It’s always fun to go back and watch old drafts and see how the media and analysts previewed players and how that player is going to change the team. It seems that most of the time they ended up wrong. We’ve seen guys like JaMarcus Russell and Matt Leinert taken in the 1st round and flop face first over the years. We’ve seen talent that a lot of analysts thought were going to be pretty good and ended up falling by the wayside.
Most of the guys taken don’t end up as the best case scenario. Mark Sanchez, who was drafted 5th overall back in 2009, ended up with just 2 years passing for 3000+ yards and 2 years completing 60% or better after 8 years. Then there have been the guys who were almost unknown, who ended up producing better than the big names that got all the highlight views and attention, Tom Brady, anyone?
The vast majority of young QBs end up with underwhelming careers after they are hyped as being the next generational/franchise talents. Keep in mind that the top picks usually go to the same miserable couple organizations that are struggling to find leadership and their next experiment. Teams like Carolina and, until recently, Detroit seem to end up in the top 10 draft picks almost every year for a reason. They don’t have a really good history and haven’t really hit on their picks in quite some time.
The experts at 10StarPicks are off to a hot start this season. Of course, I think the situation a QB lands in definitely matters. Are they dedicated and controlled or a young QB friendly organization? Many of the newly drafted guys need some work and aren’t polished. Are the organizations ready to handle and manage a young rookie quarterback who needs some grooming? Or expect him to come in and be the savior immediately without a lot of guidance or coaching? As it’s not always the player, but sometimes it’s the system. Some guys are ready and some just aren’t.
We always get excited to see what a young NFL QB can become in a couple years. Hoping to see the next big arm on the field and of course, see who falls on their face. We want to see the new up and comers. Always hoping a team is going to turn it around with their new big named pick. Seeing if the big pick will become that guy for a team. For example, Carolina hasn’t been very good at developing QB’s over the years. Between Chris Weinke, Jimmy Clausen and Will Grier. They haven’t had a great history in regards to creating a top tiered QB.
Until recently there has not been such a successful “hit rate” on QBs drafted. The cold hard facts are that – the majority of QBs miss. Don’t give up so quickly on them, if they aren’t throwing for 35 TDs out of the gate – but also understand they do not typically make it in the NFL.