the Dolphins QB of the future. Expect further strides forward this year.

20. Sam Bradford (St Louis Rams)

Man, this guy has sure regressed. The number 1 draft pick in 2010, he has been copping it all three of his NFL seasons, but it hasn’t been easy for him. Coaching dramas, inferior passing options and the burden of playing in a weak team have dented the learning curve for Bradford, but even though he’s lost his best receiver, I’m gonna say this is his break out season.

19. Andy Dalton (Cincinnati Bengals)

The Red Rifle! Clearly the GM of the Bengals is colour blind, otherwise how does a team who dress in orange end up with a ginger QB? Well, he’s taken them to back to back playoff appearances, so they must have seen something. He could rise a few spots on this list if his decision making under pressure sharpens up.

18. Jay Cutler (Chicago Bears)

The Bears rely enormously on Jay Cutler. Hence the Bears don’t play in Superbowls. Cutler is a solid battler of a QB with a disproportionately hot wife.

17. Matt Schaub (Houston Texans)

The Texans don’t actually need a great QB. They have Arian Foster and JJ Watt. All they need is a high completion guy with a low turnover ratio. Schaub is that guy.

16. Michael Vick (Philadelphia Eagles)

Deservedly held off Nick Foles for the starting job. He’s got a new coach now, so hopefully he can find that 2011 form again, because he won’t get too many more chances if he doesn’t.

15. Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers)

Big Ben is on the downward arc of his career. He’s taken too many hits, played through too many injuries. He’s still a brute of a human being though, and if/when he’s fit, the Steelers can cause trouble.

14. Cam Newton (Carolina Panthers)

Cam Newton was the next big thing for a while there. The RG3 came along and obscured him, playing with the same high energy and run-heavy mind-set, only doing it better. Cam needs a second receiver to shine, but he’s always a difficult guy to handle.

13. Russell Wilson (Seattle Seahawks)

I’m not yet convinced he’s as good as he appeared last year. I think we’ll see a case of reverting to the mean in the next few years. But I’m happy to be proved wrong.

12. Matt Stafford (Detroit Lions)

This guy is your prototypical high school jock. He wears his caps backwards and drinks his beer from red Styrofoam cups. Only instead of dropping out to work in his dad’s factory to support his pregnant teen sweetheart (or some similar Springsteen-esque plot), he made himself into a great NFL quarterback. Anyone will look decent throwing to Megatron for a living, but Staffy takes ‘pass-heavy mentality’ to a whole new level. He broke the record for passing attempts in a season (727) last year, and has a 5000 yard season to his credit.

11. Eli Manning (New York Giants)

He’d be a lot higher if we only considered the fourth quarter (Or, to be fair, if I didn’t hate the Giants). Manning is a very good player, but it’s a goddamn travesty that he has more rings than his brother. I did enjoy “Football on Your Phone”, however.

10. Colin Kaepernick (San Francisco 49ers)

I think Kaepernick is the real deal, man. The tattooed 49er QB is set for another huge season, and with the tools he has around him, Kap has surely gotta be a shot at playing in another Superbowl next February. I don’t think he’s a candidate for a sophomore slump either, I mean he only played half a season last year anyway, that barely even counts! This is the guy I’m targeting in my fantasy draft supposing I miss out on numbers 1 or 6.

9. Andrew Luck (Indianapolis Colts)

You don’t gotta worry with Luck on your side. You must be a pretty darn good player if the Colts are willing to release Peyton Manning to draft you. Luck will be the franchise player for this team for the next decade or so. He’ll only get better in that time. Right now, he’s sitting in the second tier of NFL quarterbacks (which started at around 11). Within three years he’ll be in the top tier.

8. Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboys)

I figure this is the one that will cause the most contention, but I’ll stand up for Tony Romo no matter what. He can’t help that his owner is the real life animate Mr Burns, or that his team plays with unrealistic hopes for glory every year. Romo made some key mistakes early in his career, and has ended up with a reputation as a choker. I feel like he has an issue with self-belief, or at least he has in the past. Don’t forget Romo was undrafted. In terms of undrafted QBs in history, there’s Warren Moon, there’s Kurt Warner, and then there’s Tony Romo. He’s matured now, married with a kid. His last two seasons have been very good, and I think this year he’ll win a playoff game. Honestly, I do.

7. Joe Flacco (Baltimore Ravens)

He’s a lot higher up than I wanted to put him, but the fact of the matter is despite his failings, he has a Superbowl victory, and nobody can deny him that. His rocket arm and clinical execution helped him to one of the great contract years in history when you balance the value of the pact and the relative talent of the player. Still, he’s better than Eli.

6. Robert Griffin III (Washington Redskins)

Fully fit now, by his own admission, and that’s great news for the sport. Griffin, with his Michael Jackson dance moves (glove and all), has single-handedly (no pun intended) inspired one of the most incredible franchise turnarounds in years. Before him, Washington was a dormant team of no hopers. Now they’re perennial playoff threats, and they always will be so long as this man is fit. He’s not quite MVP standard – yet – but in terms of value to a franchise, there are few above him.

5. Matt Ryan (Atlanta Hawks)

You gotta gove credit to Matty Ice. He’s earned this. Ryan has snuck under the radar for a number of years, but a great season last year has people realising the talent of this man. Granted, a lot of quarterbacks are gonna look good throwing to Roddy White and Julio Jones, but take nothing away from Matt Ryan. The guy led the league in completion percentage last year and had 7 game winning drives (tied first with Andy Luck). Clutch and clinical. Everything you want a QB to be.

4. Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints)

With Brees we enter what I would consider the elite four. Indigo Plateau if you like. Drew Brees is incredible the way he can put up such huge numbers even when his team is playing awful around him. Most of their issues last year were in defence, but Brees’ arm was able to keep them in games longer than they had any right to be as they haemorrhaged points. His Superbowl win in 2010 was the most feel-good championship win in memory. Don’t forget his season passing yardage record (5,476 yds) and consecutive games with a TD pass (54 gm) record either. Those alone make for a solid Hall of Fame candidacy.

3. Peyton Manning (Denver Broncos)

Ol’ faithful. He’s back and as good as ever. If anyone doubted his returning from neck surgery, last year he posted the second best QBR (105.2) of his career. Manning was already a shoe in for the Hall of Fame before his 2012 comeback. Nobody marshals a team better than Peyton; nobody runs the no-huddle better than him. Even at age 37, he is still a model of precision, always calm under pressure. He is Peyton Manning.

2. Tom Brady (New England Patriots)

Tom Brady is the best pure passer of his generation, and still the best passer in this league. He’s not quite the general that Peyton is, but he’s sharper. With Brady you just never get the feeling that he won’t hit his target. It’s hard to believe that he was a sixth round draft pick. If he isn’t the greatest late round draft find then I don’t know who is. Plus, on top of winning three Superbowls and multiple MVPs, he’s also married to a supermodel. I’d hate him if I didn’t respect him so goddamn much.

1. Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers)

Numero uno. Aaron Rodgers proved with his 2011 MVP/Championship year that he was elite. His two seasons since have only built upon his growing legend. At 29 years old, these are his peak years. More mobile than Manning or Brady, yet every bit as precise a passer, the man who started his career in the considerable shadow of Brett Favre, despite all of the pressure and expectation, is now the NFL’s top quarterback. Cue imaginary belt celebration.