Some years, the NFL Draft drops a historic deluge of quarterback talent that transforms the league for a generation to come. Think of 1984 with Dan Marino, John Elway and Jim Kelly. Or 2004 with Philip Rivers, Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger.
This season is not one of those years.
Yes, it’s extremely early to pass judgment, but that’s exactly what high level decision makers across the NFL told us when only one passer — Pitt’s Kenny Pickett, drafted 20th overall — was selected among the first 73 picks. In a league that values quarterback play above everything else, the vast majority of general managers and coaches decided, “You know what? We’re good.”
This leaves the NFL in a curious position; This will likely be the first year since 2007 where there isn’t a single rookie quarterback starter in Week 1.
That’s obviously not where slingers like Pickett, Desmond Ridder and Malik Willis want to be. That 2007 draft class was headlined by JaMarcus Russell and featured non-stars Brady Quinn, Kevin Kolb, John Beck and Drew Stanton in the first two rounds. That cohort’s lack of opening weekend readiness proved pretty dang prescient about the rest of its impact on the league.
This season’s quarterbacks may similarly stink, but only time will tell whether their draft status was predictive of their NFL careers. We’ve already established we probably won’t see these guys in Week 1 except for mop-up duty or gadget plays if needed. So when can we expect each of the four quarterbacks drafted in the top 100 picks to crack their respective starting lineups?
Let’s make some predictions: