If you’re a regular reader of this column, or a fan of the National Football League in general, you’ve likely heard the following axiom repeated ad nauseum: If a team doesn’t have a franchise quarterback, they are most certainly looking for one.
Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees Russell Wilson, Joe Flacco, and Aaron Rodgers. What do these men have in common? Certainly, they comprise a list of some of the best quarterbacks in recent NFL history and there are very few people who would debate that. There is one thing that these players share, however, that is even more important than this fact.
These are the names of fourteen of the past fifteen Super Bowl winning quarterbacks.
That’s right, an insane fourteen of the previous fifteen Super Bowl winning teams (93.33%, according to my handy-dandy calculator) have been led by franchise passers. We can rank these eight players and debate their values to both their teams and the game itself for days on end, but it is inarguable that they have been seen as elite players and long-term starters by their respective squads for years.
Jared Goff, Carson Wentz, and the NFL’s Quarterback Conundrum
There are many different components to building a Super Bowl winning team and while it is possible to accomplish this lofty goal without the presence of a top signal caller, the numbers just don’t lie. If you want to win in the NFL, you must do whatever you can to find a quarterback of this caliber. With the 2016 NFL Draft only a matter of hours away, this has never been more true.
Enter California quarterback Jared Goff and North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz, the draft’s consensus top two passers.
As the draft process has rolled on, there is no question that these prospects have emerged as the two hottest names around the league. Goff, the steady three-year starter at Cal, who has long been projected as a first round pick, and Wentz, the small-school draft riser who has shot up draft boards after impressive showings at the Senior Bowl and the Combine, have no doubt been seen as the prizes of the draft by quarterback-needy teams around the league. While not necessarily seen as the two best overall players in this class, there was little doubt that teams with need at the position would be aggressive in their pursuit of these two talents.
With that said, no one could have projected just how aggressive these franchises would be. After two of the biggest draft trades in NFL history, the Los Angeles Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles are now the proud owners of the draft’s first and second picks, respectively, and will undoubtedly make these two quarterbacks the top selections of the league’s annual extravaganza.
Let’s start with the newly minted Los Angeles Rams. Often regarded as a team that was only a quarterback away from serious competition, General Manager Les Snead made one of the more shocking moves in recent history, trading up fourteen slots from the fifteenth overall pick to the very top of the draft. The move ensures that the Rams will have the quarterback of their choosing and a new face of the franchise as they make their move to L.A., debut on HBO’s Hard Knocks, and most importantly, attempt to build a winning team well into the future.
The move also comes at a steep price.
The Rams surrendered the 15th overall pick in 2016, two 2016 second-round picks (Nos. 43 and 45), a 2016 third-round pick (No. 76), a 2017 first-round pick, and a 2017 third-round pick in return for the 2016 first overall selection, a 2016 fourth-round pick (No. 113), and a 2016 sixth-rounder (No. 177).
In short, that is a lot of draft capital to be shipping out. Any team that willingly surrenders it first four selections from this draft and two high picks from the year to come is not messing around. The Rams want their guy, and their guy is a quarterback.
As the dust settled on this trade it became increasingly more likely that Goff would the Rams’ target. While anything can change between now and the moment the Rams turn in their pick, this is by all accounts, the most likely outcome. Regarded as being the more pro-ready player of the two incoming passers, the former Golden Bear would remain in-state and likely become a day one starter for a team that already features a strong defense and running game. If Goff is the pick and ends up playing up to his potential, this move could end up putting the Rams over the top. If he disappoints, the trade could set the franchise back for years given the amount that has been invested in him.
Snead and company realize these risks, but also understand the inherent value of quarterback play, and that is why they felt comfortable executing a trade of this magnitude. Will this bold gambit work out in the long run? Time will tell.
The Philadelphia Eagles clearly have the same outlook as the Rams and have taken an equally large risk. It has long been one of the draft’s worst kept secrets that new Head Coach Doug Pederson has a lot of admiration for Wentz, and when the Rams made their move for Goff, the Eagles did what they had to do to get the player they desired all along.
Executive Vice President of Football Operations Howie Roseman dealt the Eagles’ 8th overall pick in 2016, a 2016 third-round pick (No. 77), a 2016 fourth-round pick (No. 100), a 2017 first-round pick, and a 2018 second-round pick in return for the second overall selection in 2016 and a 2017 fourth-round pick.
This trade is very similar to the Rams’ deal in that once again, this an enormous amount of draft value to pay for any player, but clearly the Eagles believe that Wentz is their quarterback of the future. The move has confused some people, considering that the Eagles re-signed Sam Bradford to a two-year, $35 million deal this off-season, while agreeing to pay Chase Daniel $21 million over three years shortly thereafter, but the reality of the situation is simple enough. The Eagles saw an opportunity to acquire a player whom they viewed as a franchise cornerstone so they took it, regardless of the cost or what they already had invested in the position.
Wentz is viewed as being more of a project than Goff, and as such is unlikely to be thrust into a starting role out of the gate, but his tantalizing upside made him an easy target. Wentz has all the tools you could want in a passer but has the luxury of being eased along slowly by his new team, while learning behind Bradford (or Daniel, should Bradford’s trade request be granted).
The 2016 NFL Draft will mark the third time in the last five years that two quarterbacks have been taken with the top two selections. Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III were the top picks in 2012, and last year Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota came off the board at the top of the draft as well. Welcome to the new normal of the NFL.
This is without question a passing league now, and that trend seems to be here to stay. Teams covet quarterbacks more than any other position on the field. Every coach and GM dreams of one day drafting a durable, 15-year starter under center. It’s the reason why these players make the big money. It’s the reason why eleven of the last fifteen first overall picks were passers. It’s the reason why the Rams and Eagles paid a massive amount of draft assets for the privilege of handing Jared Goff and Carson Wentz jerseys and hats as they walk across the stage in Chicago.
For many teams, the road to finding stability at this position seems to be a perpetual struggle; a frustrating amalgamation of disproportionate expectation and bitter disappointment. Indeed, teams that don’t have a franchise quarterback in the modern NFL will continue searching diligently for one. If you’re a fan of the Los Angeles Rams or the Philadelphia Eagles, you’re hoping that search is about to end.
PALO ALTO, CA – NOVEMBER 23: Jared Goff #16 of the California Golden Bears in action against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium on November 23, 2013 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
