The 2014 NFL draft resulted in 14 quarterbacks drafted, adding to the 240 quarterbacks that have been drafted in the last 20 years. 20 Years 20 Quarterbacks is an attempt to name the best quarterback to come out of each draft class:
There’s never been a better time in the NFL to be a quarterback. Granted I’d be pretty satisfied with anytime beyond junior high as a quarterback, yet its the gunslingers in the league now that are expected to produce at a higher level in what seems like a shorter amount of time. For today’s quarterback with great power comes great responsibility, even if it doesn’t come with great pass protection.
The 2014 NFL draft resulted in 14 quarterbacks drafted, adding to the 240 total quarterbacks that have been drafted in the last 20 years. While many of these draft choices never see playing time or even roster spots it doesn’t stop teams from annually sifting through the QB harvest, hoping to find the next Tom Brady and hoping to pass on the next Ryan Leaf.
Some of these draftees make an immediate impact we can quantify, while others leave us only able to truly judge their career once it’s over. So while its easy to name some of the best quarterbacks in the NFL it can be pretty difficult (and nostalgic, in a 90’s acid wash jeans kind of way) to name the best quarterback from each draft class. So let’s take it back to 1994, to the year we rejoiced for the first season of Friends and the last season of Saved By The Bell: The College Years, and name the best quarterbacks drafted in the last 20 years starting with 1994-1998:
1994 “ The Game Manager Draft ”
QBs Drafted in 1st round
Heath Shuler- 3rd overall, Washington Redskins
Trent Dilfer- 6th overall, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Notable Qbs drafted
Gus Frerotte- 7th round, Washington Redskins
With Heath Shuler being the first of many draft “misses” in the ‘90s, his struggles gave 7th round pick and Kirk Cousins role model Gus Frerotte a chance to shine. Frerotte went on to start 46 games for the Redskins from 1994 to 1998, including a 9 win season and Pro Bowl nod in 1996. His national claim to fame however, besides qualifying in the category of backup quarterbacks you see on the sidelines and thought retired 8 years ago is his touchdown celebration captured in grainy YouTube infamy that removed him from the game with a sprained neck/ego:
Frerotte’s competition for the best quarterback drafted in 1994 is fellow perennial backup Trent Dilfer. No one made the quarterback position look more expendable than Dilfer when he was inserted at the helm of a struggling Baltimore offense in the middle of the 2000 season. Dilfer “game managed” a historically dominant defense to a Super Bowl ring, yet the unimpressed Ravens promptly replaced him with Elvis Gerbac the following season.
’94-‘08 Career
Yards/Game
Comp%
TD%/pass
INT%/pass
QB Rating
Pro Bowls
Playoff Wins
NFL Avg.
208.7
58.7
4.0%
3.2%
77.5
Frerotte
144.8
54.7
3.7%
3.4%
74.2
1
0
Dilfer
157.8
55.5
3.6%
4.1%
70.2
1
5
Remarkably similar career numbers makes for a difficult decision of mediocrity. The difference maker is that for one year Dilfer’s game management murdered opposing defenses while his Ray Lewis-led defense murdered, uh, played really well, securing a Super Bowl ring and the ’94 draft class win.
1994 Winner Trent Dilfer
—
1995 “ The Music City Miracle Draft ”
QBs Drafted in 1st round:
Steve McNair- 3rd overall, Houston Oilers
Kerry Collins- 5th overall, Carolina Panthers
Notable QBs drafted:
Todd Collins- 2nd Round, Buffalo Bills
Kordell Stewart – 2nd Round, Pittsburgh Steelers
Rob Johnson – 4th Round, Jacksonville Jaguars
The 1995 draftees gave us career paths almost as loosely connected as the plot of Lost – try and follow along :
Todd Collins is taken by the Bills in the second round and is soon discovered to not possess the cleats to follow in Jim Kelly’s (of desired yet no relation) footsteps. After missing the playoffs in 1997 Collins is released by Buffalo, replaced via trade (The Bills sent a 1st & 4th round pick to Jacksonville for a backup QB with 344 career passing yards and immediately gave him a $25 million dollar contract – in the following decades the Patriots would eventually dominate the industry of drafting quarterbacks as trade assets to swindle dumb teams) by Mark Brunell backup Rob Johnson.
Johnson is average at best and oft injured, giving Doug Flutie a chance to gain notoriety as a lovable football hobbit who magically creates wins and a QB controversy in Buffalo. In 1999 Flutie leads the Bills to a 10-5 record and, with a playoff berth secured, is rested in favor of Johnson in the season’s final week by sinister head coach Wade Phillips. Johnson performs well and – because Buffalo is not allowed to have nice things at quarterback per contract written in hell – Phillips names him the starter over Flutie for the AFC Wild Card game and satisfies his desire to set a good example of terrible coaching. Johnson loses to Steve McNair and the artists formerly known as the Houston Oilers in the Music City Miracle game; a playoff game that killed the Bills season and likely many Bills fans, and today would likely break all social media indefinitely:
Injuries plagued the end of McNair’s tenure in Tennessee and by 2006 he was traded away during the Titans attempt to upgrade their worn out Steve McNair model to the shiny new Vince Young model. The mentor and eventual replacement to the upgrade was 1995 1st rounder Kerry Collins, who spent five seasons in Tennessee and gave men with grey beards and alcoholic pasts a reason to believe again.
