Ryan Clark fires back at Mike Tannenbaum for ranking Jordan Love No. 1, above Jayden Daniels among NFC QBs

With the NFL season approaching, it is officially list season.

The latest controversial list came on Tuesday morning’s edition of “First Take”, when former NFL executive Mike Tannenbaum ranked his top five quarterbacks in the NFC. The list was led by Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love, followed by Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels, Detroit quarterback Jared Goff, Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts and Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield.

It’s safe to say that panelists Ryan Clark and Stephen A. Smith highly disagreed with Tannenbaum’s list, with Clark advocating for Jayden Daniels to be at No. 1. “I am a Jordan Love fan so I do not want the world to take it that I do not love Love,” Clark said. “But how is Jordan Love number one though?”

Love’s production dropped slightly last season, as he passed for 3,389 yards and 25 touchdowns for a Green Bay Packers team that finished with an 11-6 record and lost in the Wild Card Round to the Philadelphia Eagles.

“This is why I hate Mike T’s list,” Clark continued. “At this point, we should be able to celebrate what Jordan Love has done well. We should be celebrating the way he finished 2023 and those last nine games. The way he played against Dallas. We shouldn’t have to bring up the two interceptions against San Francisco in the Divisional Round. The ball he threw back to the middle of the field or the Zack Baun interception against the Philadelphia Eagles.”

The Nevada product led the Packers to the Divisional Round in 2023, but didn’t come close to that finish in 2024. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels however extremely overachieved last season, as he led the Washington Commanders to their first NFC Championship appearance since 1991.

“Jordan Love shouldn’t be number one on this list right now,” Clark said. “If we were saying this is the list that could project for the future. That Jordan Love could be on this list by the end of the season, absolutely. But there is now way you watched the Washington Commanders play last year. In one year and watched Jayden Daniels win game after game after game in the season.”

“Being the team builder that you are (directed at Tannenbaum) and understand how important defense is to getting a young quarterback to the championship and not say ‘that defense didn’t have a roster that was good enough last year.’ This team wasn’t stacked enough to be in that position, but somehow Jayden Daniels got the Washington Commanders to the NFC Championship.”

This debate will settle itself shortly, as Love and the Packers will take on Daniels and the Commanders in week two of the upcoming NFL season (Sept. 11).