He has since moved on and opened an online art gallery. It's sad, really, when you consider that for his entire NFL career he managed just 12 touchdowns and 2,100 passing yards. Cincinnati fell for his huge numbers, drafting him with the sixth pick in the 1992 draft. The guys on this list were talented college stars, many of them Heisman winners or the best at their position, and yet just did not succeed at the next level. No matter how many quarterbacks end up in the first round this year, one thing's clear: They don't want to end up on the following list -- the 10 worst first-round quarterbacks drafted since 2000. He was drafted in the second round of the 1968 draft but never got a chance to prove himself, languishing in the shadow of Hall of Famer Sonny Jurgensen for four years as his back-up. He was drafted in the first round of the 2000 draft by the Jets, and became the starter in 2002, leading the team to the playoffs. One of those so called dual threat quarterbacks whose running talents are oftentimes more advanced than their passing skills was Eric Crouch who led the Nebraska Cornhuskers for three seasons, including a trip to the national championship game in 2001. This proved to be a waste, as his inability to master a playbook and poor throwing mechanics led to his demise. He has gone on to a successful career as a politician. He threw for over 3400 yards and 25 touchdowns every season, including 3800 yards, 43 touchdowns, and nine interceptions his senior year. Just this past week, he was arrested on burglary and drug charges. I still find it crazy that he was a career backup, but got drafted, meanwhile the Heisman winner that year went undrafted. But for some reason none of the Gator greats ever did anything much in the NFL. One of the most thrilling quarterbacks in college football, who failed to play in the NFL, was West Virginias Major Harris. Beban was a great ballplayer for UCLA in the '60s, actually winning the Heisman in 1967 over O.J. Another five-star freshman Quinn Ewers is committed to the class of 2022. George managed to get himself traded to Atlanta after four years, and bounced around the league after that. QBs that aren't good in college rarely even get looked at by scouts. Johnny Football burst onto the scene in 2012 with big numbers and electrifying play for Texas A&M. That he was replaced after two seasons by Gus Frerotte in Washington says much about his level of play in the NFL. He did not see the field for a regular season game until 1996. The moves did not result in an NFL edition of the Fun 'n' Gun offense, as Washington finished 7-9 and 25th in scoring in 2002. 1 overall in 2007): Here's a list of people the Raiders should have drafted instead of Russell -- actually I don't . 8, 2011). Florida has always had great QBs who dominated college football, including three Heisman Trophy winners and two other Heisman finalists. There should be a special category just for Florida Gators quarterbacks. Leftwich was not mobile and took forever to throw the ball, but he was a big, strong guy, so he was considered a good bet. Due to various injuries, Young never made it through an entire 16-game regular season during his six years in the NFL. He threw for almost 2000 yards with the Bears in 2016 with eight touchdowns and 14 interceptions. After skipping his senior season, Ware was drafted by the Detroit Lions with the seventh overall pick in the 1990 NFL Draft. The only player in NCAA history to ever throw for over 5000 yards in three different seasons is Case Keenum for the Houston Cougars. He threw 85 interceptions in 76 career starts (26-50). There could be as many as five quarterbacks selected in the first round on May 8 and the law of averages says that one of them is probably going to be the next Tim Couch. Campbell did not have the tools necessary to hang in the NFL, and after four abysmal seasons was let go by the Packers, and never played for another team. For comparison, here is Jared Goff, who many on r/NFL maintain was overrated. Brad Johnson. 6-keys: media/spln/nfl/reg/free/stories, at His irascible nature made it difficult for him to get along with just about any coaching staff, and in spite of a 16-year career, he never lived up to the potential in college or the pros that he showed in high school. He had a 133.2 passer rating his senior year. Harrington never lived up to his potential, did not develop into the kind of guy to lead a franchise, and became one of many quarterbacks to struggle during their time in Detroit. And yet he finds himself toiling in relative obscurity due to injuries and spotty accuracy at the next level. 22, 2004): Name the first-round quarterback from the 2004 draft who's not Eli Manning, Philip Rivers or Ben Roethlisberger? 