Hall of Fame quarterback and four-time Super Bowl champion Joe Montana was asked this past week who his top three current NFL quarterbacks are that he would choose to start a franchise if he were a GM or coach.
Montana named Buffalo Bills QB and reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen, Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow, and Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert while explaining why they are the kind of players he would want to build a team around today.
“I‘m thinking, I’m taking the guy in Buffalo, obviously Joe Burrow, another guy I like a lot. And believe it or not, I like the guy with the Chargers, Justin Herbert. I think they’ve just kind of, kind of gone by the wayside there… I just like the way those three guys are,” he said during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.
His answer did not include mobile, smaller-frame signal callers in Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes (age 29, 6’3, 225 lbs) and Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (age 28, 6’2, 200 lbs), in favor of bigger frame arm talents in Allen (age 29, 6’5, 237 lbs), Burrow (age 28, 6’4, 215 lbs), and Herbert (age 27, 236 lbs).
The question was asked by former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians to the legendary QB who played for the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. Montana was asked not to include current 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (age 25, 6’1, 220 lbs), for whom he has an affinity, though it’s unclear whether he would have done so.
When asked why Patrick Mahomes was not in that top three, Montana said, “I think I would have if he was younger.” As Mahomes and Jackson are close in age to the passers he did choose, the context more likely could have been in reference to Mahomes’ dual-threat abilities and size, both of which become more of a factor in decline as players age.
He did note that because quarterbacks aren’t being hit as much as they used to be, Mahomes might “play forever” in the modern NFL, and could have probably added him. He also recognized Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts.
Montana was long considered by members of the press and by NFL fans to be the greatest quarterback of all time prior to the team wins and accolades by which former New England and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback and 3-time MVP, Tom Brady, was given such distinction. That despite playing in the league with talents such as Hall of Famer and the NFL’s only 5-time MVP, Peyton Manning, and 4-time MVP with the Green Bay Packers and current Pittsburgh Steeler, Aaron Rodgers.
Montana’s perspective is an interesting one, considering that long-time distinction and the success he had in the league during a more physical era for quarterbacks.