Also Kordell Stewart was cool for a bit.
Kerry Collins was sneaky good for a long time and ranks 12th all-time in career passing yards, a stat that falls under the wait, seriously? category. Yet with the 2003 MVP award and 3 Pro Bowl appearances Air McNair takes the year.
1995 Winner Steve McNair
—
1996 “ No thanks, we’re good ”
QB’s Drafted in the 1st Round
None
Notable QBs Drafted
Tony Banks – 2nd Round, St Louis Rams
Bobby Hoying – 2nd Round, Philadelphia Eagles
Danny Kanell – 4th Round, New York Giants
Gross.
The notable QB’s are only notable because they were the only 1996 draftees to ever start an NFL game. The prospects and apparent needs were so thin for a few years the NFL treated quarterback prospects with the same response to the question “would you like to add two hot apple pies for a $1?” at the McDonald’s drive thru. Even though Danny Kanell led the 1997 Giants to a playoff berth, Tony Banks was a homeless man’s Randall Cunningham and wins the year by default.
1996 Winner Tony Banks
1997 “ It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn ”
QB’s Drafted in the 1st Round
Jim Druckenmiller – 26th overall, San Francisco 49ers
Notable QBs Drafted
Jake Plummer – 2nd Round, Arizona Cardinals
Danny Wuerffel – 4th Round, New Orleans Saints
The NFL’s assault on the future of the forward pass continued in 1997.
Jim Druckenmiller, deemed the heir apparent to Steve Young, threw for nearly 1500 yards in 2001. Seeing as that it was in the XFL the 49ers did not benefit from Druckenmiller’s career best.
After trading his 3rd and 5th round picks to acquire Heath Shuler and signing him to a 7 year deal as the Saints starting QB, Mike Ditka drafted Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel to compete at 3rd string behind former New Orleans starter Jim Everett. The previous sentence could have been used as a provided reference for Ditka’s job interview at ESPN.
Jake Plummer saved the 1997 draft class with playoff berths for the Cardinals in 1998 and Broncos in 2003, 2004, and 2005. The Snake compiled a solid 10 year career as an NFL quarterback with a knack for winning (four 9+ win seasons, 161 career touchdowns) and a knack for poor decisions (161 career interceptions).
1997 Winner Jake Plummer
—
1998 “ Let Us Rejoice and be Glad ”
QB’s Drafted in the 1st Round
Peyton Manning – 1st overall, Indianapolis Colts
Ryan Leaf – 2nd overall, San Diego Chargers
Notable QBs Drafted
Charlie Batch – 2nd Round, Detroit Lions
Brian Griese – 2nd Round, Denver Broncos
Matt Hasselbeck – 6th Round, Green Bay Packers
In 1998 gas cost $1.15 a gallon, the President of the United States’ penis was debated in Congress (considering it was the leader of the free world’s penis couldn’t we say it was master-debated!? I’ll show myself out.), and an internet search engine named Google was founded. More importantly in 1998 the Indianapolis Colts made the greatest decision in NFL quarterback draft history, not for taking Peyton Manning, but for not taking Ryan Leaf.
Ryan Leaf was harsh – like going to a party and consuming a warm boxed wine left out on the counter all night harsh. Manning has gotten better with age – like if a high quality wine matured to perfection and was enjoyed by everyone, and then for nearly two decades everyone never stopped telling you how good the wine is (the 1998 still blows away the 2004). The ‘98 draft class is best of the list thus far and also included longtime starter Matt Hasselbeck, who I didn’t realize is in fact the backup to Andrew Luck, and Charlie Batch who I didn’t realize is in fact not the lifetime backup for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
1998 Winner Peyton Manning
After the quarterback prospect drought of the mid-nineties was ended by the rise of Peyton Manning teams in the NFL did their best to tell themselves Ryan Leaf was just a bad dream. The pass attack was back, and the new millennium brought new quarterback options that were bigger, faster, and stronger. However, aside from the occasional icon, they were also not very good. So lets party like its 1999 – so long if 1999 means: to heavily invest in unproven talent that leads to remorse and future attempts to heavily invest in unproven talent-
—
1999 “Quarterbacks: Everybody’s Doing It”
QB’s Drafted in the 1st Round
Tim Couch – 1st overall, Cleveland Browns
Donovan McNabb – 2nd overall, Philadelphia Eagles
Akili Smith – 3rd overall, Cincinnati Bengals
Daunte Culpepper – 11th overall, Minnesota Vikings
Cade McNown – 12th overall, Chicago Bears
Notable QB’s Drafted
Shaun King – 2nd Round, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Aaron Brooks – 4th Round, Green Bay Packers
1999 featured the NFL draft trend we know and love today: taking anything that resembles a successful college quarterback with a high draft pick, starting them immediately, and blaming them for any failure the franchise may find.
