Seven of the eight quarterbacks beginning the NFL’s Divisional Playoff Spherical had been first-round picks.
Two had been No. 1 total picks of their respective NFL Drafts. 4 of the eight had been picked both No. 1 or No. 2 total.
Six of the eight had been taken within the high 10. And the opposite first-rounder is the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, who’s on the verge of successful his third MVP award.
Tom Brady’s seven Tremendous Bowls as a 2000 sixth-rounder proved {that a} franchise can get there in different methods.
San Francisco 49ers seventh-rounder Brock Purdy saved that hope alive by almost successful the Tremendous Bowl simply final 12 months.
Eagles 2020 second-round choose Jalen Hurts already has been to the Tremendous Bowl as soon as and is attempting to get there once more.
And Seahawks third-rounder Russell Wilson (2013) and Eagles third-rounder Nick Foles (2017) really lifted the Lombardi Trophy.
However this 12 months’s postseason bracket reinforces why quarterbacks are definitely worth the funding and the danger within the high 10 of NFL Drafts — and why hitting on these alternatives means a serious payoff.
The Lions’ Jared Goff (2016) and the Rams’ Matthew Stafford (2009) had been No. 1 total picks swapped between Detroit and L.A. Each have already performed in a Tremendous Bowl.
The Texans’ C.J. Stroud (2023) and the Commanders’ Jayden Daniels (2024) had been the No. 2 total picks within the two most up-to-date NFL Drafts.
The Payments’ Josh Allen (seventh total, 2018) and the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes (tenth total, 2017) had been each high 10 picks. Mahomes, in fact, has three rings and counting.
And the Ravens’ Jackson (thirty second total) snuck into the 2018 first spherical in one of many all-time analysis whiffs by the whole league.
Hurts is the lone non-first rounder nonetheless enjoying.
Even within the Wild Card spherical, the pedigrees of the quarterbacks jumped onto the display screen: 10 of 12 had been former first-round picks, together with the Chargers’ Justin Herbert (No. 6, 2020), Broncos rookie Bo Nix (No. 12, 2024), the Packers’ Jordan Love (No. 26, 2021), the Bucs’ Baker Mayfield (No. 1, 2018) and the Vikings’ Sam Darnold (No. 3, 2018).
That meant 4 of the 5 quarterbacks drafted within the 2018 first spherical had been beginning on this 12 months’s playoffs, with former Arizona Cardinal Josh Rosen the lone exception.
It additionally helped two groups within the NFL Draft’s high 12 transfer into playoff competition instantly: the Commanders (No. 2) and the Broncos (No. 12).
Each of these franchises had lots of different components that contributed to their fast turnaround: Washington modified the whole lot from possession on down and already had some expertise on its roster; Denver coach Sean Payton and a powerful protection had been main components of their transfer.
There have been loads of groups with former first-round QBs who didn’t make the playoffs, just like the Dolphins, Jaguars, Jets, Bengals, Giants, Bears, Panthers and so forth.
However keep in mind: the Dolphins had been within the playoffs with Tua Tagovailoa simply final 12 months. The Bengals had been almost Tremendous Bowl champions in 2021. Aaron Rodgers received a Tremendous Bowl and 4 MVP awards with the Packers earlier than he ran out of juice and joined the Jets.
The stakes of lacking on a quarterback choose are excessive, clearly.
Selecting Anthony Richardson (No. 4, 2023), Zach Wilson (No. 2, 2021), Trey Lance (No. 3, 2021), Rosen (No. 10, 2018) or Mitchell Trubisky (No. 2, 2017) can and sometimes does price GMs and/or coaches their jobs.
As uncommon as it’s, nonetheless, there was a cause that former Cardinals GM Steve Keim drafted Kyler Murray No. 1 total in 2019 only one 12 months after whiffing on Rosen in 2018:
Not getting that place proper will not be an possibility.
To at the present time, it’s fascinating to consider some Giants executives being excessive on Herbert within the 2019 draft however taking deal with Andrew Thomas at No. 4 total as a substitute, as a result of they’d simply chosen Jones No. 6 total in 2018.
Would taking Herbert have appeared like a renegade transfer on the time? Certain. Would it not have been the mistaken determination? Clearly not, no matter Herbert’s unhealthy displaying final Saturday in Houston.
Inside this context, the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and Giants maintain the Nos. 1, 2 and three picks this April. The Las Vegas Raiders are selecting at No. 6.
Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward loom as the category’ high prospects. Texas’ Quinn Ewers simply declared.
Reaching for a participant is harmful. The Colts’ Richardson choose is an effective instance of how forcing a positional want — when the near-universal analysis doesn’t justify the funding — can set a company again.
The overriding technique behind that sort of choice is obvious, nonetheless:
With out hanging iron on a quarterback with first-round capacity, an NFL franchise nearly at all times will likely be on the surface wanting in as the fashionable recreation passes it by.
