CFZ The best NFL teams draft QBs even when they have a good starter

[Bobhaze]

The QB position is THE hardest to find sustainable, quality talent. It often requires several attempts before finding a QB that has real value. Doesn’t mean you have to use Day one or two draft picks every year, but there is certainly evidence that even after you find a quality starting QB, your team should still be QB shopping in the draft often.

For some reason, our front office does not choose to draft QBs very often. Since JJ bought the team in 1989, the Cowboys have drafted 7 QBs. That’s 7 QBs in 34 years. From 1992-2009, the Cowboys only drafted 2 QBs- Quincy Carter in 2001 and Stephen McGee in 2009. From 2010-23, we have drafted 3 QBs- Dak, Mike White and Ben DiNucci.

Part of this was because of finding Tony Romo as an UFA in 2003 and stumbling upon Dak in round 4 in 2016. But it is still interesting how little the Cowboys have used draft capital to draft a QB. In the combined 19 years of the Cowboys having Romo and Dak under center, the Cowboys have only drafted 4 QBs.

One of the things I’ve noticed is the habit of many of the better NFL organizations is drafting QBs even when they have a quality starter. Look at these three organizations’ approach to drafting QB talent, even when they had a great starter:

• Green Bay- even when Brett Favre was QB, putting together a HOF career, the pack drafted 9 QBs in 13 drafts. In 2005, they drafted Aaron Rodgers in round 1, and went to 5 NFC championships and won a SB with Rodgers, yet in the 18 seasons Rodgers was in GB, the pack still drafted 6 QBs.
  
  
• San Francisco- the niners have played in 6 NFC championships and 2 SBs in this century and they have done that with 4 different starting QBs. Their habit of acquiring QB talent even when they have a great starter goes all the way back to the 80s when they acquired Steve Young in a trade with the Bucs when they already had the great Joe Montana. The niners have drafted 6 QBs in the last 12 drafts, and their draft of Brock Purdy with the last pick of the 2022 draft, even after drafting Trey Lance in round 1 in 2021 paid big dividends last season.
  
  
• New England- in the 20 seasons the GOAT Tom Brady was winning SBs in NE, the pats still drafted 9 QBs. Three of those QBs- Jacoby Brissett, Matt Cassel, and Jimmy Garropolo all were traded for better draft capital than they were originally drafted. New England‘s philosophy of drafting QBs even when they had the greatest QB in NFL history served them well.
  
  
• Kansas City- KC had Alex Smith from 2013-17, and he led the chiefs to the playoffs in 4 of his 5 seasons there. He was certainly seen as a good starter. Yet the chiefs chose to trade up in round 1 to draft Patrick Mahomes in 2017. No one knew Pat Mahomes was going to be what he turned into. And I’m a Texas Tech fan who saw Mahomes play in person 5 times!

Bottom line- IMO the Cowboys would be wise to draft a QB more often. The above teams have drafted QBs even with HOF talent in place. Regardless of what happens with Dak and his future with Dallas, this organization needs to draft a QB more often.

 

[75boyz]

Absolutely great post.
Quincy in round 2 decades ago and a whole lotta hope and prayers into a an UDFA and a 4th rounder for the past 15 years.

Just absolutely mind-boggling negligence shown in the refusal to draft or develop any QBs since Troy's retirement.

But wait, there's a whole Jerry brainwashed group here that says you NEVER move on, trade for, or invest high draft capital UNLESS it's an "ironclad proven plan" of being better than the current starter. Hence, the current QB purgatory.

Yeah, I don't understand football.
The ig list is long, lol.

 

[Mac_MaloneV1]

There's a lot misleading about this.

- Drafting before the salary cap is pretty irrelevant because you could afford to pay depth pieces and didn't need mid-round picks to fill out your roster.
- Brisset was traded for Philip Dorsett, Garropolo was drafted in the 2nd and traded for a 2nd, Cassel was traded with Vrabel.
- Alex Smith was bad, held them back, and needed to be replaced.
- Most of these QBs were whiffs entirely

There's really no reason to draft a QB if you have a starter, because chances are it's just a wasted pick.

