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AAF Quarterback Rankings: Week Five

AAF Quarterback Rankings: Week Five - Garrett Gilbert remains alone at the top, but there's a new passer in second place.
AAF Quarterback Rankings

One of the best and most exciting parts of the AAF is watching the play of the quarterback position. Finding good NFL quarterback play is difficult enough, so finding good AAF quarterbacks should be all but impossible. With five weeks in the books, some passers are clearly establishing themselves as the class of the league. Still, others are leaving us wondering why they’re still starting. Without further ado, here are the AAF quarterback rankings after five weeks of action.

AAF Quarterback Rankings: Midseason Edition

1. Garrett Gilbert (Last Week: 1)

The gap between Garrett Gilbert and the rest of the AAF grows larger every week. Gilbert faced off against arguably the best defense in the league in Week Five and came out as the clear victor. The MVP frontrunner completed 65.7% of his passes for 286 yards, two touchdowns, and two separate two-point conversions. Orlando dropped 31 points on Birmingham while clearly establishing themselves as the class of the league.

So far on the season, Gilbert is completing 62.8% of his passes for 1,357 yards for eight touchdowns and no interceptions. His yardage is most in the league by a wide margin and he’s the only quarterback to start all five games without tossing an interception. He’s the best player in the league at the most important position in the sport. Everyone else on this list is just fighting for second.

2. Aaron Murray (Last Week: 6)

How did Kevin Coyle or anyone on the Atlanta Legends’ coaching staff ever think that Matt Simms was better than Aaron Murray? After filling in admirably for an injured Simms in Week Four, Murray earned the first start of his professional career in Week Five. The Georgia product made it count, completing 62.8% of his passing attempts for 306 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions. Murray looked poised and confident under center and is the primary reason Atlanta is currently riding a two-game winning streak.

Murray and the Legends take on a San Antonio Commanders defense which just shot down Arizona Hotshots quarterback John Wolford. He has a long way away from being in the same tier as Garrett Gilbert, but there’s no reason he can’t be the second-best quarterback in the league. Once seen as the laughing stock of the league, Murray has a chance to push Atlanta into the playoff picture.

3. John Wolford (Last Week: 2)

Remember when John Wolford threw four touchdowns and no interceptions in the season-opening win over Salt Lake? That seems like forever ago, as Wolford hasn’t looked anything like that guy over the past couple of weeks. While he battled back late, Wolford had an atrocious game in Week Five. The Hotshots starting quarterback completed just 57.6% of his passes for 246 yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions, and the game-losing fumble. His play was a big reason Arizona trailed 26-0 at half, as he completed just 50% of his passes for 67 yards, no touchdowns, and three interceptions in the first half.

So far on the season, Wolford has completed 60.3% of his passes for 1,026 yards, 10 touchdowns, and six interceptions. These are good numbers overall, but get significantly worse if you remove his Week One masterpiece. Wolford is still a solid starter in this league, but his days of being ranked among the league’s elite are long gone.

4. Zach Mettenberger (Last Week: 3)

Week Five wasn’t the best week for Memphis Express quarterback Zach Mettenberger. Memphis essentially opted to take the game out of Mettenberger’s hands, as the one-time Tennessee Titans quarterback attempted just 17 passes the whole game. This wasn’t a byproduct of the game script, as Memphis ended up losing 23-20. At the end of the day, Mettenberger completed just nine of his 17 attempts for 181 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception.

Despite the underwhelming showing, Mettenberger still has impressive season-long numbers. Since taking over for Christian Hackenberg, Mettenberger has completed 66.7% of his passes for 475 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.

5. Josh Woodrum (Last Week: 7)

Josh Woodrum would’ve had a great game in Week Five had he decided not to throw anywhere near Kameron Kelly. The San Diego-Salt Lake matchup will go down as one of the best games of the season, and Woodrum was on the losing end of it. While he was horrible early in the game, Woodrum earned some redemption for erasing a double-digit deficit late in the fourth quarter. Woodrum finished his night completing 31 of 48 pass attempts for 380 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions.

So far on the season, Woodrum is completing 63.9% of his passes for 823 yards, three touchdowns, and four interceptions. Woodrum always comes with his fair share of errors, but he showed fantastic playmaking ability and a clutch gene late in that fourth-quarter loss. Despite the high turnover amount, Woodrum actually climbed up the rankings due to his fourth-quarter play and last week’s injury to Philip Nelson.

6. Logan Woodside (Last Week: 8)

San Antonio Commanders quarterback Logan Woodside had what was easily his best performance in Week Five against the Arizona Hotshots. Woodside completed 21 of 27 pass attempts for 290 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in San Antonio’s 29-25 win. While he slowed down in the second half, Woodside finally showed poise, precision, and command under center.

One good outing is encouraging, but it’s not enough to significantly carry him up these rankings. So far on the season, Woodside is completing just 54.7% of his passes for 1,025 yards, four touchdowns, and six interceptions. There isn’t much separating Woodside from a guy like Zach Mettenberger. If he can continue to build on Week Five’s strong performance, then he can continue to fly up these rankings.

7. Keith Price (Last Week: Unranked)

So much for the Luis Perez hype train. After going four games without throwing a touchdown pass, the Birmingham Iron decided that it was time for a switch at the quarterback position. Keith Price earned a chance under center and performed well with his opportunity. Coming on in relief of Perez, Price completed 63.3% of his passes for 235 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions.

Price threw a few passes that could have easily gone the other way, but overall he looked like an upgrade on the rapidly-regressing Perez. Given a full week of starters’ reps, Price should be even better in Week Five. He lacks the ceiling of the league’s elite, but he has a chance to provide a spark and help Birmingham snap their two-game losing streak.

8. Mike Bercovici (Last Week: Unranked)

Mike Bercovici wasn’t terrible in Week Five, which is a dramatic improvement from the last time we saw him. Earning a start for the first time since Week One, Bercovici completed 51% of his passes for 304 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He wasn’t afraid to push the ball downfield and led the game-winning drive with a signature 45-yard bomb to Dontez Ford. That said, Bercovici still needed his defense to give him two touchdowns and he left too many plays on the field.

So far on the season, Bercovici is completing 60% of his passes for 242 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. The Arizona State product flashed some ability in Week Five, but is still too inconsistent to move higher on these rankings. If he can build on his good tape, Bercovici has the ceiling of a mid-level AAF starter.

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Embed from Getty Images

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