Florida Football: Soooo, is Graham Mertz is still the worst QB in the SEC?

As the opening week drew closer and closer, national prognosticators around the south and around the country had little faith in Florida football. Some went as bold as to say that Billy Napier would be fired midseason, which is another topic of conversation for another piece.

But one trend we kept seeing over and over was the prediction that Graham Mertz would be the worst QB in the SEC in 2023.

So after leading the Gators to a 41-39 victory over South Carolina, with a 5-2 record and three SEC wins under his belt, we have to ask if Mertz those same people think Mertz is still the worst QB in the SEC?

Florida Football: Old Takes Exposed

We are going to preface this by saying that we too had doubts about Mertz when Napier first plucked him out of the transfer portal from Wisconsin. But if you dig through what we wrote all off-season, you will also find that we, along with most Gator fans who were paying attention, could envision a pathway where Mertz was a solid QB under the Napier system.

It’s with that in mind that anyone who wrote before the season that Mertz was going to be the worst QB in the SEC prior to the season was doing so because they were looking to parrot a lazy narrative.

But man, were there quite a few that had zero faith:

• Athlon Sports
• USA Today
• 247 Sports
• The SEC Podcast
• Your friend who couldn’t even get into FSU academically
• The Spurs Up Show

Mind you, these are just the predictions that picked Mertz last. There were others that had him next to last or third to last in their preseason rankings.

Let’s check back seven games into the season with how those predictions held up:

• Pro Football Focus has Mertz rated as the 4th best QB in the SEC
• Mertz has the 6th best QB rating in the SEC
• Mertz has the highest completion percentage, the 4th most yards, the 5th most TDs, and the fewest interceptions (both of which have bounced off the WRs hands) in the SEC

Hmm, that’s weird. Doesn’t sound like those preseason predictions held up.

Yes, there are flaws to Mertz, and we are not claiming he should win the Heisman.

But the beauty of “talking season” is that it eventually morphs into “playing season,” and it enables us to do some fact-checking on who exactly was paying attention during “talking season.”