22, 2012); Jaguars,Blaine Gabbert (No. Marc Wilson had a handful of good seasons, Ty Detmer had two decent seasons and was a solid backup for the rest of his career, Jim McMahon had a good career and a Super Bowl victory with the 85 Bears, and Steve Young won two MVPs and was part of three Super Bowl winning teams. Bill Bender is a national college football writer for The Sporting News. Over four years he has played in three games with two starts and thrown for 779 yards, four touchdown, and six interceptions. However, he never panned out in a pro offense, and signed with Jacksonville when their expansion club formed in 1995. After a solid career at Florida for Steve Spurrier's Gators, Matthews was drafted by the Bears in 1993. Before he was the "Ol' Ball Coach," Spurrier was a two-time All-American and Heisman Trophy winner at Florida. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc. site: media | arena: nfl | pageType: stories | When Cleveland drafted him as their first pick in the 1999 draft, it was hoped that he would be the foundation upon which the franchise could be built. After a Heisman winning, national championship career at Miami, this was a major step backward. He subsequently headed to the Kansas City Royals farm system to play baseball, but retired in 2011. First start: Loss (28-0) to the Saints in Week 1 of 1989; 17 of 35 (48.6 percent) for 180 yards, zero touchdowns, two . One of the first big run and shoot quarterbacks in college football, who stormed onto the scene in the late '80s with the Houston Cougars was Andre Ware. [Braun] The 10-2 Vikings are currently underdogs against [Sicilliano] Sean McDermott says Von Miller has an ACL [Highlight] Baker Mayfield completes a 98-yard game Press J to jump to the feed. MORE: Justin Fields amongriskiest picks of the 2021 NFL Draft. For a man who set over 30 school records in his time at Notre Dame, Quinn's career has, thus far, been less than expected. 1 overall by the Dallas Cowboys in 1989. It turned out that he was not quite ready for life as a starter, and he wound up with the Bears as a back-up for several seasons. Despite his desire to play QB, the Rams were looking at him as a receiver. His completion percentage was 56.8%, too. After two years at Grossmont College, a junior college, he transferred to Oregon for his final season. He won the Heisman in his final season with the Tigers, and went on to be drafted in the second round of the 1972 draft by Atlanta. He passed for 5,373 yards, 63 TDs and nine interceptions and rushed for 817 yards and 15 TDs in leading the Buckeyes to back-to-back CFP appearances. Browns,Brandon Weeden (No. Which college football powerhouse can produce the best NFL quarterbacks in the future? Leaf's name has become synonymous with the word "bust.". Detmer was not a "bust" in the traditional sense of the word, as NFL scouts saw his issues coming and he dropped down to the ninth round. Ravens, Kyle Boller (No. After a solid collegiate career at Colorado State, Stouffer was drafted sixth overall in the 1987 draft by St. Louis. In the 2014 NFL Draft the Cleveland Browns selected Manziel with the 22nd overall pick. Actually, let's not even think about that, hopefully no one is the Eason of anything ever again. Of the six quarterbacks taken in the first round, three of them -- John Elway, Dan Marino and Jim Kelly -- ended up in the Hall of Fame. That's roughly 147 more than he has thrown in the NFL. In his junior year, Ware set 26 NCAA records, including throwing for 4699 yards and 44 touchdowns. He refused to sign his contract in his rookie season, sat it out, and was thereafter shipped to Seattle. Jacoby Brissett. The announcement of the four quarterbacks -- three of whom are set to play in the College Football Playoff on Dec. 31 -- coincided with the ending of balloting on Monday. Crouch won the Heisman at Nebraska, but was not the best passer in the game, which led to a transition to receiver going into his rookie NFL season. Despite being drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 1985, Bosco did not play over his two years in the NFL. So Ponder has a playoff berth under his belt. A total of 15 quarterbacks have been selected in the common draft era starting with Rex Kern in 1971. He led the Wolverines to three wins over SEC foes in bowl games, and tied a school record during his time with the Wolverines with four passing touchdowns in a game against Northwestern. Nothing's a certainty in the draft, except for the one thing that actually has been: Whenever there's multiple quarterbacks drafted in the first round, you can count on at least one of them being terrible. Todd Blackledge won the Davey O'Brien Award in 1982, and led Penn State to a national title that same season. The best NFL Gators were Tim Tebow, who took the Broncos to the playoffs but was out of the league two years later. Terrelle Pryor wasaNFL supplemental draft pick in 2011. Drafted by the Rams as the first pick of the 1963 draft, Baker suffered from a case of progressiveness. Ohio State has not produced too many quarterbacks who have had prolonged success at the NFL level. Harrell was the first NCAA player to post consecutive 5,000-yard passing seasons, and he tied Colt Brennan's mark for career touchdowns with 147. He was drafted by the Giants with the 10th pick of the 1959 draft. 