NFL teams
Mike Sando, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

Biggest risers and fallers in the QB Tier Rankings

Seattle Seahawks, Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints, Denver Broncos, Washington Redskins

NFL coaches and evaluators have long thought Ben Roethlisberger could carry a team. They just hadn't seen him do it to the extent that he did last season. Roethlisberger's performance while passing for 32 touchdowns helped vault the two-time Super Bowl winner into elite company in our recently published 2015 NFL QB Tier Rankings.

Championships count for a lot, but the 35 coaches and evaluators who placed all 32 projected starters into one of five tiers took into account what role quarterbacks played in their teams' successes or failures. Roethlisberger left little doubt last season when he set career highs for pass attempts (608), passing yards (4,952) and Total QBR (74.8).

Roethlisberger wasn't the only major mover from the survey we conducted one year ago, but he made the largest percentage gain in average tier rating (1.85 to 1.37, or 25.7 percent). That was enough to push Roethlisberger into the top tier with five other quarterbacks who have the skill sets to keep their teams in the championship mix without a ton of help.

Here, we take a closer look at Roethlisberger and some of the other players who saw a dramatic change in their stock from a year ago, with special focus on Andrew Luck and Drew Brees. You can find a full breakdown of each quarterback's change in rating at the bottom of the page.

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