NFL teams love to grab quarterbacks in the first round. Make the right decision and you have the centerpiece of your franchise for years to come. Make the wrong one, and you are set back for many drafts. In the Super Bowl era, 41 have failed to deliver. Josh Rosen struggled in his rookie year in Arizona. Will he eventually get it right, or find a permanent spot on a list like this in the near future?
Steve Spurrier: 49ers
Steve Spurrier was a great college player and coach. The NFL was not for him, as either. San Francisco drafted the Heisman winner and he did stick around for nine seasons and one in Tampa Bay. A collective record of 13-24-1 as a starter, includes 0-12 for the Bucs.
Marty Domres (Chargers)
This may seem hard to believe but 50 years ago the San Diego Chargers drafted an Ivy League quarterback in the first round. Marty Domres came from Columbia to the West Coast. He did stick around nine years but was in San Diego only three of them. Overally, how about 27 TD passes vs. 50 picks and a record of 12-20 as a starter.
Jerry Tagge (Packers)
Jerry Tagge left Nebraska for Green Bay. A No. 1 pick of Dan Devine. It worked out poorly. Tagge was 3-3 as a starter in three seasons. He threw three TD passes and 17 interceptions. His NFL career was over after 1974.
John Reaves (Eagles)
The sad years in Philly mirrored the John Reaves selection as a No. 1 pick. The quarterback who threw for thousands of yards and set all sorts of record at Florida lasted three seasons as an Eagle. He was 0-7 as a starter and threw 15 picks against seven TD passes. Overall in his NFL career that included stops in Cincinnati, Houston and Tampa Bay, Reaves threw twice as many interceptions as TD passes (17 vs. 34).
Steve Pisarkiewicz (Cardinals)
Three seasons, two in St. Louis and one in Green Bay was it for Steve Pisarkiewicz. He threw for a total of 804 yards and was 2-2 in four starts. Pisarkiewicz appeared in a total of 10 games.
Jack Thompson (Bengals)
One of the great nicknames in football did not lead to one of the great careers. Jack Thompson was the Throwin’ Samoan out of Washington State. Thompson started five games in four seasons as a Cincinnati Bengal. He went to Tampa Bay and 3-13 as a starter in two seasons. And that was that.
Mark Malone (Steelers)
Mark Malone was the 28th overall pick in 1980 out of Arizona State by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was 21-24 as a starter, throwing 54 TDs and 68 picks. Malone went on to a season each with the Chargers and Jets. One interesting nugget: In 1981, Malone made his lone career reception count for a 90-yard TD.
Rich Campbell (Packers)
Rich Campbell was the sixth overall pick in the 1981 draft. He appeared in seven games over four seasons, throwing three TD passes against nine picks. As the guy in the pictures shows, that’s cold.
Art Schlichter (Colts)
A complete and utter bust. The numbers that people associate with the former Ohio State quarterback are financial and the ones on his prison record. Schlichter became part of the only back-to-back first round QB picks by a team in the Super Bowl era. The Colts drafted John Elway first overall the next season and it didn’t pan out for them, either.
Tim Tebow (Broncos)
Tim Tebow is about as solid a citizen as there is in sports. He is still busting it trying to become a big-league player in MLB. That’s because he wasn’t able to follow on his great career at Florida and become a dependable NFL quarterback.
Todd Blackledge (Chiefs)
The 1983 NFL Draft is considered the best for quarterbacks: John Elway, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino were half of the six taken in the first round. The one complete bust was Todd Blackledge, who was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs and never got it done. How much of a scare did it put into KC? It didn’t draft another QB in the first round until … Patrick Mahomes.
Kelly Stouffer (Cardinals)
This pick goes down as one of the worst in NFL history and not because of how Kelly Stouffer played for the St. Louis Cardinals, who drafted him. Stouffer never signed with St. Louis, opting to hold out his rookie season before he was shipped to Seattle.
Jeff George (Colts)
Jeff George was taken first overall in 1990 by the Indianapolis Colts. He lasted four years there, going 14-35 as a starter. George never turned into the stud quarterback he was believed to be as early as coming out of high school.
Andre Ware (Lions)
Andre Ware came out of Houston with mind-boggling numbers. The Lions thought they had a franchise quarterback. What they had was a big miss. Ware lasted all of four years and saw action in a total of 14 games.
Dan McGwire (Seahawks)
Dan McGwire came out of San Diego State and the Seattle Seahawks drafted the 6-8, 240-pounder with the 16th pick in 1991. They hoped he would do for them with the long ball what his brother, Mark, did in MLB. He didn’t. Dan McGwire made five starts in four years in Seattle before finishing his career in Miami for a season.
Todd Marinovich (Raiders)
The sad and sordid saga of Todd Marinovich has been told over and over. In Todd we trust, they believed at USC. It went horribly wrong. The Raiders used a first-round pick on the lefty but his career went awry,
David Klingler (Bengals)
Another quarterback out of Houston whose pinball numbers in college didn’t translate to anything in the NFL. He spent four years in Cincinnati and went 4-20 as a starter. Ouch.
Rick Mirer (Seahawks)
Rick Mirer was a Golden Boy. He came out of Notre Dame and was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks second overall in 1993. Four years in Seattle saw him throw 41 TD passes and 56 interceptions. He was 20-31 as a starter before heading off on a journeyman’s journey, hitting four more teams over the final four seasons of his NFL career.