Akili Smith- followed in the draft by Edgerrin James, Ricky Williams, Torry Holt, and Champ Bailey at picks 4 – 7- quickly took the top spot of Most Jerseys Burned During a Local New Broadcast in Cincinnati. In Chicago, coach Dick Jauron assured fans that Cade McNown would ease into his tenure of starting quarterback by playing at least one series a game, thus assuring fans that the entire 1999 season will be considered the Bears’ 2000 preseason. Tim Couch starred in the first installment of the ongoing blockbuster franchise The Cleveland Browns and the Quest for a Quarterback.
Donovan McNabb is the clear winner ahead of a very respectable Daunte Culpepper. In Minnesota, Culpepper was a game plan pioneer for future gunslingers like Matt Stafford; telling your physically superior wide receiver to run as far as they can while you heave the ball as far as you can, even if your eyes may or may not be closed.
1999 Winner Donovan McNabb
—
2000 “ Y2Brady ”
QB’s Drafted in the 1st Round
Chad Pennington – 18th overall, New York Jets
Notable QB’s Drafted
Marc Bulger – 6th Round, New Orleans Saints
Tom Brady – 6th Round, New England Patriots
Tim Rattay – 7th Round, San Francisco 49ers
Much has been made about the teams that passed on Tom Brady- the 6 quarterbacks taken before him and the chip on his shoulder from being “snubbed”. The narrative about the 2000 quarterback draft class has evolved to the average fan’s perception of The Brady 6 is thought of as collection of homeless men that were drafted to somehow spite the blue eyed devil the Patriots took a shot on.
However Chad Pennington, taken by the Jets in the 1st round, compiled an impressive 11 year career. Maybe it’s the mediocrity that infiltrates the average fan’s thoughts of the Jets, or the career reviving stint with the Dolphins that unfairly felt like an incredibly successful accident, but a healthy Pennington was the definition of efficient. So much so he ranks 1st in all time pass completion percentage, qualifying as one of the most random pieces of useless NFL trivia you can find.
Marc Bulger- who my brain always confuses with Trent Green as the two pieces of bread in a Kurt Warner sandwich- enjoyed a Brady-esqe career path as a 6th round pick. Waived by the Saints and Falcons in 2000, Bulger went from the Rams practice squad to injury replacement starter by 2002. He sparked the final hurrah of the greatest show on turf and permanently unseated Drew Bledsoe Kurt Warner in St Louis on his way to Pro Bowl appearances in 2003 and 2006.
Anyways, Tom Brady has been a delight.
2000 Winner Thomas Edward Patrick Brady
—
2001 “ Not Your Father’s Quarterback ”
QB’s Drafted in the 1st Round
Michael Vick – 1st overall, Atlanta Falcons
Notable QB’s Drafted
Drew Brees – 2nd Round, San Diego Chargers
Quincy Carter – 2nd Round, Dallas Cowboys
Chris Weinke – 4th Round, Carolina Panthers
Sage Rosenfels – 4th Round, Washington Redskins
AJ Feeley – 5th Round, Philadelphia Eagles
The greatest player in sports video game history since Bo Jackson joined the NFL as the first pick in the 2001 draft.
It was because in the NFL he could do this…
…that in Madden 2004 he could do this:
Michael Vick will go down as one of the biggest what if’s of the NFL, making it easy to wonder what his place in history would be if Roger Goodell didn’t get him and his little dog(s) too.
Qunicy Carter became a founding father of The League of Extraordinary Failures the Cowboys employed as potential successors to Troy Aikman. Chris Weinke went from man amongst boys-drafted at age 29 after 6 years of minor league baseball followed by a Heisman Trophy – to lackluster boy amongst other lackluster boys going 1-15 for Carolina in 2001. Sage Rosenfels and AJ Feeley joined the ongoing list of quarterbacks to be named as default starters by soon-to-be unemployed coaching staffs.
Speaking of default, Drew Brees takes the top spot as the San Diego injury question mark turned Super Dome savior.
2001 Winner Drew Brees
—
2002 “ The Quarterback Recession ”
QB’s Drafted in the 1st Round
David Carr – 1st overall, Houston Texans
Joey Harrington – 3rd overall, Detroit Lions
Patrick Ramsey – 32nd overall, Washington Redskins
Notable QB’s Drafted
Josh McCown – 3rd Round, Arizona Cardinals
David Garrard – 4th Round, Jacksonville Jaguars
David Carr spent his career in Houston playing quarterback for an expansion franchise that apparently didn’t expand enough to include an offensive line, eventually “retiring” to backup Eli Manning and his consecutive games started streak. Joey Harrington spent his career in Detroit for a franchise that apparently did not possess the ability to win games- never winning more than six in a single season.
