FanPost

Franchise QB's- Finding One is Truly Like Winning AT McDonald's Monopoly


Marc Sessler at the NFL.Com just did a great piece on looking at the best/worst Qb draft classes & it shows the difficulty in not only finding that guy, but seeing how few those guys guys have been available. It;s truly stunning when you look back at all the past draft classes & see all the failed guys that have come & gone in the league. This article must hang in Dak's agent wall & is proof that when you find a guy, you keep that guy because it's just not easy finding the next franchise QB to lead your team. Let's look

20) 2007

Round 1: JaMarcus Russell (No. 1 overall), Brady Quinn (No. 22)
Round 2: Kevin Kolb (No. 36), John Beck (No. 40), Drew Stanton (No. 43)
Round 3: Trent Edwards (No. 92)
Round 4: Isaiah Stanback (No. 103)
Round 5: Jeff Rowe (No. 151), Troy Smith (No. 174)
Round 6: Jordan Palmer (No. 205)
Round 7: Tyler Thigpen (No. 217)
Notable undrafted: Matt Moore

We begin our journey in grim territory. The 2007 NFL Draft was "headlined" by JaMarcus Russell, arguably the most severe quarterback bust of all time and a first-overall whiff who set the Raiders back years. The 6-foot-6, 265-pound LSU star produced a grotesque 7-18 mark as a starter and finished 2009 -- his final year in the league -- as the worst passer in football. Russell netted $39.4 million, while the Raiders, in return, were handed a raging headache. Same goes for the Browns, who reached for Brady Quinn at No. 22, only to turn around three years later and trade him to the Broncos for fullback Peyton Hillis -- who at least managed to sneak onto the cover of Madden. Longtime backup Drew Stanton is one of the few to earn points inside a flatlining class that handed us John Beck, Trent Edwards and the overhyped Kevin Kolb. High-level busts and zero reliable starters make this the worst crop of them all.

This is evidence right here of just how bad a class can be despite the hype leading into Draft Day. Look at the examples from this year. There was just no true talent to be found at QB & before you say it was a crappy draft class, that is wrong & just not true. Look at all the talent that was there.

2 DET Calvin Johnson

3 CLE Joe Thomas

6 WAS LaRon Landry

7 MIN Adrian Peterson

11 SF Pat Willis

12 BUF Marshawn Lynch

14 NYJ Darrelle Revis

26 DAL Anthony Spencer

31 CHI Greg Olsen

37 SD Eric Weddle

86 BAL Marshal Yanda

19) 2013

Round 1: EJ Manuel (No. 16)
Round 2: Geno Smith (No. 39)
Round 3: Mike Glennon (No. 73)
Round 4: Matt Barkley (No. 98), Ryan Nassib (No. 110), Tyler Wilson (No. 112), Landry Jones (No. 115)
Round 7: Brad Sorensen (No. 221), Zac Dysert (No. 234), B.J. Daniels (No. 237), Sean Renfree (No. 249)
Notable undrafted: Matt McGloin

Teams were surprised when the Bills reached for EJ Manuel with the 16th overall selection. Seen by most as a project with potential, the Florida State product was a turnover-prone flop in Buffalo -- a player Doug Marrone replaced with Kyle Orton before Rex Ryan signed Tyrod Taylor to avoid leaning on Manuel. This class lacked a true first-round prospect, while the only second-rounder, Geno Smith, is a starter-turned-backup best known for catching a fist to the jaw from his own teammate when not touting fringy "flat Earth" theories. Joining Manuel and Smith in the ranks of backup journeymen is lanky/erratic free agent Mike Glennon. Matt Barkley has thrown 76 passes since 2017, but remains active for now as a Bills reserve.

This QB class is also an example of how bad a position class can be. This was another example of not being a year to find help from the draft. The league was smart enough that year not to waste picks as only BUF was dumb enough to try & they were widely ripped for taking him. This was the trade down year that worked out brilliantly & the one us Trader's use when we fancy a trade down.

4 PHI Lane Johnson

5 DET Ziggy Ansah

27 HOU DeAndre Hopkins

31 DAL Travis Frederick

35 PHI Zach Ertz

36 DET Darius Slay

63 KC Travis Kelce

18) 2002

Round 1: David Carr (No. 1), Joey Harrington (No. 3), Patrick Ramsey (No. 32)
Round 3: Josh McCown (No. 81)
Round 4: David Garrard (No. 108), Rohan Davey (No. 117)
Round 5: Randy Fasani (No. 137), Kurt Kittner (No. 158), Brandon Doman (No. 163), Craig Nall (No. 164)
Round 6: J.T. O'Sullivan (No. 186), Steve Bellisari (No. 205)
Round 7: Seth Burford (No. 216), Jeff Kelly (No. 232), Ronald Curry (No. 235), Wes Pate (No. 236)
Notable undrafted: Shaun Hill, Chad Hutchinson

Best in show? I side with Josh McCown, last seen replacing an injured Carson Wentz in Philly's tight postseason loss to Seattle. Playing to type, the 40-year-old McCown refused to exit January's tilt despite tearing his hamstring off the bone mid-contest. While David Carr never lived up to the status of being the No. 1 overall pick, his situation reminds me of what happened to Tim Couch in Cleveland: a young quarterback tossed into the fire on a wanting expansion team struggling to find its way. David Garrard produced a flock of flashy moments with the Jaguars, while Shaun Hill -- an undrafted arm -- spent 15 years in the league. This class was also yanked to Earth by two first-round nightmares, Detroit's Joey Harrington and Washington's Patrick Ramsey, who combined for a 28-51 record with the teams that mistakenly chose them. For diehards, this class also gifted us with undrafted mystery Chad Hutchinson.

