Skip Bayless: Joe Flacco Is Best 1st Round QB In Last 10 Years

Joe Flacco has been a good player since being drafted in the first round in 2008, but is he as good as Skip says?

If you are familiar with sports you know who Skip Bayless is. The television personality is known for his “hot takes” and became well known for his role on ESPN’s First Take. He now stars on a similar sports show, Undisputed, on Fox Sports.

Today on the show, Bayless gave his list of the best quarterbacks drafted in the first round over the past decade. At the top of the list was Baltimore’s very own, Joe Flacco. This comes as a surprise, especially out of Bayless’s mouth. He has been known to have his opinions on Joe Flacco in the past, calling him “Joe Fluko.” But then again it does not surprise me to see him change his mind from what he’s said.

The other four players included on the list? Cam Newton, Matt Ryan, Andrew Luck, and Matthew Stafford.

Is Flacco really the best on this list?

Rings Tell All?

If you take a look at the list, Flacco is the only one with a Super Bowl ring. The only other two that have come close are Newton and Ryan, who both lost in the Super Bowl.

I can see the argument coming in saying, “well the Raven’s defense carried Flacco to the Super Bowl.” If you look at the numbers, it isn’t true at all. When the Ravens won the Super Bowl in 2013, their defense ranked in the middle of the pack. They were 17th in yards per game, 10th in yards per play, and 20th in rushing yards per game. The Ray Lewis retirement journey may have been a major highlight, but Flacco played his best football during that playoff stretch. He finished the playoffs with 11 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Joe Montana is the only other quarterback to do that. I am not saying Flacco is the best quarterback to live, but he was the main reason the Ravens got to and won the Super Bowl.

Next: Baltimore Ravens: The 4 Year Transformation Of The Secondary

He’s Up There But Too Inconsistent

As a Ravens fan of course I am going to say Joe Flacco is the best one on this list. But as a football fan, I can’t do it. I’ve been a supporter of Flacco since he was drafted. I think he’s brought more to Baltimore than people give him credit for. You also cannot knock what he did in the playoffs, but his play has been inconsistent more times than none.

Not once has Flacco thrown over 30 touchdowns in a season. His best season came in 2014 when he tossed 27. I get that the receivers and offense haven’t been there, but a good quarterback makes others around him better. When Joe doesn’t have the receivers, he struggles. I cannot say that his play has been better than some of the QBs listed. One good playoff run isn’t enough for me.