Florida Football: Where does Graham Mertz rank within SEC QBs?

One of the massive question marks for Florida football heading into the 2023 season is their starting quarterback. While the transfer portal had more exciting options to replace Anthony Richardson, Billy Napier and the Gators ultimately settled on Graham Mertz.

But as more and more preseason rankings come out now that it is more clear who everyone’s starting QB will be, where does Mertz rank within the SEC?

And is it possible he might be the worst starting QB?

Florida Football: Uphill climb

That SEC Podcast released their rankings for QBs heading into the 2023 season, and Mertz was ranked dead last.

And first glance, it seems harsh and just another page piling on the Florida Gators.

But to be honest, it is hard to argue with conviction that Mertz should be ranked ahead of anyone on this list:

• Mertz in 2022 – 2,136 yards, 57% completion rate, 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions
• AJ Swann – 1,274 yards, 58% completion rate, 10 touchdowns and two interceptions
• Payton Thorne – 2,679 yards, 62% completion rate, 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions
• Brady Cook – 2,739 yards, 64% completion rate, 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions
• Spencer Rattler – 3,026 yards, 66% completion rate, 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions

Jalen Milroe and Carson Beck are both unproven, but they are going to get the Alabama and Georgia bump. And no one is going to argue that Mertz belongs in the top half.

So when you compare the raw statistics, Mertz isn’t so far off from the QBs in the bottom half that he would be any more of a liability than the rest of the bottom half.

But if we are forced to play a zero-sum game and make a definitive statement, the completion percentage Mertz had at Wisconsin was the worst among the QBs he is being compared against.

However, one counter-argument to make is that Mertz had a yards per passing attempt last season of 7.5 yards. Among the QBs we are comparing him to, only Ratter had a better yards per attempt at 7.6 yards.

Plus, Wisconsin was a very unfriendly offense for QBs last season.

So while fans of Florida football won’t be getting a Heisman candidate under center this season, there is a narrative to craft that Mertz can be just effective enough that saying he is definitively the worst QB in the SEC is a bit of hyperbole.

At least until he throws his first interception.