22, 2007): Quinn has had a pretty horrible NFL career, but at least he can go to sleep at night knowing he wasn't the worst first-round quarterback in the 2007 draft. Drafting him that high was questionable, but draft him they didand they quickly came to regret it. The former LSU quarterback went 7-18 in 25 career starts. He was drafted in the third round of the 2005 draftbut was out of football by 2008. section: | slug: nfl-draft-10-worst-first-round-quarterbacks-drafted-since-2000 | sport: football | route: article_single.us | He was subsequently signed and released by the Raiders, and then by a team from the UFL, then the CFL, and even the Arena League. That is the question Fields can answer over the next few years. Rex Kern, the quarterback of the 1968 national championship team, switched to defensive back. He was drafted by Lions with the seventh pick of the 1990 draft, pairing him with the 1989 Heisman winner, Barry Sanders. Glad we agree on that. I will always feel so bad that Romo and Witten never got a ring. At the end of his career, he held the West Virginia record for total yards with 7334 (which has since been broken), and he was also the first quarterback in Division I history to pass for over 5000 yards and rush for over 2000 yards in his career. Ten worst first-round quarterbacks since 2000. There are few figures as controversial and polarizing as this guy. Unique lists featuring pop culture, entertainment and crazy facts. Even the gold standard of quarterback drafts, the 1983 draft, had a few bombs. You can argue this all you want, but Alex Smith has not had a successful career as an NFL quarterback, especially for being the No. The list of Quarterbacks from USC in the last 12 years all had very impressive NFL careers. Let me list off all the first-round quarterbacks from the 1999 draft so we can all cringe together: Tim Couch, Donovan McNabb, Akili Smith, Daunte Culpepper and Cade McNown. Another Heisman winner Danny Wuerffel, played for six seasons in the NFL, throwing for just over 2100 yards total. The only reason he's not a bust yet is because he did a really good job of handing the ball off to Adrian Peterson in 2012 and the Vikings made the playoffs. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) Today we begin a . Answer (1 of 10): I have some recent answers that address this question. 6. He has the ignominious honor of being the starter for Carolina during their awful 1-15 season in 2001. His numbers got progressively worse, and he could not keep the interceptions to a minimum, finishing with 76 interceptions to go with just 50 touchdowns. Despite being a Heisman candidate and USC opening the season ranked #1, Barkleys senior year was disappointing as they only went 7-6 finishing out of the top 25 in year end polls. Browns, Brady Quinn (No. Here is a look at the quarterbacks from Ohio State and their career numbers in the NFL: *Denotes undrafted free agent He set rookie records for attempts completions and yards, but quickly flamed out. Only Palmer could be argued as being remotely decent in the NFL. Russell didn't even last three seasons in Oakland and when he did play, he was bad. As an undersized prospect, Moore was not drafted in the 2012 NFL Draft but was signed as a free agent by the Detroit Lions where he rode the bench for three years before signing with the Dallas Cowboys. In 1979, Cincinnati drafted him in the first round and tabbed him to be their starting quarterback. He was drafted by San Fransisco in the first round of the 1967 draft, and hung around with the franchise for nine seasons as a punter and back-up quarterback. Over his career, he dominated the Mountain West Conference but also beat the big boys when he had an opportunity, notching victories against #12 Oregon in 2008, #6 Virginia Tech and #19 Utah in 2010, #14 Oregon and undefeated #3 TCU in 2009, and #19 Georgia in 2011. Sporting News'latest mock draft has the Broncos trading up to get Fields with the No. Before Cam Newton came along, Pat Sullivan was the best quarterback Auburn had ever seen. Given the Big Ten's recent ineptitude against the SEC, Henson had to be given some consideration for this list. He played two seasons in Cleveland, starting 21 games and throwing for over 4200 yards before spending one year with the 49ers and then signing with the Redskins where he is the backup to Kirk Cousins. The rest ..in order Horrible, vanished, mentioned as the 2nd coming by the New York media and now maybe the most hated man in town .and that brings us to Barkley - future NFL bust. And yet, he did not get drafted until the sixth round by Washington in the 2008 draft, and is currently playing in the CFL. If you are wondering who the all time career leader for touchdowns is you can stop wondering, that too is Keenum with 155. Also, Carr didn't make the list because he was drafted by an expansion team, which is pretty much the closest you can get in the NFL to being set up to fail. Sadly for Buffalo fans hoping for the second coming of Jim Kelly, Losman couldn't cut it, as he's become a perennial back-up around the NFL and UFL. After being drafted in the first round by Cleveland in 2007, he found himself backing up Tim Tebow in Denver last season. The Texas Tech legend was the last in a long line of stat-sheet stuffing quarterbacks who played in Mike Leachs Air Raid offense at Texas Tech. He wound up playing at numerous locales in his five-year professional football career. In his senior season in 2000, he won the Heisman Trophy after leading the nation in passing yards. Despite separating his shoulder early in the game, Harris kept playing, but it was not enough to top the Fighting Irish. Reply. 