Not to answer for @kenobi_65, but I took his post as not being limited to the QB position. If you do that, you have tons of overdrafted players. If you need some: Derrius Heyward Bey. Darren McFadden. Rolando McClain. Clelin Farrel. Henry Ruggs. Hell, they even drafted a kicker in the first round.
In my defense, the post I quoted was in response to QB selection in this year’s draft, not just general use of a high draft pick.
Two kickers. Janikowski, who played in the league for 18 years and is still the Raider’s all-time scorer. But then also some Guy in 1973. (considered by many to be the greatest punter in league history and yeah, I know, just because all he did was kick, doesn’t make him a kicker, right).
Exactly so (I would have replied earlier, but was away this evening), and I was thinking specifically of the Raiders making serious “reaches” on their first-round picks, at QB and beyond.
Sebastian Janikowski was the first kicker to be taken in the first round since Russel Erxleben in 1979 (or Tony Zendejas in 1984, if you count the supplemental draft). He was a clear example of the Raiders falling in love with a guy’s abilities (in his case, a tremendously strong leg), and weighing that ability more heavily than whether he was worth taking at that point in the draft, compared to the team’s other needs.
One could argue that he wasn’t a wasted first-round pick, as he played for 17 years with the Raiders, and retired as the team’s all-time leading scorer. On the other hand, he only made the Pro Bowl once, was only named to an All-Pro team once, and was only average as far as accuracy goes: he hit 80% of his field goals, which is pretty much the minimum accuracy that a kicker needs to achieve just to stay employed in the modern NFL. He did have an exceptionally strong leg, but that probably didn’t make very much of a difference, as far as his team’s fortunes – on average, he only attempted six field goals of 50+ yards a season, and only made three of those.
Ray Guy (as mentioned by @peccavi) was considerably more valuable than Janikowski, and is the only “pure” punter in the Hall of Fame…but, again, is even a great punter (or kicker) worth a first round draft pick? (And, I ask this, as a lifelong fan of the kicking game in football, and someone who, as a kid, dreamed of being a kicker or punter in the NFL.)
Also, in addition to the players that @Hamlet mentioned, I’d add:
- QB Todd Marinovich: had huge publicity in high school, and college, due to the intensive training by his father to mold him into an NFL-caliber quarterback; he was drafted by the Raiders in the first round despite lots of red flags regarding his behavior and drug use during his senior season at USC. He only played in 8 games before being suspended for drugs, then was released by the Raiders, and never played another game in the NFL.
- OL Alex Leatherwood, who started every game for the Raiders during his rookie season, but struggled throughout due to poor blocking techniques (they had drafted him due to his “explosiveness” and “mean streak”), and was then waived during training camp prior to his second season; he only played four more games in the NFL.
Certainly, every team has first-rounders who wind up busts; the Raiders have a particular pattern as to why they draft busts.
In general, I agree. But signing Darnold definitely shouldn’t reduce the chances to zero (hyperbole aside). Most people would have said that there’s zero chance the Falcons draft a QB after landing Cousins last year, but here we are. And we’ve already discussed whether Darnold is legit or not. It’s not unreasonable for the Seahawks brain trust to believe in him somewhat, but it would be malpractice to have complete conviction that he’s the answer long term. It would definitely be a noisy few news cycles if they drafted one of these guys in the first, but if they see something in the workouts they love, that Darnold deal shouldn’t stop them.
There are maybe 3 QBs worth a first round pick and none of them are going to be around by 18.
I mean, there’s also a greater than zero percent chance that Sam Darnold suffers a severe injury between now and the draft that prevents him from playing this year. And in that case Seattle might be desperate enough to go completely out of character and take a massive gamble.
But that crazy bad luck can affect any team or player. The odds are so tiny that including them in this list is somewhat silly
When did a QB prospect not being worth a 1st Round pick stop a team from drafting them in the 1st?
Good point, some teams/GMs will reach. 
John Schneider is not one of those GMs.
Maybe the Packers can hire Rodgers, but only as, say backup punter* and EMERGENCY QB.
(only because as far as I know water boys are not drafted…)
Brian
*or whatever position pays the least
As far as I know, NFL minimum salaries are based on years of service, not position. According to this site, under the current CBA, for a player with 10+ years of NFL time (as Rodgers has), the minimum salary for 2025 is $1,255,000.
