Ravens’ Tyler Huntley nearly makes the cut as a top-32 QB in the league

Tyler Huntley is “just” a backup quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens, but he’s a damn good one at that.

Huntley will cede the reins over to Lamar Jackson in 2022 as Jackson looks to make a triumphant comeback this season, but everyone in Ravens’ camp knows Huntley’s worth.

When Jackson missed time due to injury in 2021, Huntley stepped in at a critical time to try and keep the Ravens’ playoffs hopes alive. Huntley’s efforts earned him a 34th place ranking in NBC Sports’ Chris Simms annual top 40 quarterback list.

That makes him nearly a full-time starter, and if he weren’t on the Ravens, Huntley could indeed serve as a viable starting option for a handful of NFL teams.

Simms mentioned that Huntley showed a bit of a “clutch gene” and that Huntley didn’t crack under pressure during the Ravens’ tense final stretch of the season.

Baltimore Ravens have put together an optimal QB room of Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley

Just looking at Huntley’s numbers, one may not consider him an elite quarterback, but he is a very capable one in his own right.

In four starts last season, Huntley went 1-3 and recorded just over 1,000 passing yards with four touchdowns against three interceptions, notably coming up painfully short in tough games against the Green Bay Packers and the Los Angeles Rams.

Yet given the state of Baltimore’s roster, the Ravens weren’t expected to win those games and were the clear underdogs. Huntley gave the team a decent chance to topple the playoff heavyweights, using his arm strength and football IQ to try to muster a Ravens victory with a very battered supporting cast.

Huntley may not possess the pure talent or dual-threat ability that Jackson does, but he does exactly what he’s expected to do as a backup and sometimes more. Pretty good for a previously undrafted free agent.

The quarterbacks ranked below Huntley on Simms’ list include Houston Texans’ Davis Mills, Philadelphia Eagles’ Gardner Minshew, Miami Dolphins’ Teddy Bridgewater, and Seattle Seahawks’ Drew Lock.

Two places above him is Carolina Panthers’ Sam Darnold, which we think is kind of ludicrous. Darnold may be the de facto starter for the Panthers in 2022, but we’d take Huntley over that interception monger any day.

Hopefully, Huntley’s services won’t be required too much this season, but if Jackson needs the rest, Baltimore nabbed arguably the best backup in the league in Tyler Huntley.