2004-2022 CBS Interactive. In that season he threw 32 touchdowns in just 11 starts for the Ducks. Crouch was drafted in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft by the St Louis Rams with the 95th overall pick. Haskins still has time to revive his career, but that flop in Washington has led to someunfairresidual questions about Fields, too. Elite NFL quarterbacks typically have a quarterback passer rating of 105 to 120 range. Lions, Joey Harrington (No. Druckenmiller was a disaster for the 49ers. The man refused to stay in shape, could not learn the playbook, and could not hit the broad side of a barn. Schlichter was the last quarterback for legendary Buckeye coach Woody Hayes. Houston seems to have one of these guys every so often (see Case Keenum, 2011) and NFL teams never seem to figure out the trend. He has since bounced around the league as a back-up, but did win a Super Bowl ring last season with the Giants. He was drafted 10th overall in 2006 by Arizona but quickly found himself cooling his feet on the bench in favor of the aging Kurt Warner. The 1983 and 1999 drafts are the only two drafts since 1970 that have produced five or more first-round quarterbacks. Yet, somehow, we call him a bust for being mediocre. Speaking of Couch, he came out of the last draft where five quarterbacks were selected in the first round: the 1999 NFL Draft. This is not your typical list of NFL draft busts. He eventually became a Hall of Famer as one of the most explosive wide receivers of all time, averaging over 20 yards per catch for his career. He has spent his entire brief career with the Packers in the shadows, never setting foot on the field. He has since departed for Philadelphia, where he served as a backup, and it's not likely he will ever start again. College: Boston College. 7. The Chiefs picked him up, behind only Elway of the three guys listed, but that didn't pan out. Leaf was a locker room cancer, who never took responsibility and never enjoyed any level of success in the NFL. He left WSU after setting Pac-10 records for attempts, completions and touchdowns. A total of 15 quarterbacks have been selected in the common draft era starting with Rex Kern in 1971. That was in 2010 and the Cardinals ended up cutting ties with Leinart before the season started. A three year starter, Harris really burst onto the scene in his sophomore year when he led the Mountaineers to an undefeated 11-0 season and a trip to the Fiesta Bowl . From there, Fields can achieve a breakthrough that would benefit Day and theBuckeyes at both levels. Record: 4-17 TD-to-INT Ratio: 33-45 The "Throwin' Samoan" lands first on this list as one of the biggest draft busts at quarterback of all time. Off the top of my head, I'd say Warren Moon. The winningest quarterback in college football history is Kellen Moore who went 50-3 over four seasons as the starting QB for the Boise State Broncos. McCoy was a Heisman Trophy runner up in 2008 and just missed out on a trip to the National Championship when the Longhorns lost a late season game in the waning seconds to Texas Tech. The University of Hawaii is another one of those schools where the offensive system produced some of the most prolific passers of all time. I suppose the rest of his story is yet to be written, but to this point, Tebow's career has not been that great as a pro. He was the 12th pick of the 1986 draft, going to Detroit, and hung around the league for only five seasons. The only other one with a decent stat line was Julian Edelman. None ofthose factors preventedFields from being one of the best quarterbacks in college football the last two seasons. One of those guys was Gino Torretta who starred for the Canes in the early '90s, led them to a Co-National Championship in 1991, and won the Heisman Trophy in 1992. Ohio State's Justin Fields continues to be the most scrutinized quarterback in the 2021 NFL Draft class. Drafted: 16th overall, 2002, Cleveland Browns. Upon finishing his career with Hawaii, he was drafted in the sixth und with the 186th overall pick of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. He started at Ohio State for all four seasons, and left as the school's leader in total offense. This did not work out well for St. Louis, who drafted him in the third round of the 2002 draft. After six years with the Cougars; a redshirt freshman year which he did not play, and his junior year during which he injured his ACL in his third game and was granted a medical redshirt for; Keenum finally left the Cougars and moved across town half the distance of his career passing yards (five miles) to the Houston Texans, who signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2012. 