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Quarterbacks are definitely related to their initial draft position for success, but normally in the sense that the good ones most often come from the highly drafted players but there have been so many duds in the past years that you cannot, and should not, rely on their draft placement as any primary characteristic. Draft position is related strongly to receivers, somewhat to runningbacks but only mildly to quarterbacks.
| Rnd |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
| 1 |
|
|
| Tim Couch |
| D. McNabb |
| Akili Smith |
| D. Culpepper |
| Cade McNown |
|
|
|
| David Carr |
| Joey Harrington |
| Patrick Ramsey |
|
| 2 |
|
|
|
|
| Drew Brees |
| Quincy Carter |
| M. Tuiasosopo |
|
|
| 3 |
|
| Jonathan Quinn |
| Brian Griese |
|
|
|
|
|
| 4 |
| Danny Wuerffel |
| Pat Barnes |
|
|
| Joe Germaine |
| Aaron Brooks |
|
|
| Chris Weinke |
| Sage Rosenfels |
| Jesse Palmer |
|
| David Garrard |
| Rohan Davey |
|
| 5 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Randy Fasani |
| Kurt Kittner |
| Brandon Doman |
| Craig Nall |
|
| 6 |
| Mike Cherry |
| Chuck Clements |
|
| John Dutton |
| Matt Hasselbeck |
|
|
| Marc Bulger |
| Spergon Wynn |
| Tom Brady |
| Todd Husak |
| JaJuan Seider |
|
|
| "J.T." O'Sullivan |
| Steve Bellisari |
|
| 7 |
| Tony Graziani |
| Koy Detmer |
| Wally Richardson |
| Tony Corbin |
|
|
| Michael Bishop |
| Chris Greisen |
| Scott Covington |
|
| Tim Rattay |
| Jarious Jackson |
| Joe Hamilton |
|
|
| Seth Burford |
| Jeff Kelly |
| Ronald Curry |
| Wes Pate |
|
1999 was considered the strongest quarterback draft in two decades and it has provided McNabb, Culpepper and Brooks to the top ten in fantasy rankings. Tim Couch is now battling with Kelly Holcomb for the Browns steering wheel. As a point of reference, Couch was the #1 QB in the big 1999 QB rich draft. Holcomb was never drafted. Imagine if Cleveland would have taken McNabb instead. Then again, they could have gotten Akili Smith too.
Quarterbacks come from all different sources lately and last year the Superbowl had both quarterbacks be previous castoffs from other teams. Gannon was a 4th round pick by the Patriots in 1987 and Brad Johnson
| 2003 Rookie QBs |
| 1.01 |
CIN |
Carson Palmer |
| 1.07 |
JAX |
Byron Leftwich |
| 1.19 |
BAL |
Kyle Boller |
| 1.22 |
CHI |
Rex Grossman |
| 3.24 |
HOU |
Dave Ragone |
| 3.33 |
TB |
Chris Simms |
| 4.13 |
SEA |
Seneca Wallace |
| 5.28 |
PIT |
Brian St. Pierre |
| 6.19 |
HOU |
Drew Henson |
| 6.27 |
NYJ |
Brooks Bollinger |
| 6.28 |
NE |
Kliff Kingsbury |
| 7.18 |
WAS |
Gibran Hamdan |
| 7.27 |
SF |
Ken Dorsey |
was a 9th round flyer by the Vikings in 1992. Just goes to show you never can tell, even though the position may be the most important one on the entire team.
The draft position matters little to a quarterback in the long run since they must develop and short of Peyton Manning, that takes a bit of time. This season has no rookie quarterbacks that will be immediately thrown into the fire though it is a very safe bet that Palmer, Leftwich and Boller will get their shot if only eventually.
If you can take anything from this interesting but less significant look at the drafts and quarterbacks, it is that all first round quarterbacks get a chance to play. Opportunity is everything in the NFL, but playing quarterback is not something that natural ability alone can ensure success. For dynasty leagues, taking a first round quarterback ensures two things - your guy will get a chance and that chance may only prove you wasted a roster spot for two years or more.
Hang your hat on developing receivers and stick with established quarterbacks.
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