Cam Newton
Cam Newton is the youngest player on this list, having just turned 30 late last season, but he has done enough is his short career, especially in the first 5 years, to warrant a spot among the all-time greats.
Cam was drafted with the first overall pick in the 2011 draft by the Carolina Panthers, where he was immediately named the starter after a whirlwind year in which he also won the BCS Championship and the Heisman trophy.
Though rookies generally struggle with the transition to the NFL, Newton had success immediately, though his team didn't. As a rookie, he threw for over 4000 yards and broke Steve Grogan's 35-year-old record with 14 rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. He also became the first rookie ever to throw for 400 yards in his first game, breaking Peyton Manning's record for yardage in a debut game by 120 yards. He topped off the season by winning the Rookie of the Year award.
He was a very good quarterback over the next two years as well, reducing his interception totals while helping his team win more games, even leading them to the division title in 2013, which came with a first-round bye. His first playoff game didn't go how he had hoped, as the Panthers fell 23-10 against the 49ers, with Newton throwing for 267 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 picks.
The next season was a rough one. He missed the opening game, the first he missed in his career, while recovering from a rib injury he suffered in the preseason. Later that season he was involved in a car accident, which caused him to miss another game with a back injury, but he still managed to get Carolina back to the playoffs, where they even pulled off a win in the wild card round before falling to Seattle.
The next season was by far the best of his career. Newton threw 35 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions, ran for another 10 touchdowns, and led Carolina to a 15-1 record, best in the league. For his great season, he was named the league MVP. They earned revenge on Seattle in the divisional round, holding on for a 31-24 victory, before demolishing Arizona in the NFC title game to reach Super Bowl 50. The game was a defensive struggle, and the deciding play of the game was a strip sack of Newton, but he was the best overall QB during the playoffs by far.
Coming off that amazing season, Newton had a disappointing 2016, with a career low completion percentage leading to the team missing the playoffs for the first time in 4 years. Over the past two years he has rebounded somewhat, but has yet to regain his MVP level of performance from 2015. But, as the youngest player in this countdown, he still has plenty of time to improve and continue to climb.
Newton's MVP season was among the best of all time, and his rookie season also may be the best debut season ever. He is already the all-time rushing TD leader among quarterbacks in NFL history, and holds the single-season record as well. If he regains his MVP form, we could be talking about him as one of the 10 best ever eventually.
