There are some good quarterbacks in the 2017 NFL Draft, but there might not be any great ones. If there are, it doesn't sound like teams are sure enough of it to make any of them a top-5 or maybe even top-10 pick. That's not a great sign for their NFL futures.
DeShaun Watson, Mitch Trubisky, Pat Mahomes, maybe even Davis Webb or DeShone Kizer -- all are possibilities to be selected in the first round later this month. But if that happens, it sounds like most of them will be picked in the latter half of the round. That's not an area that's produced many star quarterbacks in recent years.
Great quarterbacks can come from anywhere, obviously. Late rounds, middle rounds, or late in the first. But over the last 20 years, there's been just one quarterback who everyone acknowledges as great picked in that area (Aaron Rodgers). A couple of other good ones, like Joe Flacco. And an awful lot of busts.
Quarterbacks selected in the second half of the first round over the last 20 years are shown below. I decided to be generous in calling Jason Campbell "Good"; he had some NFL success but probably wouldn't be drafted in the first round again.
You can quibble with one or two, and obviously it's too early to say on Paxton Lynch and Teddy Bridgewater. Maybe Manziel will surprise us all and make a comeback. In any case, the overall picture isn't good.
LATE-FIRST ROUND QUARTERBACKS, 1997-2016 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Pick | Player | Result |
1997 | 26 | Jim Druckenmiller, S.F. | Bad |
2000 | 18 | Chad Pennington, NYJ | Good |
2002 | 32 | Patrick Ramsey, Wash. | Bad |
2003 | 19 | Kyle Boller, Balt. | Bad |
2003 | 22 | Rex Grossman, Chi. | Bad |
2004 | 22 | J.P. Losman, Buff. | Bad |
2005 | 24 | Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | Great |
2005 | 25 | Jason Campbell, Wash. | Good |
2007 | 22 | Brady Quinn, Clev. | Bad |
2008 | 18 | Joe Flacco, Balt. | Good |
2009 | 17 | Josh Freeman, T.B. | Bad |
2010 | 25 | Tim Tebow, Den. | Bad |
2012 | 22 | Brandon Weeden, Clev. | Bad |
2013 | 16 | EJ Manuel, Buff. | Bad |
2014 | 22 | Johnny Manziel, Clev. | Bad |
2014 | 32 | Teddy Bridgewater, Minn. | ? |
2016 | 26 | Paxton Lynch, Den. | ? |
--Andy Richardson