Patrick Ramsey joins a list of unremarkable Redskin quarterbacks that my mind blurs into the same person. Josh McCown won the backup-quarterback lottery this off-season as Tampa Bay brought him in to kind-of-sort-of-be the starter. Yet, barring a few Barry Bonds-esqe career numbers closer to age 40, he still doesn’t top the ’02 class.
It wasn’t until David Garrard was given the opportunity late in the 2005 season to pause the misery in Jacksonville that this draft class had its best showing. It was his performance in said 2005 season that propelled him to throw for over 16,000 career yards, retire with a career passer rating of 85, and save his 2002 draftees from a blowout.
2002 Winner David Garrard
—
2003 “ The Curious Career of Carson ”
QB’s Drafted in the 1st Round
Carson Palmer – 1st overall, Cincinnati Bengals
Byron Leftwich – 7th overall, Jacksonville Jaguars
Kyle Boller – 19th overall, Baltimore Ravens
Rex Grossman – 22nd overall, Chicago Bears
Notable QB’s Drafted
Seneca Wallace – 4th round, Seattle Seahawks
In 2003 the Bengals found their soul mate. After seasons of failed relationships they fell head over heels for a guy from USC with a cannon for an arm and a smile worthy of your best bowl of spaghetti with chili and neon orange shredded cheese. Yet after years that included serious injury and the Bengals serious neglect of self-improvement, their love fizzled. The man of their dreams wanted to wake up, and as soon as he found a way back to the west coast Cincinnati jumped on a red headed rebound to forget the past. Yet the Bengals remain hurting, overwhelmed with feelings of resentment and betrayal, surely checking their Facebook newsfeed after losses for updates about the one that got away. They certainly aren’t ready to admit their rebound is nothing more than a rebound, but deep down they know- we all know. Still they feel torn by emotions and ACLs- looking longingly to the west, blocking out the red streak of mediocrity in the present, and always wondering what could have been.
(The previous paragraph refers to the romantic breakup between Carson Palmer and the Cincinnati Bengals. What, you thought I should mention Rex Grossman?)
2003 Winner Carson Palmer
—
It’s 2004 and by now if you’re an NFL franchise you have to have either a franchise quarterback or a this-guy-might-be-a franchise quarterback. Arguably the worst thing that could have happened to the NFL in 2004 is that the top three quarterbacks drafted were investments that actually paid off – giving teams hope that if at first you don’t succeed shake it off, fire everyone associated, and draft again.
Oh and when you do be sure to pay your draft pick more than nearly any player in the NFL before they actually play, this way you know they’ll be super motivated to succeed.
2004 ” This Usually Doesn’t Go This Well “
QB’s Drafted in the 1st Round
Eli Manning – 1st overall, San Diego Chargers
Philip Rivers – 4th overall, New York Giants
Ben Roethlisberger – 11th overall, Pittsburgh Steelers
J.P. Losman – 22nd overall, Buffalo Bills
Notable QB’s Drafted
Matt Schaub – 3rd Round, Atlanta Falcons
The 2004 first round quarterbacks have produced 4 Super Bowl Rings, 5 Super Bowl appearances, 2 Super Bowl MVPs, 10 Pro Bowl appearances, 22 playoff wins, and J.P. Losman
Ten years later the top three quarterbacks taken in 2004 pose the most intriguing debate on the list thus far. The top three teams arguably would been pleased with whichever quarterback they landed between Manning, Rivers, and Roethlisberger, while Buffalo was still doing its best Charlie Brown on Halloween impersonation.
However there can only be one, and it’s close call so let’s break it down by category:
Passing Ability
Career
Career Cmp%
TD%
INT%
QB Rating
Roethlisberger
63.6%
5.1%
2.7%
93.7
Rivers
64.8%
5.4%
2.5%
96.4
Manning
58.9%
4.6%
3.4%
82
Manning leads in games started (8 more than Ben, 23 more than Phil) and a disastrous 2013 season weighs down his career percentages. Roethlisberger gets sacked, a lot (8% of career plays compared to 5.7% for Rivers and 4.8% for Manning). Rivers had to wait two seasons for Drew Brees to be run out of town and, with years of help from fantasy football hall of famer Ladainian Tomilinson, has been the most efficient and highest rated QB of the three.
Rivers
Winning Ability
There’s no such thing as winning ability.
