The Arizona Cardinals are counting on Kyler Murray to lead them from the desert of the NFL basement to the promised land. Don’t be shocked if it takes some time to navigate the journey to the playoffs and Super Bowl.
Tom Brady
Tom Brady has six Super Bowl rings. Pretty good for a sixth-round pick from Michigan. Brady did not have much of a rookie season, sitting behind a one-time overall No. 1 pick of New England’s, Drew Bledsoe. The G.O.A.T. threw three passes with one completion for a grand total of six yards. Six yards, sixth round, six rings. Sixes are wild.
Nick Foles
Nick Foles was drafted by the Eagles, the team he would eventually lead to Super Bowl glory. As a rookie, there were potholes and speed bumps. In six starts, Foles went 1-5 and threw for six TDs against five picks.
Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning was the No. 1 pick of the Indianapolis Colts out of Tennessee. He was thrown directly into the fire and started all 16 games for Indy in 1998. The results were not indicative for future superstardom. Manning was 3-13 and threw 28 picks against 26 TD tosses. It didn’t take long to turn things around as a year later the record was 13-3.
Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson was an instant hit as Seattle’s quarterback after being chosen out of Wisconsin. He went 11-5 and threw 26 touchdown passes against 10 interceptions. Wilson threw for 3,118 yards and ignited a career that has seen him go 75-36-1 as a starter with a Super Bowl ring to boot.
Joe Flacco
Joe Flacco went from Pittsburgh to Delaware to the Baltimore Ravens. He had an instant impact as the Ravens went 11-5 in his rookie season. Flacco didn’t have amazing stats, in fact, they were ordinary. He threw 14 TD passes and 12 picks and for 2,971 yards.
Eli Manning
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Eli Manning was the Chargers’ choice. They were not his. The rookie from Ole Miss forced a trade to the New York Giants. The first year was a bust as he went 1-6 and threw for 1,043 yards with six TDs and nine picks.
Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers had a monumental hurdle in front of him when drafted by Green Bay. Brett Favre was the incumbent and was not budging. As a rookie, Rodgers threw a grand total of 16 passes, completing nine with one pick. He t threw for 65 yards.
Drew Brees
Who was the Chargers’ quarterback that started 16 games in 2001, Drew Brees’ rookie season? Not an easy one to answer. It was a Heisman Trophy winner who went 5-11. Doug Flutie kept Brees on the bench. Brees threw one TD pass and was 15-of-27 for 221 yards and a TD.
Ben Roethlisberger
Talk about a dazzling start. Ben Roethlisberger started 13 games for the Steelers in 2004 and won them all. He threw for better than 2,600 yards and led Pittsburgh into the AFC Championship, where it was defeated by the New England Patriots.
Brad Johnson
Brad Johnson was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings and sat behind Warren Moon as a rookie, The ninth-round pick from Florida State saw action in four games, going 22-for-37 for 150 yards.
Trent Dilfer
Trent Dilfer was chosen by the Tampa Bay Bucs and proceeded to sit for most of the 1994 season behind Craig Erickson. Dilfer was 0-2 in his starts and threw six picks against one TD toss. He took over the starting role the next season and went 7-9.
Kurt Warner
Kurt Warner was a 27-year-old rookie when he got his first chance to play in the NFL. The former Arena League star played in one game, going 4-for-11 for 39 yards. His career skyrocketed after that and he eventually found a place in Canton.
John Elway
John Elway was drafted by the Colts, wanted no part of them and forced a trade to Denver. The former Stanford star went 4-6 as a starter and threw seven TD passes against 14 interceptions. One year later, he was 12-2 in a starting role.
Brett Favre
Brett Favre was drafted by the Falcons out of Southern Miss. They had no patience and shipped him to Green Bay after a rookie season that saw him throw four passes, none complete, two picks in two games.
Troy Aikman
Troy Aikman’s rookie season was the polar opposite of Ben Roethlisberger. The UCLA star walked into an awful Dallas team and went 0-11 as its starter. He threw nine TD passes against 18 picks.
