I guess I've never seen anybody put Luck in the top 4. Potentially, sure, but not there already. And I don't know if I've ever called him ELITE.
I'm also really confused. You DO place him in the top 12, with guys like Stafford (definitely worse than Luck statistically, worse TD:INT ratio, worse W-L ratio), Cousins (also statistically inferior, worst TD:INT, worse W-L), and Carr (a comparable TD:INT but a worse W-L). And that's fine, honestly. I get there's some wiggle room and eye test and all that. But can you honestly say Luck wasn't playing up to his contract, when Stafford and Carr are making more and Cousins is holding out to join them?
And then you say, "it's too long to be talking about potential," moments after talking about how Smith flew up the rankings after being drafted 11 years ago.
These QB ratings are fluid, is my point. Luck's getting paid a lot, sure. He doesn't have a lot of financial risk. But if he came back and replicated 2014 on the 2018 Buffalo Bills, exact same numbers, exact same record, and an AFCCG appearance, would you still call him overrated? I would call him worth every penny, because that's what you have to do to keep QB's around with that level of talent and potential these days.