By Chris "Raiden" Grewe
Published: April 9, 2008
Updated: April 11, 2008 PrintEmail
Second round quarterbacks...second rate?
By Chris "Raiden" Grewe, PSH Columnist
Volume 4, Issue 5
There's a reason not many signal callers come from the second round:
they're on average, terrible! This is a look at the quarterbacks
selected in the draft's second stanza in the ten years between 1997 and
2006. I'll give last year's second rate, er, round crop (Kevin Kolb,
John Beck, and Drew Stanton) a pass...for now, but chances are, they'll
be joining this lackluster crop sometime very soon.
2006 Kellen Clemens, New York Jets
8 career starts, 2 years, 60.7 career rating
One of the few guys on this list who may actually go on to do something
with his NFL career still. There's a shot Clemens is the Jets' guy on
opening day this year, but he'll have to get ahead of Chad Pennington
first.
Team Drafting Grade: INC
Tarvaris Jackson
14 career starts, 2 years, 69.0 career rating
After a shaky '07 campaign, Jackson is on the hot seat in the Twin
Cities. The Vikings openly tried to trade for Sage Rosenfels, yes, THAT
Sage Rosenfels, to compete with Jackson for the starting job. Future
prognosis: not very good.
Team Drafting Grade: D-...it'd be a C- if they hadn't traded up to get him, thus saving other teams behind them the embarrassment of drafting him.
2002-2005
This is a telling statistic in itself, for FOUR CONSECUTIVE YEARS, no
team dared risk their future fortunes on a second round quarterback.
Not a one.
2001 Drew Brees, San Diego Chargers
90 career starts, 7 years, 87.9 career rating
Ok, maaaybe the guys above have some hope after all. Brees was in his
fourth year when the light finally went on...of course, this was some
months after the Chargers had already picked up his presumptive
replacement in Philip Rivers, and by the grace of a contract
negotiation snafu, handed Brees the starting job coming out of camp. He
played two very good years for the Chargers, which is more than I can
say about...just about any of other guys on this list. The Chargers get
an offsetting bonus on the Rivers fiasco for getting LaDainian
Tomlinson after dealing the rights to select Michael "Dog Eat Dog" Vick
to the Falcons, but they also let him get away for nothing...
Team Drafting Grade: B
Quincy Carter, Dallas Cowboys
18 career starts, 4 years, 71.7 career rating
Four years in the league, then cut loose on suspicion of a drug
problem, then an ok fill in starter, then...Quincy who? The Cowboys got
one halfway decent year out of him...and I'm being generous here.
Team Drafting Grade: D
Marques Tuiososopo, Oakland Raiders
2 career starts, 7 years, 48.0 career rating
Statistics say a thousand words, in this case, they really only have to scream one...ouch...
Team Drafting Grade: F--
2000
None Selected...another good sign...
1999 Shaun King, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
24 career starts, 6 years, 73.4 rating
One year as the starter, next year, they hand the ball to Brad Johnson
with new coach Jon Gruden...win the Super Bowl...pretty much the end of
King's ambitions.
Team Drafting Grade: D
1998 Charlie Batch, Detroit Lions
50 career starts, 10 years, 77.9 career rating
Batch has been a quality backup since leaving Detroit after four years.
Perhaps had he been drafted elsewhere, he might have been more than
that. Ah well, what might have been eh?
Team Drafting Grade: C+
1997 Jake Plummer, Arizona Cardinals
136 starts, 10 years, 74.6 career rating
If it wasn't for Brees, this guy would be the golden boy of the group.
Couple of successful years as a starter in the league, overall not
horrible quarterback (if you don't ask the fans who had to watch him
play year in and year out).
Team Drafting Grade: B-
The bottomline here is that drafting quarterbacks to be your franchise
savior in the second round...complete crapshoot. You're not investing
nearly as much dough as a top 5 pick, but at the same time, you're
risking an important pick that can help a bad franchise turn it around.
I can off the top of my head without much thought name more sixth round
quarterbacks who've made the Pro Bowl in the last ten years as guys on
this list: Derek Anderson and Tom Brady both were sixth round picks,
and the only guy who's made it to Honolulu on this list is Brees. And
that's just last year!
So to anyone looking to Joe Flacco or Chad Henne as second round
solutions to your quarterback problem...beware. If you're happy being
mired in mediocrity, take a shot, otherwise, look elsewhere for your
quarterback solutions and don't waste a valuable high pick on a guy
unless you're dead sure.