6. More NFL offseason: Mock Drafts | Prospect Rankings | Pro days | Top free agents. The highlight of the year was a huge, home game against the #1 ranked Texas Longhorns that he won with touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree with one second remaining. Title says it all, obviously excluding Brady, he's the exception, Edit- Sucked might not be the right word. After passing for over 13,000 yards and 112 touchdowns in his career McCoy was drafted by the Cleveland Browns with the 85th pick in the third round. During his career, Barkley led the Trojans to a #22 ranking in his freshman year and a #6 ranking during his junior year. Bosco lead the Cougars to a 13-0 record and a National Championship in 1984, he also finished third in the Heisman voting two times, and he finished his career holding 10 NCAA passing records. After three failed drug tests, his NFL career was over. From wikipedia: began his college career in 2001 and spent that entire Trojan career as a backup behind Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. So happy that D Ware got his in Denver. The early to mid '80s Miami Hurricanes had some great college quarterbacks who went on to have great NFL careers as well, such as Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar, and Vinny Testeverde. Unfortunately, Druckenmiller could not master the concept of accuracy, and his years in the NFL were about as brief as butter in a hot pan. They are still quarterback needy, but that's another story. They drafted him out of Virginia Tech in 1999, 26th overall, with the hopes that this kid with a cannon could take over for Steve Young. Warren Moon was a good college QB by the time he graduated. He is also in the top 10 in 13 other passing categories. 9. Once Brissett got to Raleigh and sat out for one year due to transfer rules, he went on to have a solid career with the Wolfpack, throwing for over 2,000 yards . That honor, as mentioned above, belongs to JaMarcus Russell. He provided us with the greatest play in arguably the greatest college football game of all time against USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl when he scored the game winning touchdown. A good quarterback passer in the NFL is a rating of 95 to 100. Simpson. Major Harris: West Virginia Mountaineers. There always seems to be an endless supply of great college quarterbacks who never amount to anything in the NFL, mainly because barely anyone is actually qualified to be an NFL starting quarterback. He is an injury plagued back-up, who did manage to win a Super Bowl ring with Pittsburgh, but his career is extremely disappointing for someone drafted in the top 10. Voters include 870 media . Finally there are the guys who dont look good on paper, the players who may make great decisions, may throw for tons of yards, and may win all the time, but are just too short, or too small, or just dont fit the image of your traditional quarterback. This was more an issue of not really getting to take his own shot than it was of anything else. Ohio State alsocan loosely claimJoe Burrow but he emerged as a standout quarterback at LSU before becoming the No. Not only that, there are a myriad of reasons: * Complacency * Being a bad fit * Becoming disenfranchised about the business side Among others. Johnny Manziel and the Aggies finished the year ranked #5 with an 11-2 record and a win in the Cotton Bowl over Oklahoma. Raiders, JaMarcus Russell (No. Back when there were a ton of rounds in the NFL Draft, Karl Sweetan was taken in the 18th out of Wake Forest by the Detroit Lions. After a late start to his career (he didn't debut until age 26 with the Vikings and didn't start an entire season until age 31 with Washington), Johnson had several good seasons. They gave up two first-round picks, a second-round pick and Eric Metcalf to trade up and ensure that they would be able to draft either Leaf or Peyton Manning. The guy who was the winningest quarterback in college football with 45 wins before Kellen Moore surpassed him is still the winningest QB in Texas history and also the last great QB to play for the Longhorns. He was drafted that year by Tennessee, third overall. Ohio State has not produced too many quarterbacks who have had prolonged success at the NFL level. It was not to be, as McGwire struggled, and Seattle had to pursue another quarterback option just two seasons later. Anyway, if you want to see Weeden and Gabbert carry clipboards for teams that didn't draft them, make sure to circle the 49ers-Cowboysgame on the schedule next season. The following year, Colt McCoy did lead Texas to an undefeated season and a spot in the 2009 National Championship game against Alabama. 10, 2006): In four seasons with the Cardinals, Leinart became an expert at losing quarterback competitions. Y.A. The Bengals have beaten the Chiefs 3 times in 2022, My Theory On Why John Wolford Played 3 Snaps Last Night. 