Well, since the best answer was taken already, how about this one:
Player A, 2017: 61.6% Comp, 3,468 yards, 19 TD, 13 INT, 80.4 QB Rating
Player B, 2017: 64.1% Comp, 3,141 yards, 18 TD, 13 INT, 80.4 QB Rating
You probably know who the two players are, I’m guessing. So it really doesn’t much matter. They’re both pretty average, overrated passers. If I had to pick, I would base my pick entirely upon whichever team had the better defense.
If people think there’s a significant dropoff from QB 4 to 5, they might still be motivated to trade up and grab them above Denver, which still makes it a fertile spot for a tradedown, although I grant that QBs going the top 4 is pretty rare. In particular, if a non-QB went in the 3 slot, Denver could more comfortably sit at 5, so they’re more motivated to move up a spot themselves, paying the Browns to move down a spot without losing whoever their target was, which is a nice scenario.
In any case, even without a trade down, the Browns are able to grab the top QB and top non-QB of the draft this way, which is sort of like having the #1 and #2 picks.
I was intending to imply they were the QB options for the same team…so all other things would be equal.
Hilarious how similar their stats were, but I think a 1 year analysis is too small a sample size. Without looking at stats I probably go with Eli based on my gut, but Flacco’s amazing playoff runs were with much crappier WRs so maybe I’m deluded.
Wonder if we’re too certain the Giants are drafting a QB…
Also wonder if the gap between say the top 2 and next 2 QBs is way bigger than the bloggers think it is. My personal board is Darnold > Rosen >> Mayfield > Allen. I think the Jets could get Geno Smithed here.
Y’all got any more of those cornerbacks? I was hoping for a shot at Butler, but nothing there. Green Bay made an offer to Kyle Fuller, but the Bears matched it and kept him. The big names left over are a couple former Packers, Rodgers-Cromartie, and Gaines. The pass rush seems like it should improve, which would help the secondary…but Green Bay really doesn’t have one of those.
After trading away Randall, I was certain Gute was looking to make a splash somewhere. I’m a little afraid that Wilkerson/Graham were the entire load, though the 14th pick seems a much better deal than the last, oh, 20 years worth of drafts.
Oh, yeah. That makes sense. Uh, I honestly don’t think I can say in a vacuum. Probably Eli because he can make more plays? On the other hand, Flacco makes fewer mistakes. I might have better chance winning with an offense that executes more consistently, even if it is marginally less explosive. As lame as it is, it depends on the composition of the rest of the team. Probably Flacco. No, Eli. No, wait, Flacco.
1 year is a small sample size. Let’s check out their career averages:
J.Flacco: 61.8% Comp, 3,578 Yards, 20.0 TDs, 13.0 INTs, 6.8 Y/A, 84.3 QB Rating
Manning: 60.1% Comp, 3,895 Yards, 25.6 TDs, 16.8 INTs, 7.0 Y/A, 84.1 QB Rating
I’m again throwing out Eli’s partial first year. Both QBs have been in the league for at least 10 years. So Eli makes a few more plays (for each team), but they’re remarkably equal. These guys are the same overrated, generic QBs.
I’ll regret this. Dropping the abbreviated 1st year.
Cutler: 62.0% Comp, 3,103 Yards, 19.8 TDs, 14.1 INTs, 6.6 Y/A, 85.3 QB Rating
Maybe those dismal Bears offenses and revolving door at OC during the Lovie years dragged down the attempts (and therefore total yard/year), otherwise it’s almost a carbon copy.
All things being equal I think I take Flacco. He’s basically never had receivers that were much better than replacement level. Is Boldin the best he’s ever had? Am I missing anyone? Eli actually had elite talent around him a few years there.
On this I disagree. Flacco got overpaid because of the timing, but he’s never really been considered more than decent I don’t think. Eli was put in the “elite” conversation for a long time on the backs of those Patriots upsets. Basically the same QB, but only Eli was really overrated.
I go with Flacco only because the Ravens’ offense is famous for throwing the bomb just to draw PI’s. But then I’m known for my disrespect of Li’l Bro, the savior of the Jints…
The nice thing, for the Browns, about the Jets trading up is now there is a team before their 4th pick who will definitely take a QB. Not sure what the Giants will do, and wasn’t really sure if the Colts might even pull the trigger on a QB, with some questions still surrounding Luck. So the Browns can take their QB at #1 and possibly whichever position player they want at #4.
