Chris Trapasso Ranks QB Classes from the Past Fifteen Years

[26CornerBlitz]

2018 NFL Draft: Ranking the past 15 years of QB draft classes, including this year's

The 2018 NFL Draft class features the most hyped quarterback group since, at the earliest, 2004, and may very well have six signal-callers go in the first round for the first time since 1983. You know, that draft with John Elway, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino.

Yeah, that one.

With that being the case, it's time to rank the quarterback draft classes over the past 15 years -- including this one.

Classes that produced franchise quarterbacks were given boosts, and those with colossal busts were downgraded. Because this is a ranking of the entire class, depth was also a factor, yet franchise quarterbacks were most important. 

I've listed noteworthy quarterbacks from each draft year into the following categories:
 

• Franchise QBs: Like elite quarterbacks, these are simply guys everybody knows are franchise QBs. Maybe not for their entire career, but for at least a 3-4 year stretch, they were the face of their franchise and produced at a high level. If you and your friend have to argue for 30 minutes over someone ... he's probably not a franchise quarterback, although I will concede there's no concrete definition of that term.
   
• Solid Starters: Maybe ventured into the "franchise QB" ranks for a short period of time but didn't sustain the quality of play to stay in that category. Or, a quarterback with plenty of starts on his resume who was never considered a franchise quarterback and simply has been (or was) an up-and-down starter in his career.
   
• Capable Backups: Pretty cut and dry. Worth mentioning though that backups are backups for a reason. Some of the names you'll see in this category are not high-caliber quarterbacks. They did show some signs of competence in relief appearances or spot starts yet were mostly incapable of hanging onto a starting job. 
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• Busts: Almost solely meant for first-round picks who simply did not live up to their draft status and were either completely out of the league much sooner than many expected or fell into the "capable backup" ranks during what should have been the prime of their careers.

[thurst44]

6 minutes ago, 26CornerBlitz said:

Capable Backups: Pretty cut and dry. Worth mentioning though that backups are backups for a reason. Some of the names you'll see in this category are not high-caliber quarterbacks. They did show some signs of competence in relief appearances or spot starts yet were mostly incapable of hanging onto a starting job. 
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• Busts: Almost solely meant for first-round picks who simply did not live up to their draft status and were either completely out of the league much sooner than many expected or fell into the "capable backup" ranks during what should have been the prime of their careers.

I guess it doesn't matter, but I don't really see how Geno Smith is a "capable back-up" while EJ is a bust (in my mind, they're both technically both -- they played similarly in the one game they played last year, neither Raiders fans nor Giants fans were enthusiastic about it when either of them were thrust into action). Both were awful as starters, with the only difference being where EJ was a slow burn of horror, Geno flamed out spectacularly (9 more TDs, 20 more INTs).  

 

Also, the whole premise of this is kind of silly when they include 2016, 2017 in it. We can say Patrick Mahomes is a "Franchise QB" as much as we could say Jake Locker was a "Franchise QB" at this point in his career. He may well turn out to be, but he's tied in NFL TDs with Paul Giamatti, Senator Kamala Harris, Rowlf the Dog, and me (but one more interception). 

[26CornerBlitz]

1 minute ago, thurst44 said:

I guess it doesn't matter, but I don't really see how Geno Smith is a "capable back-up" while EJ is a bust (in my mind, they're both technically both -- they played similarly in the one game they played last year, neither Raiders fans nor Giants fans were enthusiastic about it when either of them were thrust into action). Both were awful as starters, with the only difference being where EJ was a slow burn of horror, Geno flamed out spectacularly (9 more TDs, 20 more INTs).  

 

Also, the whole premise of this is kind of silly when they include 2016, 2017 in it. We can say Patrick Mahomes is a "Franchise QB" as much as we could say Jake Locker was a "Franchise QB" at this point in his career. He may well turn out to be, but he's tied in NFL TDs with Paul Giamatti, Senator Kamala Harris, Rowlf the Dog, and me (but one more interception). 

 

1st round (EJ) vs. 2nd Round (Geno) perhaps.

[The 9 Isles]

This is the same guy that has Mason Rudolph as the #1 QB in this year's draft.  

 

Yeah...... anyway. 

[CuddyDark]

How can you compare 2018 with other classes? How does he know who will be a franchise QB?

[ddaryl]

yeah when I read his franchise picks for 2018 I laughed

[CuddyDark]

2 minutes ago, ddaryl said:

yeah when I read his franchise picks for 2018 I laughed

Rudolph does play from the pocket with a quick release. I could see him being a franchise QB with some work.

[KDIGGZ]

Mason Rudolph is going to the hall of fame.  Just ask Chris Trepasso.

[BobDVA]

25 minutes ago, kdiggz said:

Mason Rudolph is going to the hall of fame.  Just ask Chris Trepasso.

I hope Chris is right, because Mason is going to be a Bill.