5 worst NFL quarterback contracts. He was picked seventh in the 1983 draft, the same draft that featured John Elway, Dan Marino and Jim Kelly. "All things considered with some of the youth we had out there, I thought we did a pretty good job with it." Omoruyi scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half for Rutgers (6-3, 1-1). The Texans did not have the offensive line to protect him, or the skill players to support him. It's obvious at this point in his career that he will never be the mobile player with a cannon for an arm that he was early in his career. In 2016 he signed with the Chicago Bears and started six games for them when Brian Hoyer and Jay Cutler suffered injuries. However, the man left college at BYU with 59 NCAA records, a Heisman Trophy and all kinds of accolades. He played college ball for two years at Iowa before transferring to San Diego State, where he put up huge numbers. He played at Georgia from 2001-2004, and led the Dawgs to their first SEC title since 1982. Following his senior season, the Packers drafted him to start in place of the injury prone Lynn Dickey. Mediocre quarterbacks tend to have a passer rating around 80 to 84, with below average quarterbacks being in the 60 to 70 range. When will an Ohio State quarterback have prolonged success in the NFL? Brennan was a product of June Jones' system at Hawaii, but he put up some big numbers. The Seahawks drafted him 16th overall in the 1991 draft, well ahead of some guy named Favre, expecting that he would duplicate the level of production that he demonstrated in his final college season. Matt Cassell was a career backup in college. The notion that Fields is a"one-read quarterback"was dissected. Of course, it's hard to knock the most accurate quarterback in the history of the game, but when you consider the way Pennington's career should have gone and where he is now, it's a definite letdown. He then went on to play baseball from 1998-2002. Hm so it seems all the odds are against Siemian from being anything more than a game manager type if we exclude Hall of Famers. Tupa played punter for most of his career. Wuerffel won the Heisman in 1996 by virtue of a tremendous season. One big name BYU Cougar who did not make it was Robbie Bosco. That didn't work out, he was let go before the season began, and has since been in broadcasting. Who will be the Eason of 2014? He only played in four games in the NFL however, throwing for 20 total yards. It was not to be, as he suffered from poor blocking and injury, and was out of the NFL by 2008. Titans, Vince Young (No. By no means was he an NFL caliber QB, but he didn't suck. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft with theBengals. After garnering 16 interceptions and five touchdowns for his career, he hung up the NFL cleats. Another team that could earn its own category is the BYU Cougars except for the fact that most of their great college QBs actually ended up performing decently, if not extremely well in the NFL. That said, for a guy who won a Heisman and two national titles with Florida, he sure has a hard time completing a pass in the NFL. On the other hand, Young actually had a decent career, he just couldn't stay healthy. Matt Ryan's stats weren't stellar in college. He is the only quarterback in history to start and win four bowl games in his career, and when he headed to the NFL, he held the record for most rushing yards by a quarterback. Remember that stud quarterback who filled the USC backfield with Reggie Bush and LenDale White during their vacated national titles? That success ended in the NFL, where he just couldn't hang. Coming back again for his senior season, White was again a finalist for the Heisman, and again took the team to the national championship game, where they lost to USC. Shuler is behind only Peyton Manning as the most prolific passer in Tennessee history. Those rock bottom numbers paled in comparison to the NFL production he had that led to a hall of fame selection. Torretta threw for over 6000 yards and 39 touchdowns in his two seasons under center for the Hurricanes. 7, 2003), Titans,Jake Locker (No. He spent his first years in the NFL setting records for most sacks taken, and never really got a chance to prove himself with a talented team. Some of the quarterbacks on this list could be considered busts, but it's really more about success in college as opposed to level of success in the NFL. Buccaneers. Buffalo picked Losman with their second pick of the first round. Tagge was drafted 11th in the 1972 draft by Green Bay, but only lasted three seasons. Don't get me wrong, I like Tebow, admire his work ethic and strong faith, and think we need more role models like him in our society. Yes, from what I remember he looked great when he played but there was a lot of pressure to put the other QBs in because they had more fans/hype. 1 overall in the 1990 draft. Pennington was not a "bust" as the term is usually used, but he has definitely been a disappointment, through no fault of his own. The Redskins went 5-11 in 2003, and Spurrier resigned, forfeiting the . In college, Brennan played three years for Hawaii, throwing for over 4300 yards twice, and over 5000 yards once, for 14,193 total passing yards in his career. Weinke may have been 27 years old during his junior season in 1999, but he led the Seminoles to their first undefeated season and second national title. This week, Fields revealed that he is managing epilepsyaneurological disorderwhich can cause seizures. 