 

[Bobhaze]

There's a lot misleading about this.

- Drafting before the salary cap is pretty irrelevant because you could afford to pay depth pieces and didn't need mid-round picks to fill out your roster.
- Brisset was traded for Philip Dorsett, Garropolo was drafted in the 2nd and traded for a 2nd, Cassel was traded with Vrabel.
- Alex Smith was bad, held them back, and needed to be replaced.
- Most of these QBs were whiffs entirely

There's really no reason to draft a QB if you have a starter, because chances are it's just a wasted pick.

Ok…but the Pats, Packers and niners drafted tons of QBs after the cap. And beside that, QBs on rookie deals are a great investment at low risk. They take very little cap space.

 

[jazzcat22]

All I know is if Dak fails this season, they best draft a QB in the top rounds. Even if they extend Dak for 2 years, or whatever.

However we know this will not happen. If Dak gets extended. It will be for 4 years. Therefore, no QB will be drafted for at least 3 years after this season.
Unless a late round pick for a back up QB.

 

[Mac_MaloneV1]

Ok…but the Pats, Packers and niners drafted tons of QBs after the cap. And beside that, QBs on rookie deals are a great investment at low risk. They take very little cap space.

Most of those QBs were complete wasted picks. Backup QBs always take up very little cap space. There's nothing wrong with taking them, but there's no reason to have an organizational philosophy of consistently drafting QBs. They're no more of a great investment than any other position, and have a lower ceiling if you already have a QB in place.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

Absolutely great post.
Quincy in round 2 decades ago and a whole lotta hope and prayers into a an UDFA and a 4th rounder for the past 15 years.

Just absolutely mind-boggling negligence shown in the refusal to draft or develop any QBs since Troy's retirement.

But wait, there's a whole Jerry brainwashed group here that says you NEVER move on, trade for, or invest high draft capital UNLESS it's an "ironclad proven plan" of being better than the current starter. Hence, the current QB purgatory.

Yeah, I don't understand football.
The ig list is long, lol.

I just posted this in a different thread:
"Waiting for the perfect opportunity to just land in your lap...might have you waiting forever.

Sometimes you do make your own "luck". Nobody expected Brady, late round draft pick...to become GOAT."

 

[big dog cowboy]

Bottom line- IMO the Cowboys would be wise to draft a QB more often.

Been saying that since before Aikman retired. You can't catch fish without casting out your line.

"Hitting" on Romo only made it worse. It seems to have convinced the Cowboys they can get a QB easily despite the struggles finding one in the years from Aikman to Romo.

In the last 20 years we have drafted S. McGee, Dak, M. White and B. DiNucci??? What kind of strategy is that?

 

[Bobhaze]

Most of those QBs were complete wasted picks. Backup QBs always take up very little cap space. There's nothing wrong with taking them, but there's no reason to have an organizational philosophy of consistently drafting QBs. They're no more of a great investment than any other position, and have a lower ceiling if you already have a QB in place.

I disagree. New England turned 3 of the QBs they drafted into trades for better draft capital. SF drafted Brock Purdy in 2022, one year after drafting Trey Lance in round 1, who was drafted 2 years after Jimmy G took them to a SB. If they hadn’t taken Purdy, they wouldn’t have made it to the NFC championship game last year.

The pack drafted 6 QBs after Rodgers was drafted. They drafted 9 QBs after they acquired Favre in a trade. Six of those 8 QBs were after the cap was instituted. Matt Hasselbeck was drafted in 1998 and in 2000 the pack got a 1st and 3rd rounder in return. In 2008, the pack drafted Matt Flynn who turned into a highly sought after FA later.

Sure, you don’t have to draft a QB every year. But to only draft 7 QBs in 34 years is not smart.

 

[75boyz]

I just posted this in a different thread:
"Waiting for the perfect opportunity to just land in your lap...might have you waiting forever.

Sometimes you do make your own "luck". Nobody expected Brady, late round draft pick...to become GOAT."

