Aaron Rodgers, Josh Allen among NFL's scariest QBs (2024)

Game-planning for one of the NFL's top QBs is one of the most difficult tasks imaginable for a defensive coordinator.

And unfortunately for those who hold that office, the abundance of skilled savants at QB is at an all-time high. The league is packed with unique playmakers and pinpointing the most feared men from the pack is far from easy.

That's just what Marcellus Wiley and Emmanuel Acho did Monday afternoon on "Speak For Yourself", and while there were some expected commonalities, some of their dissents may surprise you. Here is each former defenseman's list.

Aaron Rodgers, Josh Allen sit on NFL's top scariest QBs list

Bucky Brooks recently shared his list of the NFL's scariest quarterbacks, with Patrick Mahomes at No. 1 and Josh Allen behind him. Marcellus Wiley and Emmanuel Acho share their lists, including Aaron Rodgers, Lamar Jackson and Russell Wilson.

Acho's list:

First out: Russell Wilson, Broncos

5. Joe Burrow, Bengals

Acho's thoughts: "Cool Joe. If you can get to the Super Bowl in your second year as a starter, coming off an ACL injury, then that's very, very, very scary. And I'm also looking at his body of work. He's clearly good at every level. He won a national championship in college, and then in the league he went to the Super Bowl in his second year. That's scary."

4. Aaron Rodgers, Packers

Acho's thoughts: "Aaron Rodgers is scary not only because of his MVPs, but because regardless of what your lead looks like over the course of a game, you know that if Aaron Rodgers has the ball with a minute left, seconds left — 38 seconds left, Dallas Cowboys fans, he can march down the field and win you a game. He's forever one of the scariest quarterbacks to me."

3. Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs

Acho's thoughts: "Mahomes is only higher than Aaron Rodgers because we've seen it lately. 13 seconds, that's all Patrick Mahomes needed to get down the field and put the game into overtime against the Buffalo Bills. 13 seconds. You can never go to sleep when you're facing that guy."

2. Lamar Jackson, Ravens

Acho's thoughts: "You talk about scary. Lamar Jackson is forever scary to me. I'm also basing this list upon ‘who would I least want to face?’ There's no scarier quarterback than the one that can run, because you will be in your beautiful zone position, on the hash, 12 yards deep, two yards outside the numbers, ready to intercept the dig, and next thing you know, Lamar Jackson tucks and runs, now you've got to make an open-field tackle. That is scary."

1. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills

Acho's thoughts: "Josh Allen is scary because he is an aggregation of all of these dudes on the list. You could be in that perfect zone coverage, and trying to pick off the dig, and Josh Allen will have that ball right by you, or he might tuck and run that joint. Josh Allen is big enough to truck you if you sleep. 6-5, 240 lbs, if you try to sit down and make the tackle, you might end up on your back. You've seen him hurdle several defenders. He can embarrass you with his legs and his arm."

Wiley's list

First out: Lamar Jackson, Ravens

5. Matthew Stafford, Rams

Wiley's thoughts: "Matthew Stafford should be higher on this list, but I'm waiting to see the bounce-back from Cooper Kupp this year. Cooper Kupp was insane last year, maybe the best receiver we saw in all of football. If you look at the years before, it was kind of a coupled effect with him and Robert Woods. Now, Odell Beckham Jr. may be back, but what are they going to do as a balancing act, and what are they going to do in respect to last year?"

4. Justin Herbert, Chargers

WIley's thoughts: "Justin Herbert really should be higher on this list, except the bouncer keeps saying he can't get into the playoff club. So why is he so scary? That arm, you can just call this an X, Y, flat-out roll, Herbert 55-Z cross. Whatever that play is, it's the best play Herbert runs."

3. Aaron Rodgers, Packers

Wiley's thoughts: "Aaron Rodgers is the back-to-back MVP, but the playoffs … He should be three, four-ish, because the San Francisco game, what are you going to do? You've got other targets outside of Davante Adams, and he's not taking full advantage of them. The shortcomings that we've seen from Rodgers in the playoffs is the reason he's No. 3."

2. Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs

Wiley's thoughts: "I struggled not to put him at No. 1, because 13 seconds is enough. Mahomes realized that he won the Bills game, but lost the individual battle to the No. 1 guy."

1. Josh Allen, Bills

Wiley's thoughts: "Who can do it better than Josh Allen? No one can do it all better than Josh Allen. His intangibles: Everything about Josh Allen you can check the box with: Improving every year, leading this team, and more importantly, look at all of these physical skills on display every single time he's out there."