I LOL’ed.
There’s precedent. Danny White (Dallas Cowboys) was the backup quarterback to Roger Staubach and the team’s punter. Joh Elway even punted a few time for the Broncos.
Shit.
Russell Wilson to the Giants. The Winston move made sense. Pay him backup money and go get a rookie and try to mold him into a star. Getting Wilson and Winston makes me think the Giants are not building a winning team. They are building a win enough games so we don’t get fired team. Now I see them picking Hunter so they can have a repeat of Barkley. Have a good player on a bad team where his talents will mean nothing. I don’t see them drafting a QB high anymore.
Cost savings move? A few strategically placed pieces of tape, and they can have Wilson and Winston share a jersey.
In this current game of musical chairs quarterbacks, is Rodgers the last one standing? Below (hidden for brevity of post) is my understanding of the current NFL starting QBs lined up for the 2025 season. Unfilled slots seem to be the Titans, the Browns, and the Steelers. The Titans and Browns draft 1-2, so they will probably draft their starters (Ward or Sanders). This (as far as I can tell) leaves the Steelers. Will they hope to grab Milroe or Dart in the first round, maybe even moving up, leaving Rodgers out of the game? Also, I welcome corrections to my guesses as to the starters by team.
My guesses for starting QBs in 2025
Summary
| AFC North | |
|---|---|
| Baltimore Ravens | Jackson |
| Cincinnati Bengals | Burroughs |
| Cleveland Browns | TBD (Draft#2) |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | TBD (Draft#21) |
| AFC East | |
| Buffalo Bills | Allen |
| Miami Dolphins | Tagovailoa |
| New England Patriots | Maye |
| New York Jets | Fields |
| AFC West | |
| Denver Broncos | Nix |
| Kansas City Chiefs | Mahomes |
| Las Vegas Raiders | Smith |
| Los Angeles Chargers | Herbert |
| AFC South | |
| Houston Texans | Stroud |
| Indianapolis Colts | Richardson/Jones |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | Lawrence |
| Tennessee Titans | TBD Draft#1 |
| NFC North | |
| Chicago Bears | Williams |
| Detroit Lions | Goff |
| Green Bay Packers | Love |
| Minnesota Vikings | McCarthy |
| NFC East | |
| Dallas Cowboys | Prescott |
| New York Giants | Wilson/Winston |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Hurts |
| Washington Commanders | Daniels |
| NFC West | |
| Arizona Cardinals | Murray |
| Los Angeles Rams | Stafford |
| San Francisco 49ers | Purdy |
| Seattle Seahawks | Darnold |
| NFC South | |
| Atlanta Falcons | Penix/Cousins |
| Carolina Panthers | Young |
| New Orleans Saints | Carr |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Mayfield |
The Giants got Wilson to be their #1. The are paying him $10.5 million and Winston $4 million. They are not going to announce a QB battle. Of course if Wilson loses a bunch he will be out but going into the season the job is his.
I’m not sure. Either the Giants don’t like any of these QBs and they are biding their time for next year. Or they are interested in one of these guys but don’t view any of them as a week 1 starter. It doesn’t fit with my personal philosophy, but plenty of people think the best strategy is to sit a rookie for a year to develop before throwing them to the wolves. Neither of those QB deals would preclude drafting a guy but definitely crates the option. The Giants are also picking third, so they have to prepare for the possibility that the first 2 picks are Ward-Sanders, and if they don’t view Dart as a legitimate option, they need a plan.
LOL
Patriots sign WR Stefon Diggs to a 3-year deal worth $69 million (but only $26 million guaranteed). On the one hand, he’s 32 and coming off a torn ACL, so one cannot expect him to put up numbers like when we was with the Bills. On the other hand, even with that in mind, he’s still better than anyone else on the roster. The Pats clearly overpaid, but they pretty much had no choice with this WR market, so… fingers crossed, I guess!
4 years after the 49ers traded two 1sts and a 3rd to draft him, it appears that Trey Lance is headed to the CFL.
Signing Diggs for that contract surprised the hell out of me. I figured he’d land somewhere on a vet minimum 1 year prove it deal. But the Pats pay him WR1 money. Good to see their front office hasn’t improved.