Steve Young
After spending time in the USFL, Steve Young arrived in Tampa Bay. It was with a thud as the former BYU star went 1-4 in starts and threw eight picks against three TD passes. After another season with the Bucs, he moved on to San Francisco and eventually stardom.
Mark Rypien
Mark Rypien went from Washington State to the Washington Redskins. As a rookie in Washington, he was 3-3 and threw for 18 TDs against 13 picks.
Jeff Hostetler
Jeff Hostetler sat behind Phil Simms for not only his first season, but his second one as well. He had no stats for his 1985 rookie season.
Joe Montana
Joe Montana went from Notre Dame to San Francisco as a third-round pick. He lost his lone start as a rookie, throwing for 96 yards and a touchdown.
Doug Williams
Doug Williams was drafted out of Grambling State by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He went 4-6 as a rookie starter with seven TD passes and eight interceptions.
Phil Simms
The New York Giants discovered a gem in Phil Simms, who they drafted out of Morehead State in the first round in 1979. As a rookie, Simms went 6-5 as a starter, throwing for more than 1,700 yards with 13 TDs and 14 picks.
Jim McMahon
Jim McMahon came to the Chicago Bears from BYU. The colorful and controversial quarterback got off to a quiet start. He was 3-4 as a rookie, throwing for 1,501 yards with nine TD passes and seven picks.
Jim Plunkett
Jim Plunkett came to the New England Patriots from Stanford. This was a time when New England struggled and saw little success. Plunkett went 6-8 in his first season, throwing for 2,158 yards with 19 TDs and 16 INTs. Plunkett had to leave New England for Oakland, where he achieved his greatest success.
Joe Theismann
Joe Theismann played in the CFL from 1971-73 before landing with the Washington Redskins. The former Notre Dame star was a 25-year-old rookie who saw little action in 1974, going 9-for-11 with one TD pass and 145 yards.
Terry Bradshaw
Terry Bradshaw was part of the great turnaround in Pittsburgh after being the No. 1 overall pick out of Louisiana Tech. His rookie season of 1970 was a struggle. Bradshaw went 3-5 but the glaring stat was 24 picks against six TD passes.
Roger Staubach
Roger Staubach served his country after graduating from the Naval Academy before playing for the Dallas Cowboys. As a 27-year-old rookie, Staubach won his lone start. Overall in 1969, he threw for 421 yards with one TD and two interceptions.
Ken Stabler
Ken Stabler was the Raiders’ third-string quarterback as a rookie out of Alabama. He was the second quarterback Oakland chose in the NFL Draft, opting for Eldridge Dickey in the first round. Stable sat behind Daryle Lamonica and George Blanda. He was 2-for-7 for 52 yards and a pick in limited duty.
Bob Griese
Bob Griese saw immediate action for the Miami Dolphins after being drafted out of Purdue in 1967. Griese went 3-7 and threw for 2,005 yards along with 15 TD passes and 18 picks.
Johnny Unitas
The legendary Johnny Unitas was a ninth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1955. They cut him. He wound up playing his first season for the Baltimore Colts the following year. Unitas started seven games, going 3-4 with nine TD passes and 10 picks.
Len Dawson
Len Dawson was a rookie with the Pittsburgh Steelers, another QB, like Johnny Unitas, the franchise missed. Dawson is another Purdue quarterback to make this list. He was Pittsburgh’s first-round pick — No. 5 overall — in 1957 and made one start that season, going 0-1. He threw for 25 yards. Dawson went on to the Cleveland Browns before finding a home and becoming a star in the AFL.
Joe Namath
Joe Namath added to the Alabama quarterback lore in the Super Bowl. The first three AFL-NFL title games were won by quarterbacks from the Crimson Tide. Namath had a less than awe-inspiring start as a New York Jet rookie. He was 3-5-1 and threw 18 TD passes against 15 picks. Things picked up quickly after that.
Bart Starr
Bart Starr was the the MVP of the first two Super Bowls. His career didn’t start out that way as he was the 200th overall selection — read that 17th round — of the Packers. He made one start as a rookie, going 0-1, and completing 24-of-44 passes for 325 yards with two TDs and three picks.
