Tony Dungy: Aaron Rodgers Is the Best Player in Football

Despite winning Super Bowl MVP last season, Aaron Rodgers is rarely mentioned when people are asked to name the top quarterback in the NFL. The list usually starts with Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. When those two were ranked one and two on NFL Network’s Top 100 players of 2011 list, I said that Rodgers should have been No. 1. Instead, he was listed 11th. Apparently someone else agrees with me.

During the pre-game analysis of the Packers-Saints season opener on NBC, former Colts coach Tony Dungy declared Rodgers the best player in the NFL.

“Rodgers is special,” Dungy said. “He’s smart, he’s tough, and he can make all the throws you need to make.

“What separates him is the mobility. This is what makes him a great quarterback and why if I were building a team right now, I’d take Aaron Rodgers if I wanted to win a Super Bowl. I would take Rodgers over [Drew] Brees, [Tom] Brady, and [Peyton] Manning.”

What makes the opinion significant is the source. Dungy coached Peyton Manning for seven years. He won a Super Bowl with Peyton as his quarterback. The team went 85-27 in the regular season under Manning. You would think his relationship with Peyton might create a bias in his analysis but that’s clearly not the case.

Dungy has coached one of the elite QBs and has faced the others. He analyzes them all on tape. If he’s saying it, there’s a lot of substance to the argument. It’s time for more NFL pundits and fans to take notice of Dungy’s words and shake up their top quarterback rankings. Aaron Rodgers has earned the top spot.