Sam Darnold’s pro day is today. I think the Browns are going to take him, whether I want him or not, so I hope he has a good day to at least kind of help justify it…at least in my own mind.
I think you’re safe there. There are reports the Jets tried to trade with the Browns for the #1 before going to the colts. I don’t think there’s a way the Browns refuse to deal if they are just planning on getting Barkley anyway.
The Cleveland Browns: This year we’re gonna try.
Boldin was the best receiver he ever had in his prime, but Flacco also got the last three years of Steve Smith’s career, and the last three years of Derrick Mason’s career.
Flacco doesn’t get replacement level guys - he makes pretty good players perform at replacement level. Fun fact about Boldin and Flacco: Boldin averaged 1031 yards in 13 games in Arizona the 2 years before he joined the Ravens and 1120 yards in 15.5 games in San Francisco the two years after he left. In 3 years in Baltimore, he averaged 881 in 15 games. Nobody would have put Flacco in Warner’s class, but Colin Kaepernick got 240 yards a year more out of Boldin than Flacco did… before he got run out of the league for not being good enough. :rolleyes:
If we take the average of those career numbers from all three quarterbacks, I think we would come up with the perfect benchmark of what an average QB is. I’d be willing to use this as the standard against which all other QBs are compared.
If you do a Google search for “Flacco” and “elite” you come up with a ton of debate about it, including a lot of it from even this past season. According to one link, after the 2016 season, 22% of NFL fans said he was elite, which was down from the year before. While the Eli/ELIte debate was a lot more common, Flacco has gotten a lot of it too. None of it was ever earned.
And yet both are clearly considered “franchise QBs”, which should tell you just how worthless a phrase that is. And both were, at certain times, the highest paid player in the NFL.
The highest-paid player in the NFL at any given time is probably the latest starting non-rookie QB to renew their contract. No matter how good they are.
Yep, Jimmy G and Cousins have both held that mantle during this offseason alone, but it’s rather unlikely Kirk will be the record holder by the time training camp starts.
In other news, Morgan Burnett will be playing for the Steelers this fall. I’ve give it one Bengals game before FoieGrasIsEvil calls him a headhunting spear machine 
Has anyone watched a decent amount of the game film for the incoming quarterbacks? Any opinions on their strengths and weaknesses and projections?
I heard Sam Darnold did a fantastic job at the combine and Cleveland is expected to pick him at #1.
So I predict a career-ending injury in an offseason practice after he’s drafted.
The QBs I saw actually play were Darnold and Mayfield. Darnold did not impress me. Too many picks. I was at the game at Notre Dame and he frankly sucked on that day. That was not a PAC12 defense.
Mayfield’s play is impressive, but hard to say where his head is. Maybe he’s just really competitive, but his behavior has thrown up some tiny, little red flags for me. If he’s not really a head case, I think he could be a really good NFL QB.
I know almost nothing about the Joshes or anyone else out there. None of them sound like a slam dunk.
I watched Darnold a ton his freshman year and was wildly impressed. He was my dream QB for the Bears even though he was a year away from eligibility. I didn’t watch as much last season and he regressed a little by all accounts, but I’m chalking that up to external factors. I think he’s got a chance to be a great QB in the NFL and he’s really the only one of the 4 prospects I would value in the top 5. The others will certainly be drafted, but Darnold’s the prize. Pro Days are tough to get excited about but I watched a bit of the tape for his and he really looked the part in less than ideal conditions.
He wasn’t super sharp at the Combine, none of the QBs were. Usually I like the Combine for evaluating QBs, it doesn’t say much about their mental make up, but I think you can see if a guy is a natural thrower. Some guys have to think about where they throw, other guys it just happens, like pure reflex. If I had a criticism it’s that Darnold did look like he was steering the ball which would imply that turnovers may be an issue on some throws.
I actually think Darnold is a little bit better than Mayfield when it comes to improvising when the play breaks down but I didn’t watch a lot of Mayfield over the years, only the big games.