Cousins shockingly ranked ahead of Packers legend and current Jet Aaron Rodgers

NFL.com released their list of top 30 NFL players over 30 with Kirk Cousins finding a surprisingly high ranking. Cousins is ranked 15th with every player above the veteran quarterback having a clear reason to be there. Whether it is Dak Prescott or Mike Evans the list is well constructed and leaves little room to argue Cousins should be any higher.

What stands out about Cousins' ranking isn't who is ahead of the veteran quarterback but the players placed behind him. The rankings are not placing increased value on the quarterback position but looking at production in the most recent seasons and expectations moving forward.

With this in mind, it is still shocking to see Aaron Rodgers ranked 17th behind Kirk Cousins. While historically there is no argument Cousins is better than Rodgers moving into 2024 it appears to be accurate.

Both Rodgers and Cousins suffered the same injury but only one played at a high level

The last time we saw Kirk Cousins healthy the veteran quarterback was putting up MVP-level numbers. Cousins had the Vikings surging and pushing them back into the NFC conversation. While expecting this level of play from jump for Atlanta might be a stretch, they should expect something close to this level of production.

On the other side, we have Aaron Rodgers who the last time we saw the veteran healthy for a full game was in 2022. It was an extremely underwhelming season with the Packers that ended with Rodgers forcing a ball that turned into a Lions interception and ended Green Bay's season and Rodgers' time with the franchise.

The last version we saw of Rodgers that was comparable to what Cousins was doing last year was in 2021. Kirk Cousins was a better quarterback than Rodgers for the last two years and should be expected to continue this moving forward.

Tom Brady has broken so many NFL take artists into believing quarterbacks can play this game at a high level into their early forties. Brady was clearly the exception and until Rodgers proves otherwise the veteran is well past his prime.

Kirk Cousins' level of play and age demand a ranking ahead of Rodgers. As jarring as it might be to consider it is the correct ranking and one fairly evaluating both players.