52 other players usually have some type of impact on the outcome of games (most notably on defense). While a quarterback’s performance isn’t the reason a team will win or lose it certainly can be the reason a team will win or lose. Roethlisberger has been at the helm of a consistently successful franchise and leads with 101 wins and a 66% winning percentage. Rivers comes in at 61% with 84 wins and Manning 54% with 88 wins. This is more indicative of all three quarterbacks having the successful longevity of a franchise quarterback, as opposed to the sole reasoning for a team’s success (see: Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl)
Roethlisberger:
Playoff/Clutch Ability
Playoff Career
Wins
Losses
Pass Comp%
TD’s
INT’s
Rating
Game-Winning Drives
Roethlisberger
10
4
60.6%
20
17
83.7
3
Rivers
4
5
60.3%
11
9
85.2
1
Manning
8
3
61.5%
17
8
89.3
5
Roethlisberger, with 3 Super Bowl appearances, is hard to argue against for this category. Yet if, and it’s a huge if, the Giants make the playoffs they usually experience an Eli Manning that plays nothing like Eli Manning. Two Super Bowl MVPs in two appearances, 4 playoff 4th quarter comebacks- tied for 2nd all time, and 5 playoff game winning drives- tied with Joe Montana for 3rd all time has meant Eli can never be counted out unless he’s actually out of the playoffs. Edging out in the statistical categories as well puts Eli ahead in a photo finish here with Rivers a distant 3rd.
Manning:
All three QBs could end their careers with gold jacket credentials, yet giving each of them different circumstances regarding their respective teams could alter their final ranking: If Rivers is given a supporting cast to get him back to the playoffs, and he plays on par with his regular season statistics, he could certainly shake things up. If Manning is ever given an offensive line again that doesn’t resemble the cast of The Replacements his career could springboard up a notch as well. Yet its Roethlisberger, who occasionally makes on field decisions as poor as his off-field decisions, that takes the top seed in 2004. The Super Bowl can make or break your place in NFL lore- just ask Dan Marino.
2004 Winner Ben Roethlisberger
—
2005 “The Best Things In Life Are Worth Waiting For”
QB’s Drafted in the 1st Round
Alex Smith – 1st overall, San Francisco 49ers
Aaron Rodgers – 24th overall, Green Bay Packers
Jason Campbell – 25th overall, Washington Redskins
Notable QB’s Drafted
Kyle Orton – 4th Round, Chicago Bears
Derek Anderson – 6th Round, Baltimore Ravens
Matt Cassel – 7th Round, New England Patriots
Ryan Fitzpatrick – 7th Round, St Louis Rams
Alex Smith, draft bust turned Jim Harbaugh protégé turned Jim Harbaugh expendable turned Andy Reid chosen one, has had a remarkable career thus far. With Reid in Kansas City he is becoming one of the all-time game manager quarterbacks, which is to say he is proving that boring wins are better than flashy losses (see: Jay Cutler).
Aaron Rodgers, bred to be the successor to a king reluctant to give up his throne, spent three seasons holding a clipboard and waiting for Brett Favre to abdicate his title. I’ve always thought of this time as a great script for an ‘80s movie (with Jeff Bridges as Favre and Tom Cruise on stilts and glued-on facial hair as Rodgers) so we could see the drama of a rough-edged aging star leaving town while Rodgers takes frustrated rides on a motorcycle around Green Bay, stopping to throw rocks in an autumn cooled lake, and wondering if he’ll ever get a chance to shine or ever get a better shirtless beach volleyball partner.
Jason Campbell spent a few seasons attempting to pull the sword from the Washington Redskins quarterback stone to no avail. He currently resides in the Kingdom of Backup Quarterbacks.
Injuries thrust Kyle Orton from 4th round pick to starting quarterback in Chicago as a rookie, and he enjoyed immediate success as a warm body to hike the ball when the prolific Bears defense rested. He was eventually packaged in the Jay Cutler deal to Denver, replaced by Tim Tebow in 2011, and claimed off waivers by Kansas City to replace an injured Matt Cassel. Orton went on to backup Tony Romo, eventually kind-of-sort-of deciding he didn’t want to do that anymore and subsequently released by the Cowboys. This off-season the Bills, continuing to honor their commitment to not having nice things at quarterback per contract written in hell, signed Orton to a two year deal where he currently spends his time starting and trying to forget his drunken internet fame.
By 2008, 7th rounder Matt Cassel used the Tom Brady Guide to Backups and parlayed his performance replacing the injured Brady into a trade to Kansas City and a six year contract. Four years and three losing seasons later he was released in favor of newly acquired Alex Smith, and landed in Minnesota to enjoy perpetual injured reserve status.
Ryan Fitzpatrick has spent time in various cities across the country and is best known for leading an assault at the Battle of Gettysburg.