We see three QB's get drafted in round one & three QB's all wash out. Carr never stood a chance as was a tackling dummy for opposing defenses who sacked him a record amount of times & still has him unable to sleep at night with the abuse he took. This was the year we took the other Roy Williams & while his career started out like we hoped. The league got all soft against violence & suddenly his career came to screeching halt. His Deep Blue episode is a great episode to watch. No hate from me on his selection, he brought the wood & I enjoyed every one of them. This class had some studs & it has some duds.

2 CAR Julius Peppers

8 DAL Roy Williams

11 IND Dwight Freeney

24 BAL Ed Reed

17) 2010

Round 1: Sam Bradford (No. 1), Tim Tebow (No. 25)
Round 2: Jimmy Clausen (No. 48)
Round 3: Colt McCoy (No. 85)
Round 4: Mike Kafka (No. 122)
Round 5: John Skelton (No. 155), Jonathan Crompton (No. 168)
Round 6: Rusty Smith (No. 176), Dan LeFevour (No. 181), Joe Webb (No. 199), Tony Pike (No. 204)
Round 7: Levi Brown (No. 209), Sean Canfield (No. 239), Zac Robinson (No. 250)

You could argue that Sam Bradford was a major factor in the previous collective bargaining agreement rolling out a much-needed rookie pay scale. Bradford's six-year, $78 million rookie contract came packed with an outrageous $50 million in guarantees. As an unconvincing Offensive Rookie of the Year winner, the snakebitten signal-caller missed 25 games over his final two seasons in St. Louis due to a string of disastrous injuries.

The stink of Sam Bradford & that career of his plus the insane contract and money he made is something that never goes away. The draft did spit out several other notables who are still playing although the end is near for many of them.

2 DET Ndamukong Suh

3 TB Gerald McCoy

4 WAS Trent Williams

5 KC Eric Berry

14 SEA Earl Thomas

15 NYG Jason Pierre-Paul

24 DAL Dez Bryant

27 NE Devin McCourty

42 NE Rob Gronkowski

16) 2009

Round 1: Matthew Stafford (No. 1), Mark Sanchez (No. 5), Josh Freeman (No. 17)
Round 2: Pat White (No. 44)
Round 4: Stephen McGee (No. 101)
Round 5: Rhett Bomar (No. 151), Nate Davis (No. 171)
Round 6: Tom Brandstater (No. 174), Mike Teel (No. 178), Keith Null (No. 196), Curtis Painter (No. 201)
Notable undrafted: Chase Daniel, Brian Hoyer

I'm tempted to rank this class above the 2006 crop that handed us Jay Cutler and Vince Young, simply because of Matthew Stafford. There's just nothing else happening here, though, unless you're swayed by the early success of Mark Sanchez. He generated a handful of special moments during back-to-back trips to the AFC title game with the Jets, but was fully exposed as a starter by 2011. Josh Freeman was a wayward first-round flameout, while the Dolphins whiffed by using the 44th pick on Pat White, who never started a game for Miami -- or anyone -- under center. Chase Daniel earns points for hanging around. Meanwhile, Brian Hoyer's nine lives as a hot/cold journeyman have again brought him back to where he started in New England, marking his third stint with the Pats.

Once again, a class that looks ugly as time goes on & only Stafford keeps it from looking worse. This was the special teams draft as we were without a first rounder because we made the trade for the other Roy Williams. The sting from that trade hurts less every year since DET blew the pick on Brandon Pettigrew & the overall class did stink. DET should not draft TE's, they are as bad as us, we just waste second rounders instead.

1 DET Matthew Stafford

13 WAS Brian Orakpo

14 NO Malcolm Jenkins

26 GB Clay Matthews

53 PHI LeSean McCoy

15) 2006

Round 1: Vince Young (No. 3), Matt Leinart (No. 10), Jay Cutler (No. 11)
Round 2: Kellen Clemens (No. 49), Tarvaris Jackson (No. 64)
Round 3: Charlie Whitehurst (No. 81), Brodie Croyle (No. 85)
Round 4: Brad Smith (No. 103)
Round 5: Ingle Martin (No. 148), Omar Jacobs (No. 164)
Round 6: Reggie McNeal (No. 193), Bruce Gradkowski (No. 194)
Round 7: D.J. Shockley (No. 223)

This class boils down to what you think about Jay Cutler. While the strong-armed passer logged 153 total starts, his 51-51 regular-season mark with the Bears is apt. He unfurled plenty of big plays -- some of his throws are pure beauty -- but we'd struggle to come up with Cutler's top-five list of inspiring come-from-behind victories. He never came close to morphing into a transcendent player at the position, but he soldiered on long after fellow first-rounders Vince Young and Matt Leinart faded. Tarvaris Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst were nothing special, but the latter gets points in this space for his flowing mane and ability to snag the songstress Jewel as a paramour.

I remember all the hype from that year. Vince started off strong but the Jeff Fisher funk would sack his career as well. Leinart may have had a better career but he came out early instead of mastering his craft in school. The lack of playing time quickly exposed him as a fraud. Before I can throw much hate around, I'm reminded this was the year we took Bobby Carpenter in the first & that still stings!

1 HOU Mario Williams

12 BAL Haloti Ngata

18 DAL Bobby Carpenter

19 SD Antonio Cromartie

20 KC Tamba Hali

53 DAL Anthony Fasano

55 CIN Andrew Whitworth

57 CHI Devin Hester

There is moore, much moore to read if you want. Use the link or shortcut to continue reading about the failed QB draft classes, but this is the end to the free content.

link

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001108141/article/nfl-draft-best-qb-class-since-2000-worst-lets-rank-em-all?campaign=Twitter_atn

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