8. By Darnell Jones. Losman was the final quarterback taken in the first round of the 2004 draft, behind Eli Manning, Phillip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger. Selected third overall in the first round of the 1979 NFL Draft (the same draft that produced Phil Simms and Joe Montana), Thompson's college career was far more prolific than his professional one. Russell was let go following an extremely disappointing three-year career, and has not been picked up by an NFL team again. The Bengals were foolish enough to believe that success would be sustained, and drafted Smith third in the 1999 draft. After an up and down college career at USC due to coaching, drug use and pressure, Marinovich was drafted by Oakland in the first round of the 1991 NFL draft. 3. This list ranks the quarterbacks in terms, not of their college years, but in terms of their impact in the National Football League, and as mentioned, some did well, while others were forgettable. He started his FSU career as a QB. He rose to the height of his career when he took over the starting job in Seattle following injuries to Dave Krieg and Jeff Kemp. When he left the program, he held the NCAA record for most career wins, a not-too-shabby feat. An injury ended his time with the Rams before playing a game and he never played in the NFL, although he did play some in the CFL. He barely had an opportunity to play however, as he was knocked out with a shoulder injury on the Longhorns first drive. Karl Sweetan. Both (One On Night 1, The Other On Night 2), Neither (Comment On Who You Think It Should Be), Top 15 Great College QBs Who Failed In The NFL, Watch: Roman Reigns Subtly Checked On Logan Paul During Crown Jewel Match, Bobby Lashley Seemingly Turns Heel At WWE Crown Jewel, 10 Rare Times Hulk Hogan Actually Gave Back To The Wrestling Business. 1. Seen as a system quarterback, Harrell was not drafted in the 2009 NFL Draft and played in the CFL for a year instead. Yet another shining example of a model citizen, brought to you by the NFL. Leaf went to the San Diego Chargers but his two touchdowns to 15 interception ratio as a rookie, injury issues, and off the field problems ultimately doomed him, and he was out of the league in three years. 9. From there he continued to make highlight reel plays and break records, becoming only the fifth player in NCAA history to pass for over 3000 yards and rush for over 1000 yards in a single season. The World's Most Entertaining Car Website. Schlichter and Haskins are the bookend first-round picks, and both struggled with those high expectations. Ware left Houston after his junior year with all kinds of hardware, including the Heisman Trophy and Davey O'Brien award. For instance, Eric Crouch, while a superb talent for Nebraska a the collegiate level, could not hang around the NFL for a significant amount of time. Knowing that track record,it's OK to take a closer look at Haskins, who started in Urban Meyers final season with Day at offensive coordinator, and Fields, who is Days first starter as a head coach. As a somewhat undersized quarterback with questionable accuracy, he was not expected to be a world-beater. Six of those quarterbacks never took a snap in a regular-season game. Copyright 2022 Sporting News Holdings Limited. He did catch on with the Green Bay Packers in 2010 and was a backup with them for two years before he played a year for the New York Jets as well. Thompson, known as "The Throwin' Samoan," played his college career at Washington State. MORE NFL DRAFT: Complete 7-round mock | Top 100big board. Despite tearing both of his ACLs in consecutive seasons at Oklahoma, Jason White still managed to come back for his junior year and win the Heisman Trophy, while leading the Sooners to the National Championship game where they lost to LSU. Injury has plagued his career thus far, as has ineptitude in the front office, so it's still too early to label him a bust, but to this point he has not lived up to what is expected from a top draft pick. You know him better for his off-field analysis than for his on-field exploits. He was either the best or second best QB Kent State has had since 2000. Stroud, Jack Miller and five-star freshman Kyle McCord. 3, 2002): Harrington started 10 or more games in all six of his NFL seasons and not once did he finish a season with a winning record. A rough statistical look over the past 20 seasons shows it's not too difficult to . Ryan Leaf had a great career for the Cougars. Vick's first few years in the league were filled with promise, as he electrified Atlanta fans every game with his ridiculously athletic style of play. Then there are the dual threat quarterbacks who are often more of a threat as a runner than a passer and do not really have the arm for the next level. Steve Spurrier was a Gator Heisman winner who threw for over 1000 yards only three times in 10 seasons while throwing 60 career interceptions. Finally, 1991 Heisman finalist Shane Matthews played six NFL seasons with only two seasons of passing for over 1000 yards. Here are 15 great college QBs who failed once they tried their luck with the NFL. The Colts drafted him with the