2005 Winner Aaron Rodgers
—
2006 ” Crab Apples “
QB’s Drafted in the 1st Round
Vince Young – 3rd overall, Tennessee Titans
Matt Leinart – 10th overall, Arizona Cardinals
Jay Cutler– 11th overall, Denver Broncos
Notable QB’s Drafted
Kellen Clemens – 2nd Round, New York Jets
Tarvaris Jackson – 2nd Round, Minnesota Vikings
Charlie Whitehurst – 3rd Round, San Diego Chargers
Bruce Gradkowski – 6th Round, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Vince Young had a meteoric rise in Tennessee winning 2006 Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl appearances in 2006 & 2009. Prone to the interception and hampered by injuries Young’s “bottle rocket” career quickly came back to earth as the weight of the Titans struggles weighed heavy on his shoulders. In 2008 he infamously went missing, spurned by the negative reception he received for poor performance on the field, perhaps unable to cope with failure due to a lifetime as a hyped and beloved football star. By 2011 he was released from the Titans and bankrupt from poor financial decisions that included a reportedly $5k/week habit at The Cheesecake Factory. Perhaps Young was too young for the spotlight, an attribute Matt Leinart was busy displaying in Arizona. That, or Leinart just wasn’t good.
So that means we’re left with nine seasons of this guy:
2006 Winner Jay Cutler
—
2007 “ Money Ain’t a Thing “
QB’s Drafted in the 1st Round
JaMarcus Russell – 1st overall, Oakland Raiders
Brady Quinn – 22nd overall, Cleveland Browns
Notable QB’s Drafted
Kevin Kolb – 2nd Round, Philadelphia Eagles
Drew Stanton – 2nd Round, Detroit Lions
Trent Edwards – 3rd Round, Buffalo Bills
Never has a quarterback class had so much exposure, earned so much money, and done so little on the field. For example: a quarterback taken in the 1st round by Cleveland with national advertising campaigns before playing a single snap- haven’t we seen this before?
2007 QB earnings breakdown:
Brady Quinn played poorly on Browns teams that played poorly, as Cleveland first round quarterbacks are bred to do, earning over $10 million in the NFL. He started 20 career games (8 with the Browns) and won 4 of them for a breakdown of: $500k per start or $2.5 million per win.
As the crown jewel of the 2007 draft JaMarcus Russell held out through training camp, earned an estimated $40 million in Oakland, and went on to win seven of out 25 career starts. We can blame the breakdown on the sizzurp: $1.6 million per start or $5.7 million per win.
Kevin Kolb waited patiently for the Donovan McNabb era to come to a bitter end. Once being named the starter and given a $10.7 million signing bonus as a reward for sideline tenure he suffered a concussion in his first start, indirectly starting the Michael Vick era. He was traded to Arizona where he earned another payday yet concussions, injuries, and inconsistent play led to his eventual release. Buffalo, in efforts to conspire against the economy of western New York, signed Kolb for $2.65 million for one year, only for him to suffer another concussion and never play beyond the preseason. Kolb earned an estimated $47 million during a 21 start/9 win career: $2.2 million per start $5.2 million per win.
Drew Stanton is getting his chance this year in Arizona so let’s not count his earnings just yet ($8.2 million with Arizona through next year).
Trent Edwards essentially played Kolb’s Philadelphia role in Buffalo, if you just replace Michael Vick with Ryan Fitzpatrick. An average season mixed with a collection of below average seasons resulted in a ride on the backup quarterback carousel around the league: Winning 14 of 33 career starts Edwards has estimated career earnings of $4.4 million $133k per start or $314k per win.
Without Stanton’s unfinished business included, these stellar 2007 draftees earned an estimated $101.4 million at roughly $1 million per start, nearly $3 million per win, or 548 million f-bombs per fan.
Depressingly this has been the hardest year to determine a winner, and while Kevin Kolb was likely the more talented quarterback he couldn’t stay on the field to prove it- never starting more than 9 games or throwing for over 2000 yards in a single season. Trent Edwards had 12 more career starts than Kolb, and had a 2008 season where he threw for nearly 2700 yards. Now I’ll let the sizzurp help me forget about this year ever happening.
Winner (sigh) Trent Edwards
—
2008 ” A Win For the Birds “
QB’s Drafted in the 1st Round
Matt Ryan – 3rd overall, Atlanta Falcons
Joe Flacco – 18th overall, Baltimore Ravens
Notable QB’s Drafted
Chad Henne – 2nd Round, Miami Dolphins
Matt Flynn – 7th Round, Green Bay Packers
Gun to your head (too many criminals these days place a gun to someone’s head and request an answer regarding NFL quarterbacks) you might say Matt Ryan is the best QB drafted in 2008. Or, as a bead of sweat forms due to an absurd gunpoint situation, you might say Joe Flacco is the best QB drafted in 2008. The paradox this football criminal would be faced with is that either answer you give may be right.
Matt Ryan is on pace to have thrown for nearly 2000 more career yards, 30 more career TD’s, and have roughly 200 more career attempts than Joe Flacco. Ryan is a higher rated career passer (90.9 to 84.4) with a higher career completion percentage (63.8% to 60.5%) than Flacco as well. The statistical difference doesn’t overcome Ryan’s career 1-4 playoff record though, and when comparing to a 9-4 playoff record, Super Bowl MVP and sort-of-shaved-but-not-really haircut Flacco has the resume to be on par with his fellow draftee. Not to say Matt Ryan needs to win a Super Bowl MVP to have won the year but actually leading a team to the big stage, or really any stage outside of Atlanta, certainly wouldn’t hurt.
