Why Our QB Rankings Exist

Quarterback rankings are everywhere. Most of them stop at vibes and box scores.

The HeyTC Daily QB Rankings aim to be different. We update the list daily during the NFL season, blending film, data, fantasy value, and playoff impact into a single composite rating you can actually use.

This page explains, at a high level, how those rankings work and what goes into the HeyTC QB Rating.

What You See in the Rankings Table

On the main Daily QB Rankings page, you’ll see columns like:

• Years: How many seasons of relevant NFL experience the quarterback has.
• Season: A qualitative tier for current regular-season performance (e.g., Elite, Great, Good, Average, Subpar, Non-Factor).
• Fantasy: A tier for fantasy football impact, based on standard scoring formats and positional value.
• Playoffs: A tier for postseason performance and résumé.
• Rating: The composite HeyTC QB Rating, a numerical score that blends the above factors with tenure and context.
• Overall: A fun, slang-based label (Aura, Sigma, Slaps, Chill, Delulu, NPC, Cooked) that summarizes how the QB “feels” in the current moment.

Under the hood, each of those columns is driven by a mix of data and human evaluation.

The Core Pillars of the HeyTC QB Rating

The HeyTC QB Rating is a composite score that evaluates a quarterback’s tenure with their team and their overall standing in the league. It’s built on four main pillars:

1. Regular-Season Performance (“Season”)
2. Fantasy Football Value (“Fantasy”)
3. Playoff & Super Bowl Résumé (“Playoffs”)
4. Franchise Legacy & Context

1. Regular-Season Performance

This is the backbone of the rating. We look at:

• Efficiency: Metrics like yards per attempt, touchdown rate, interception rate, and advanced efficiency where available.
• Production: Yardage totals, touchdown volume, and consistency over the season.
• Winning impact: Team record with the QB as the primary starter, with an emphasis on seasons where the QB clearly drives results.
• Film and context: How the QB plays within the offense—processing, accuracy, decision-making, mobility, and supporting cast strength.

Based on this mix, each quarterback is assigned a qualitative tier for the current season (Elite, Great, Good, Average, Subpar, Non-Factor), which then maps to an internal scoring scale.

2. Fantasy Football Value

Quarterbacks can be “good in real life, meh in fantasy” or vice versa. We account for that explicitly:

• Fantasy scoring: Passing yards, rushing yards, passing touchdowns, rushing touchdowns, and turnovers using standard fantasy scoring baselines.
• Upside vs. floor: Weekly spike potential versus consistent mid-tier output.
• Usage: Designed runs, red-zone involvement, and overall offensive volume.

We then assign a tier (Elite, Great, Good, Average, Subpar, Non-Factor) for the current fantasy landscape. This helps explain why certain QBs rise or fall in the rankings even if their teams aren’t winning at the same rate.

3. Playoff & Super Bowl Résumé

Winning in January and February matters. A lot.

• Playoff appearances: How often the QB gets his team into the tournament.
• Deep runs: Conference Championship games and Super Bowl trips carry more weight than one-and-done appearances.
• Rings & performances: Super Bowl wins and big-game performances significantly boost a QB’s long-term rating.

This piece is more important for veterans with multiple seasons of data. For rookies and young QBs, the playoff component is lighter or neutral until they build that résumé.

4. Franchise Legacy & Context

Context matters just as much as raw numbers. We consider:

• Tenure with the franchise: How long the QB has been central to the team’s identity.
• Era and teammates: The relative difficulty of the era and the quality of supporting cast (coaching, offensive line, weapons).
• Historical impact: Whether the QB redefined expectations for the team or the league.

This is especially important for all-time and team-specific rankings; it helps differentiate stat padders from true franchise-changing quarterbacks.

How the Composite Score Is Built

Without publishing proprietary formulas or exact weights, here’s how the HeyTC QB Rating comes together:

• Each pillar (Season, Fantasy, Playoffs, Legacy/Context) is translated into an internal numeric score.
• Those scores are combined with:
  • Tenure adjustments based on Years of relevant play.
  • Recency weighting that favors recent seasons over early-career extremes.
  • Injury and sample-size adjustments to avoid overreacting to tiny samples or injury-shortened seasons.
• The resulting composite score is normalized into the Rating column you see in the table.

That composite is what ultimately drives ordering on the Daily QB Rankings list.

How Often the Rankings Are Updated

• The list is updated daily during the NFL season, with new information from games, injuries, and news baked in.
• We make bigger adjustments during the postseason and immediately after the Super Bowl, when playoff performance and franchise legacy change most dramatically.
• Offseason updates incorporate:
  • Coaching changes and scheme shifts
  • Trades, free agency, and draft additions
  • Injury recoveries and long-term trajectory shifts

What the “Overall” Slang Tiers Mean

The Overall column uses playful labels inspired by our “Dad Glossary.” They’re the fan-facing wrapper around the more serious quantitative work:

• Aura / Elite: Legendary, game-changing dominance.
• Sigma / Great: Consistently elite performers who define their era.
• Slaps / Good: Rock-solid, reliable quarterbacks you can win with.
• Chill / Average: Competent but not special—can keep things steady.
• Delulu / Mediocre: Overhyped relative to what they actually deliver.
• NPC / Subpar: Forgettable, inconsistent, or clearly below average.
• Cooked / Non-Factor: No longer viable as a meaningful starter.

These labels are designed for fun and personality. The underlying rating and methodology are where the serious evaluation lives.

Data Sources & Human Input

We combine:

• Publicly available stats and advanced data from trusted sources.
• Weekly game review (broadcast, condensed, and available charting/advanced metrics).
• Manual adjustments from our editorial team when the numbers lag reality (for example, a QB playing hurt or in a radically changed scheme).

We document major behind-the-scenes changes to our rankings logic in the public Changelog, so power users can see when the engine was updated.

How to Use (and Not Use) Our Rankings

• Use them as a starting point for debates, content, and analysis.
• Use them to track QB trajectories over the course of a season or career.
• Use them alongside the Super Bowl Simulator and All-Time QB rankings to get a full picture of the position.

Our rankings are for entertainment and informational purposes only. They are not betting advice and are not a guarantee of future performance.

Questions or Suggestions?

If you have thoughtful feedback on the methodology—or spot something that feels off—please contact us. We actively refine the model based on new data, film, and good-faith input from readers.