Heath Shuler (Redskins)
Heath Shuler came out of Tennessee with a big-time rep. He was selected third overall by the Washington Redskins in 1994. It didn’t pan out as Shuler went 4-9 over three seasons before he finished his career in New Orleans. Shuler did wind up back in Washington, as a Congressman.
Jim Druckenmiller (49ers)
Jim Druckenmiller left Virginia Tech and wound up in San Francisco as the 49ers selected him 26th overall. His stay was short. The 6-foot-4, 214-pounder was perfect, going 1-0 as a starter. However, that was about all he did and he was gone after two seasons.
Ryan Leaf (Chargers)
Trouble, trouble and more trouble. Ryan Leaf has gotten his life together — admirably — but the road to health was a rocky one.
Akili Smith (Bengals)
Akili Smith was selected out of Oregon by the Cincinnati Bengals. The bungle was that he went 3-14 as a starter and was gone in four seasons.
Cade McNown (Bears)
Cade McNown went to Chicago with the 12th overall pick in 1999. He started 15 games in two seasons, going 3-12, before being shown the exit.
Joey Harrington (Lions)
Joey Harrington was the third overall pick by the Lions out of Oregon in 2002. Unfortunately, he turned out to be a better piano player than NFL quarterback.
Patrick Ramsey (Redskins)
Patrick Ramsey was on three teams in six seasons. The only place he started was Washington, which made him the 32nd pick in the 2002 NFL Draft. He went 10-14 as a starter in Washington.
Kyle Boller (Ravens)
Drafted out of Cal, Kyle Boller never came close to fulfilling the dreams the Baltimore Ravens had for him. He was 20-22 as a starter before moving on to Oakland and St. Louis in a less than mediocre career.
J.P. Losman (Bills)
J.P. Losman came to the Buffalo Bills from Tulane after starting out at UCLA. He was 10-23 as a starter in Buffalo before finishing out his career with a year in Oakland and then after missing 2010, landing with the Dolphins.
Vince Young (Titans)
Vince Young wowed everyone at the University of Texas. The Tennessee Titans drafted the quarterback and he is an odd kind of disappointment. Young never achieved the heights and glory he did in college. That said, he makes this list despite a 30-17 mark as a starter for the Titans.
Matt Leinart (Cardinals)
The quarterback who faced Vince Young in the fabulous Rose Bowl was USC’s Matt Leinart. A Heisman winner as a junior, the lefty remained a Trojan for his senior season. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals and found the next step up a difficult one.
JaMarcus Russell (Raiders)
The overall first-round disaster of all disasters. JaMarcus Russell came out of LSU with a big rep. The Oakland Raiders drafted him only to be disappointed. He lasted three years, went 7-15 as a starter with 23 picks against 18 TD passes. Oof.
Brady Quinn (Browns)
The former Notre Dame star was chosen by the Cleveland Browns. Talk about a blessing and a curse. He went 4-16 in 20 starts for the Browns and in his one season as a Chief.
Josh Freeman (Bucs)
Josh Freeman actually had a 10-win season in Tampa Bay. However, other than that it was doldrum after doldrum. Take away the 2010 season and you wind up with 14-29, which is more reflective of the body of work the Bucs got.
Jake Locker (Titans)
Jake Locker was a different kind of option quarterback: He could have played professional baseball or football. He chose the NFL and the Tennessee Titans chose him. He was selected in 2011 and gone after 2014.
Blaine Gabbert (Jaguars)
Blaine Gabbert was a collective 13-35 record as a starter. He was drafted by the Jaguars and went 5-22 there in three seasons.
Christian Ponder (Vikings)
Christian Ponder came to Minnesota from Florida State. He did have a 10-win season in 2012. Otherwise, he was 4-15-1. That earned him walking papers following the 2014 season.
E.J. Manuel (Bills)
Far different climate in Tallahassee and Buffalo. E.J. Manuel came to the Bills out of Florida State. He lasted four seasons, went 6-12 and was off to Oakland.
Johnny Manziel (Browns)
A problem child the Cleveland Browns saw as their future. Johnny Manziel still hasn’t put it together. Most recently being dispatched from the CFL.
Paxton Lynch (Broncos)
Paxton Lynch is a big quarterback, as in 6-foot-7 tall. The Broncos drafted him out of Memphis and he didn’t last. Lynch played in four games with four TD passes and four picks before being sent on his way.
Blake Bortles
Would have been a nice Sunshine State story if Blake Bortles led the in-state Jacksonville Jaguars to success and Super Bowl glory. It’s been a bumpy road, rather, and the dead end has been reached.
Robert Griffin III
Washington opened the draft-choice vault for an opportunity to selected RG III out of Baylor. The first season it looked like a brilliant move. Then injuries hit and mounted. He was 5-15 as a starter in his final two seasons with Washington. Since, he’s been in Cleveland and Baltimore…as a backup.
Ryan Tannehill (Dolphins)
A late addition now that his run in Miami is done. Ryan Tannehill was 42-46 in six seasons with Dolphins. The most TDs he threw in one season was 27. Not what the Dolphins were dreaming of when they drafted him in the first round out of Texas A&M.