Personally I’ve always equated Chad Henne to a AAA+ baseball player; better than your traditional backup quarterback yet not good enough to be your long term starter. He currently spends time helping Blake Bortles review inceptions and apparently how to throw more.
Matt Flynn, or Kevin Kolb Light: same great taste with less filling- has earned nearly $18 million (Packers, Seattle, Oakland, Packers again) from a 6 TD 480 yard performance in a week 17 2011 start, helping millions of parents steer their children away from medical school and towards a career as a fringe NFL quarterback.
2008 Winner Joe Flacco
—
The final five draft classes of our 20 Years 20 Quarterbacks series provide some of the best and worst quarterbacks we’ve seen thus far. The 2014 draft class is still too green to evaluate, even if it seems like NFL front offices start scouting replacements immediately after drafting them. The Aaron Rodgers method of letting first round picks develop on the sidelines is a thing of the past as the on-demand demands of demanding fans and franchises expect all quarterbacks to immediately succeed regardless of round they were taken in. Two series into their first game and NFL execs are seemingly checking for updated 2015 Mock Drafts to see who’s the next college arm they could acquire that might be able to convert on 3rd and 7.
After the 2004 – 2008 classes provided some of the league’s current mainstays we find the next five drafts to include a few superstars peppered with an assembly line of disposal quarterbacks. Let’s bring it home starting with 2009:
2009 ” The Slow Burn “
QB’s Drafted in the 1st Round
Matthew Stafford – 1st overall, Detroit Lions
Mark Sanchez – 5th overall, New York Jets
Josh Freeman – 17th overall, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Notable QB’s Drafted
Pat White – 4th Round, Miami Dolphins
Magazine photo shoots, two conference title appearances, a butt fumble: Mark Sanchez in New York was…interesting.
Sanchez led defensively stout Jets teams to back to back AFC conference championship losses, and whether the Jets won four playoff games in two years because of him or in spite of him, it still qualifies as an impressive achievement for the 5th overall pick. However the quarterback’s below average performance was truly exposed as the quality of talent deteriorated around him. Hair accessories that left him looking like a collegiate female soccer player were no longer cute to Jet fans, and a butt fumble and 6-9 record in 2012 led to Sanchez seeking sanctuary in Philadelphia.
In Tampa Bay the Buccaneers had enjoyed solid if not spectacular play out of Josh Freeman. His 2010 campaign finished with a 10-6 record and 95.6 rating at age 22. Yet a 2013 season included head coach Greg Schiano benching Freeman after an 0-3 start followed by a bizarre breach of confidentiality regarding the NFL player drug program. Freeman spoke out about his invasion of privacy and hours later was cut by the Buccaneers, essentially burying his career since. By now we know Greg Schiano was terrible, yet no one seems to really know what happened to Josh Freeman to make him not worthy of even- oh I don’t know- a Matt Flynn type role.
This is an easy one. During his tenure Matthew Stafford has thrown more than a left handed relief specialist, and while it certainly hasn’t always produced the results Lions fans desire it’s a helluvah a lot better than fumbles with butts.
2009 Winner Matthew Stafford
—
2010 ” Divine Interception “
QB’s Drafted in the 1st Round
Sam Bradford – 1st overall, St Louis Rams
Tim Tebow – 25th overall, Denver Broncos
Notable QB’s Drafted
Jimmy Clausen – 2nd Round, Carolina Panthers
Colt McCoy – 3rd Round, Cleveland Browns
Speaking ill of Tim Tebow is blasphemy. Giving praise to Tim Tebow is admitting sports ignorance. I can’t think of a player in sports that has ever been so well known, over-hyped, and criticized all while being so average (or far, far below). Tebow’s ascent into the American consciousness would be like CNBC providing non-stop coverage of a uneventful Tuesday in the stock market and as a nation we debated its validity, critiqued its potential, and created thousands of internet memes about it. Whether we liked him or not, or believed in him or not, we all watched him (whether we wanted to or not). Looking back on the Tim Tebow era in the NFL is like recalling a shameful drunken night in college that included text messages with all consonants and waking up in the backyard; what were we doing?
Meanwhile, Sam Bradford went 1st overall in the last draft under the old CBA guidelines and work on him as the bionic $65 Million Dollar Man should be completed by the end of this season and ready for testing by some unsuspecting NFL franchise.
2010 Winner Sam Bradford
—
2011 “Good Gawd Almighty Stop The Dayum Match!”
