Drafting a Franchise Quarterback

Finding the perfect balance of ability and likability

In today’s NFL, having a franchise quarterback is essential to compete for Super Bowls. If we look at the last 10 NFL champions, 9/10 had one of the best quarterbacks in the league; with the exception of the Eagles in 2018 (Nick Foles).

Teams that have found one (think Chiefs/Mahomes, Bills/J.Allen, Bengals/Burrow) have a chance to win a Super Bowl virtually every year. Teams that are still looking for their franchise QB, find themselves missing the playoffs and hoping to strike gold in the next years draft.

Despite this, teams struggle to evaluate college quarterbacks. Why is it that so many elite college quarterbacks never find their stride in the NFL? And why is it that NFL teams continue to make 1st round draft selections based on potential alone?

We place too much emphasis on physical ability and overlook factors such as leadership, likability, and self-confidence. Being an elite NFL quarterback comes with a great deal of pressure. It’s not an easy task for a 22 or 23 year old kid to step into an NFL locker room and meet the enormous expectations et before them. It’s much more than being able to throw on the run, from absurd angles, or launch it 80 yards down the field. It’s also about being someone who has unbelievable self-confidence. It’s about being someone who teammates believe in and want to go to work with all day, every day. It’s about finding a player that will keep the team in good spirits even when faced with adversity.

Zack Wilson had all the ability in the world. Everyone has seen the combine throw. He’s shown flashes as a runner. But everything else was overlooked. You can’t expect a small, rich kid from BYU to play quarterback in the biggest city in the country. There’s no doubt he felt out of place even from the start. He was never going to be a vocal leader or someone teammates could get behind - even if he did have more success on the field. Late last year, his Jets teammates were wearing Mike White shirts to games.

Kyler Murray is an incredible talent. There’s never been another athlete to be selected in the top 10 of two professional sports drafts (NFL: Cardinals #1 overall, MLB: Oakland A’s #9 overall). He can make every throw and can make almost anyone in the NFL miss in the open field.

But he’s never been a leader. Michael Lombardi, an NFL media personality, perfectly described the Cardinals as being "seduced by the talent." It’s very telling that when All-Pro safety Budda Baker was injured last season, every player went out on the field to greet Budda, expect Kyler. Lombardi discusses this instance and former college + NFL teammates opinions of Kyler in an interview here.

Rosen dominated the Pac-12 as a standout quarterback at UCLA. He was even deemed “the Chosen One” and “J-Chosen” by UCLA faithful. At 6’4”, 230 pounds with a cannon of an arm he looked to be surefire NFL superstar. But after 5 less than mediocre seasons in the NFL, Rosen now finds himself a free agent looking for another opportunity to play in the NFL.

His character issues in college were clearly overlooked. His mom famously has ties to UPenn’s prestigious Wharton School of Business, and his dad is a renowned spinal surgeon. As a freshman, he put a hot tub in his dorm room. After being drafted 10th overall by the Cardinals in 2018, he called the 9 players drafted in front of him “mistakes.”

Honorable Mentions: Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Will Levis (TBD)

There are teams that have found franchise quarterbacks with both ability and likability. Joe Burrow is one of the first players that come to mind.

Even as a high school senior, Burrow showed incredible maturity for his age. After losing the Ohio State Championship game he put the loss on himself and attributed his personal successes to his teammates.

A few weeks ago he stated Patrick Mahomes is the best player in the NFL. His teammate, Ja’Marr Chase felt differently, which shows how much respect Burrow’s earned from the locker room.

Jalen Hurts is perhaps the best example. After being benched for the 2nd half of the National Championship vs Georgia in favor of Tua Tagovailoa, he was all smiles and praised Tua’s performance in the post-game interview. A year later he transferred to the University of Oklahoma, set a record for the most yards in a single game in Sooner’s history, and finished 2nd in the Heisman voting to - Joe Burrow.

After a difficult first 2 NFL seasons, Hurts broke out in the 2022 season leading his team to a Super Bowl. Despite losing the game, he showed maturity beyond his years in the post game interview. When a young child asked him what he learned from the loss he responded, “everyone experiences different agonies in life, but you decide if you want to learn from it.”

Now can you imagine Johnny Manziel saying that.