Every year come draft time it seems as though the only people getting hype are the prospective QBs in the draft. Who will go first? Cam Newton? Jake Locker? Blaine Gabbert? They even got their very own cover of SI Magazine titled NFL Draft Preview. I brought said SI magazine with me on my travels down to Mexico City where I sit now, thinking about the draft. As these three young and inexperienced faces stare back at me, I can’t help but wonder if the NFL places too much emphasis on the QB position in the draft.
After a little digging, I found that a surprising number of successful QBs were not drafted in the first round. Most notably among them Tom Brady, the QB for the NE Patriots. Brady was drafted in the 6th round #199th overall, and then sat behind QB Drew Bledsoe for a full season and part of a second before Bledsoe was hurt and Brady took over, developing slowly over the course of the season.
Another notable not drafted in the 1st round was QB Brett Favre. Favre was drafted in the 2nd round, and then traded after his first season with the Falcons to lead a record setting career with the GB Packers.
There are so many great QBs that have been drafted in the 1st round (Marino, Elway, Manning, Roethlisberger etc…), it’s hard for me to say that drafting a QB in the first round is a risk that NFL teams shouldn’t take, but I can certainly say that no one is a sure thing.
Brady Quinn, anyone?
Quinn was drafted in the first round by the Cleveland Browns and was long thought to be their knight in shining armor. Quinn started out his NFL career with a $20.2 million contract with over $7 million in bonuses. He was also endorsed by Muscle Milk, or one of those stupid products, if you can remember those terrible commercials that played over and over during his rookie season. After a few pitiful seasons with the Browns and a season riding the pine in Denver, his career seems all but over.
My point is certainly not to single out Brady Quinn, though it’s always fun to rag on the Browns, my real point is that Quinn’s situation is not uncommon among the NFL. These young kids, not unlike the faces on this year’s SI Draft Preview magazine, are just scared rookies with the weight of the world on their shoulders. When teams lay so much money on these guys, and so many hopes, it’s not surprising that many of them crumble under the pressure and never amount to much. The fact is, we don’t know how these guys will fair in the NFL. To put so much weight on their acquisition just seems a little silly.
After all, and we know this better than anyone, defense wins championships. Right?
Like the Steelers drafted Mean Joe Greene to lead their defense in the first round of the 1969 draft #4 overall, shouldn’t other teams be thinking about building their team on the defensive side of the ball first? Mean Joe was Chuck Noll’s first step in building his empire. It wasn’t an immediate fix, but it was the beginning of what would become one of the greatest dynasty’s in the history of sports. Granted, the Steelers did draft Terry Bradshaw in the first round just a year later, but it wasn’t until years later that he actually developed into a QB that was leading the team to victory. Even during the first Super Bowl season for the Steelers, Noll wasn’t sure who should be the starting QB throughout the season. They won that year on the defensive side of the ball, and continued to win despite a still developing offense.
But I digress.
There have been so many 1st round QB busts, they’re hard to keep track of. I’m sure if we tallied up all the money thrown at these rookie QB busts the number would be staggering. Probably even on a team to team basis. Meanwhile, teams have QBs like Kurt Warner, proven players with payoff and Super Bowl experience, sitting on the bench in favor of a younger QB. Seems like these teams are simply playing the young QBs because it’s the cool thing to do now. The Cardinals never even had a chance at the playoffs until they moved Warner to the starting roll. Sometimes players need time to develop.
We got lucky with Ben. They’re not all made with nerves of steel.
My proposal? Pay these guys less money until they’ve shown that they can play in this league. It’s a similar approach that they NBA uses now with it’s young stars. Show me that you can play the game first, then we’ll pay you. It’s even more important in the NFL. The difference between college football and the NFL is far greater than the difference between college basketball and the NBA. In the NFL, the players are bigger, faster, smarter, and the hits are harder. Way harder.
Show me that you can play, and you’ll get that big pay day. With all that pressure off these guys’ shoulders, maybe we’d see more of them develop in to better QBs, or even solid back-ups in the league.
Obviously, it’s impossible to know for sure how anyone will do in the NFL. The verdict is still out on many 1st round picks at any position. It just seems to me like picking a future starting linebacker can have a greater risk/reward ratio considering how a player like that can contribute on Special Teams in his first season, and contribute greatly in a #2 roll as well. Or at least a similar risk/reward ratio as a QB prospect.
After all, we watched the Steelers go 3-1 without Big Ben last season. I think Ben is a vital part of this organization, but the numbers don’t lie. We won those games on defense and the run game, not on the arm of a first round selection.