expectation that he would lead them to the promised land. Sadly for him and the Packers, who drafted him, he just wasn't that great in the NFL. 19, 2003): Boller went to the same college as Aaron Rodgers, if that counts for anything, which I don't think it does. 12, 2011): If the Vikings go with a quarterback at eighth overall this year, we can officially label Ponder a bust. Buffalo picked Losman with their second pick of the first round. He played until 1981, but finished with an ugly 55-108 touchdown to interception ratio. Think about it like this. His best year was as a junior when he led Washington State to their first Rose Bowl in over 50 years. All Rights Reserved. Graham is the only other quarterback with more than 20 starts at the NFL level. Back when it meant something, Green was a two-time first-team All-Big East Player for the Eagles. If anyone in the Texans' front office reads this list, they'll probably start negotiating with Jadeveon Clowney tomorrow. Long was the best quarterback in the history of Iowa football, and carried him tons of hardware following his senior season, including Big Ten Player of the Year, the Maxwell and Davey O'Brien Awards, and finishing second in Heisman balloting. Smith's inability to grasp a playbook and accuracy issues led to his departure from the league in 2005. Very lackluster career at NW. Sweetan's main accomplishment was throwing for a 99-yard touchdown, but the rest was awful. Fuller was drafted in the first round out of Clemson by Kansas City. 7 NFL QBs, 7 RBs And 7 WRs Who Were Merely One-Season Wonders. This is the guy, that when he left Notre Dame, held school records for most career touchdowns. But since I'm not wanting a cpllege thesis, we'll stick with these. His numbers were very good, over 3,600 yards passing, paired with 39 touchdowns and only 13 interceptions. That didn't work out the way Bengals' staff hoped, and he wound up getting shipped to Tampa Bay, where he lost his starting job to Steve DeBerg. 1, 2002),Redskins, Patrick Ramsey (No. As a dual threat, he was ahead of his time, and just did not fit into the Rams' offense. Mirer was the second pick of the 1993 draft, taken by the Seahawks to fill the void left by the ineffectiveness of Dan McGwire. They lost to the eventual National Champion Michigan, but Leafs performance made him look good enough that some believed he could be the number one pick over Manning. Harrington will go down in history as the guy who bridged the gap between the Michael Vick and Matt Ryan eras in Atlanta. Chris Leak, who led the Gators to a national championship, did not even play in the NFL. The Colts selected him fourth in the 1982 draft, not realizing that Schlichter's development would be hampered by a problem outside of the sportgambling. Basically, that's the gamble you're taking drafting a quarterback in the first round. Brady was actually a pretty solid college QB. Torreta is a guy who slipped down the draft boards and wound up going in the seventh round. In the 2013 NFL Draft, Barkley was selected in the fourth round with the 98th overall pick by the Philadelphia Eagles. Todd . To be fair, Carr was absolutely destroyed in his first few seasons in the league. The model took into account CPOE and six other metrics, all calculated for the player's college career. 2. Baker won the Heisman for Oregon State back in 1962, becoming the first player from a school west of the Mississippi to do so. He wound up never playing a down in the NFL, after being one of the most prolific college quarterbacks in the game. A perfect NFL passer rating given the formula used is 158.3. 1. Since Jon Gruden returned to the Raiders, Carr has heard rumors that he would be replaced as the team's starting . Which is also part of #2 2. He was a solid quarterback that performed at a high level in college, but he could not hack it in the NFL. There always seems to be an endless supply of great college quarterbacks who never amount to anything in the NFL, mainly because barely anyone is actually qualified to be an NFL starting quarterback. He had a great career for Joe Paterno, going 31-5 as a starter in Happy Valley. If Fields has success, then that will benefit Day,who is entering his third year at Ohio State with a three-way quarterback race amongC.J. Leaf also finished third in the Heisman voting that year behind Manning and the winner, Charles Woodson. That counts for something. The Browns traded Warfield for the third pick in the 1970 draft to take Phipps. In his best season, 1987, he finished with 2,598 passing yards and 11 touchdowns, but threw 20 interceptions, and never lived up to the potential he displayed at the college level. White had a phenomenal season at West Virginia, including a stellar performance in a victory over Oklahoma in the 2008 Fiesta Bowl. The NFL often has players who are able to string one great season together, but just can't make it last a whole career. Sadly, that success never translated to the NFL. Bills, J.P. Losman (No. His claim to fame is the gold record he received for his performance in the Bears' "Super Bowl Shuffle.". 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