QB’s Drafted in the 1st Round
Cam Newton – 1st overall, Carolina Panthers
Jake Locker – 8th overall, Tennessee Titans
Blaine Gabbert – 10th overall, Jacksonville Jaguars
Christian Ponder – 12th overall, Minnesota Vikings
Notable QB’s Drafted
Andy Dalton – 2nd Round, Cincinnati Bengals
Colin Kaepernick – 2nd Round, San Francisco 49ers
Ryan Mallett – 3rd Round, New England Patriots
T.J. Yates – 5th Round, Houston Texans
Look at the carnage of the quarterbacks drafted in the first round! My God King!
Two things about the 2011 quarterback draft class
Buyer’s remorse:
Three out of four teams that took a quarterback in the first round would write a negative internet review if asked to rate the player they drafted. Except reading their reviews would be like reading a review of a steering wheel from someone who doesn’t own a car. The quarterbacks taken in the first round after Newton were widely thought of as overvalued, taken by franchises not pleased with their current quarterback picture and looking to take the best available option in the draft. Jake Locker at 8th overall was always thought of having the body of a prototypical quarterback, yet ironically it’s the body (that keeps breaking) keeping him frequently off the field. Blaine Gabbert at 10th to the Jaguars was used by defenses to practice tackling on to prepare for games when they faced actual NFL offensive lines. Christian Ponder perfected the art of the hand-off to Adrian Peterson yet when it came to throwing the ball he enjoyed receiving options like the mild-mannered Percy Harvin and someone who looks like Greg Jennings.
If your team is bad, and there isn’t a generational quarterback prospect available that year, then wouldn’t an overvalued rookie quarterback who is forced to immediately run an offense actually finding success be a surprise? Maybe they are not the solution, but are they really the problem?Peyton Manning went 3-13 and led the league in interceptions his rookie year. It took three years for Seinfeld to climb in the ratings. I’m not saying these quarterbacks could’ve been the next Peyton or Kramer, but a season with Mercedes Lewis as the best receiving weapon available shouldn’t mean its time to change the quarterback- it means it’s time to change the general manager.
Either that or they were just bad.
Cam & Colin:
Andy Dalton is the anomaly of the draft class as he’s not at the level of Cam Newton and Colin Kaepernick, yet has had more success than the three quarterbacks drafted above him (the jury on Andy remains out in Cincinnati, and they’re getting ornery).
Newton and Kaepernick have helped finally bring the duel threat quarterback into the mainstream and at this point in their careers they make for a difficult comparison. For one, Newton has started 25 more games than Kaepernick, offsetting some of the statistical metrics and putting miles on him that might be starting to show this season. Secondly their similar career metrics show they run the ball well, complete about 60% of their passes thrown, and are OK with getting sacked a lot. The difficulty here is while Newton has the experience and responsibility of being essentially Carolina’s entire offense, Kaepernick has made better decisions throwing the football (a career interception rate at 1.7% compared to Newton’s 2.8%) and has benefited from a consistent top tier defense. Carolina’s defense was excellent last year, helping Newton to a 12-4 season, but it was Kaepernick- fresh off a Super Bowl berth the previous year- who sent them home in the playoffs.
Yet this season Kaepernick has taken a monstrous step back in his level of play. While Cam has watched the team around him deteriorate, including a fresh start on his wide receiver core that has been saved by rookie Kelvin Benjamin, Colin has looked lost at times without the benefit of a once dominant defense and lack of performance from his offensive weapons. Having a soap opera run in real time regarding his head coach feuding with ownership can’t be much help either.
Until Cam wins (and unless he’s sees major upgrades in protection and the run game he won’t) it’s Colin that has the playoff pedigree and the default win. However Colin’s ’14 season leaves him on the brink of giving the belt back to Cam – stay tuned in 2015.
2011 Winner Colin Kaepernick
—
2012 “ Luck Be a Brady Tonight “
QB’s Drafted in the 1st Round
Andrew Luck – 1st overall, Indianapolis Colts
Robert Griffin III – 3rd overall, Washington Redskins
Ryan Tannehill – 8th overall, Miami Dolphins
Brandon Weeden – 22nd overall, Cleveland Browns
Notable QB’s Drafted
Russell Wilson – 3rd Round, Seattle Seahawks
Nick Foles – 3rd Round, Philadelphia Eagles
Kirk Cousins – 4th Round, Washington Redskins
In one year we got another prolific passer in Indianapolis, an enigmatic star and career backup in Washington, a quarterback who’s starting to party in the city where the heat is on, a Chip Kelly benefactor, a Super Bowl champion, and Brandon Weeden.
America, as a nation, isn’t fond of Brandon Weeden:
Early after the 2012 draft the expected debate would surely be Luck vs Griffin, yet fast forward through injuries, weird coaching relationships, and an under-performing supporting and Griffin has dropped in favor of 3rd round pick Russell Wilson. A Super Bowl victory doesn’t hurt either.
From a fantasy football standpoint Andrew Luck could be crowned