Joe Flacco wants a longterm extension soon; the Baltimore Ravens prefer to wait. Opinions have been somewhat divided on Flacco as to whether he’s a franchise-caliber quarterback or not.

On one hand, there are those who feel he’s one of the steadiest quarterbacks in the league since entering the fray in 2008, solidifying a position for a franchise that for its entire history had musical chairs under center. On the other, many league observers feel he’s more than a notch below Drew Brees and Tom Brady.

While Flacco posted decent numbers last season, including 25 touchdown passes and a 93.6 passer rating, he’s yet to convince everyone he’s done enough to merit a big contract from the Ravens — including our own Vic Carucci.

But taking a look at the one category that matters most paints a slightly different picture. The lanky kid out of Delaware stacks up pretty well against the players whom he perhaps should be compared to: quarterbacks drafted in the last five years.

Ryan (33-13) has won the most games of those mentioned above, but Flacco (32-16) is only one game behind and has a superior record in the playoffs (4-3 to Ryan’s 0-2). Young (30-17) is two games back in the win column, and Mark Sanchez (19-12) and Josh Freeman (13-12) have fewer seasons but are both above .500.

–Elliot Harrison

Elliot Harrison is a research analyst for NFL RedZone on NFL Network.

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