This NFL season has brought along many questions and many of those questions have been brought up by the media. However, one question that has failed to be brought up. This question is, “are capable NFL Quarterbacks a dying breed?”
With the new roughing the passer rule, it has been a lot easier for quarterbacks to score points. However, we are still seeing many of the NFL’s quarterbacks letting their side down time and time again. All I heard going into this season was ‘Andrew Luck is back from injury’, he is currently going 2-5. I also kept on hearing about how good DeShaun Watson will be. He is currently going 4-3. Finally I kept hearing how Carson Wentz is back from injury. Yet my Eagles are currently sat on 3-4. There are so many teams and specific players who back up my theory that capable NFL QB’s are dying out.
Teams Needing Quarterbacks
I am now going to show you just how many teams need a new QB in the next 2-3 years. Obviously, some depend on when some players actually decide to retire so this won’t be completely accurate.
Let’s start off with the joint-worst team in the NFL right now, the New York Giants. I said back before the draft, they needed to take the best QB left in the draft with their #2 pick because Eli isn’t cutting it anymore. Instead, they took running back Saquon Barkley and they are currently playing the price. Eli Manning is currently killing every chance the Giants have in the NFL. Especially with that bumper contract they gave him. It’s time they moved on from him and draft the next big thing. Oh wait, next year’s draft class doesn’t hold the QB talent like years before. There’s not a single QB in there that I can say for sure will make it in the NFL.
Moving onto the Miami Dolphins and specifically, Ryan Tannehill. I have asked a few of my friends this same question and they have all come back with the same answer. You can have a good defense and running game and still win. I agree but many of these teams don’t have that so they need a quality QB to lead them and this isn’t Tannehill. Although the Dolphins are 4-3, they got off to a miracle start and Tannehill has looked like his usual self, a very average QB. It’s time for Miami to either trade for a new QB or gets themselves a talent in the draft.
Now there are a few teams with legend HOF QB’s, specifically the Pats, Saints and Steelers. Big Ben, Brady, and Brees have been unbelievable in their NFL careers. However, age catches everyone in the end and they all will be retiring in the near future, meaning their teams have a massive spot to fill. All 3 teams will be looking for replacements. Saints might stick with Bridgewater but he is quite injury prone. Steelers drafted Mason Rudolph but it was later on in the draft so I can’t see him being good enough to replace Big Ben. The Pats, in my opinion, had their Brady replacement in Jimmy G but they traded him away and now have a big decision on their hands. Add the Chargers to that mix of teams as Philip Rivers isn’t the youngest of guys and you now have four teams looking for replacements.
Now let’s get into the inconsistent QB class. The teams that live in here right now are the Texans, Jags, Cowboys, and Titans. DeShaun Watson hasn’t lived up to the hype that people were giving him before this season kicked off, but I will give him the benefit of the doubt. He has started to perform in recent times so it’s just a case of keeping an eye on him.
The Jags cannot stick with Bortles after this season. They have a fantastic running game, especially now they traded for Hyde, however, they need a QB to take the reins and lead the team when their key player has gone. Bortles hasn’t done this and it’s time for the Jags to get a package together to trade for someone.
Another team that is struggling thanks to its inconsistent QB is the Titans. Mariota has really struggled this season and has let his team and especially his defense down. The Titans currently have a very good roster and could be further up the standings if they had a better QB. It’s time to say goodbye Mariota!
The final team I will look at is the Cowboys. Dak Prescott cannot take the Cowboys any further than what he currently has. I understand they have an elite running game thanks to Zeke but Dak likes to run with the ball as well and this just doesn’t give the Cowboys the variety of play calls that can catch a defense off guard. If they want to become the dominating force they believe they should be, they have to move on from Dak.
Now, from the paragraphs above you can see that 10 teams need a new QB in the next 2-3 years, which wouldn’t be an issue if we had the QB talent of the last draft again for the next 3 years, but we don’t and that’s the major problem. There just simply isn’t enough QB talent coming through to satisfy all the teams in this article. That is a major concern and it’s going to be a good storyline to follow over the next few years.
Our guest write Stephen Beavonis is an Eagles fan and has been following the league for around 6 years. You can follow him on Twitter at @steveoo_24.