How a QB "risk" has not been taken prior to round 4 on the most important position on the field for 2 decades is just criminal GM negligence bro.

 

[Mac_MaloneV1]

I disagree. New England turned 3 of the QBs they drafted into trades for better draft capital. SF drafted Brock Purdy in 2022, one year after drafting Trey Lance in round 1, who was drafted 2 years after Jimmy G took them to a SB. If they hadn’t taken Purdy, they wouldn’t have made it to the NFC championship game last year.

The pack drafted 6 QBs after Rodgers was drafted. They drafted 8 QBs after they acquired Favre in a trade. Six of those 8 QBs were after the cap was instituted. Matt Hasselbeck was drafted in 1998 and in 2000 the pack got a 1st and 3rd rounder in return. In 2008, the pack drafted Matt Flynn who turned into a highly sought after FA later.

Sure, you don’t have to draft a QB every year. But to only draft 7 QBs in 34 years is not smart.

NE did not do that except kind of with Cassel, but he wasn't the only piece in the trade.
SF hasn't had a good QB, so yes, they keep drafting them. Purdy sucks anyway.
GB is a terrible drafting team and has wasted a bunch of picks.

You can find guys at every position who get drafted and then traded if you go back 40 years. It's hardly an argument for anything.

 

[DonaldM]

Nice, agree.

 

[Bobhaze]

NE did not do that except kind of with Cassel, but he wasn't the only piece in the trade.
SF hasn't had a good QB, so yes, they keep drafting them. Purdy sucks anyway.
GB is a terrible drafting team and has wasted a bunch of picks.

You can find guys at every position who get drafted and then traded if you go back 40 years. It's hardly an argument for anything.

And you can whiff on non-QB draft picks as well.

We can agree to disagree. I just believe you miss every shot you don’t take. You cant get lucky never taking a chance.Only drafting a QB when you “need” one is not a sound strategy. IMO it’s obvious.

 

[CCBoy]

Do we or not, trust a drafted QB by the current coaching staff?

 

[Bobhaze]

Do we or not, trust a drafted QB by the current coaching staff?

“We” meaning the Cowboys FO or “we” meaning Cowboys fans?

 

[KJJ]

Favre was aging and kept hinting at retirement, which is why Green Bay drafted Aaron Rodgers in the first round. New England didn’t start using higher picks on QBs until Brady was well into his 30s. They had no idea he would still be playing at a high-level into his 40s. San Francisco screwed up by trading the farm for Trey Lance. They would love to have a do over on that. In recent years the Cowboys have used a fifth and seventh round pick on QBs. They attempted to trade up into the first round for Paxton Lynch in 2016, which would’ve been a huge mistake. The two QBs they wanted in that draft ahead of Dak are no longer in the league.

 

[CCBoy]

“We” meaning the Cowboys FO or “we” meaning Cowboys fans?

Wanted an evaluation or indicators for successful drafting of a QB by Head Coach and OC. A fan's view is usually all that is presented, unless stats indicating success are added.

 

[TwistedL0g1k]

Bottom line- IMO the Cowboys would be wise to draft a QB more often. The above teams have drafted QBs even with HOF talent in place. Regardless of what happens with Dak and his future with Dallas, this organization needs to draft a QB more often.

Excellent OP!

I couldn't agree more.

 

[rambo2]

The QB position is THE hardest to find sustainable, quality talent. It often requires several attempts before finding a QB that has real value. Doesn’t mean you have to use Day one or two draft picks every year, but there is certainly evidence that even after you find a quality starting QB, your team should still be QB shopping in the draft often.

For some reason, our front office does not choose to draft QBs very often. Since JJ bought the team in 1989, the Cowboys have drafted 7 QBs. That’s 7 QBs in 34 years. From 1992-2009, the Cowboys only drafted 2 QBs- Quincy Carter in 2001 and Stephen McGee in 2009. From 2010-23, we have drafted 3 QBs- Dak, Mike White and Ben DiNucci.

Part of this was because of finding Tony Romo as an UFA in 2003 and stumbling upon Dak in round 4 in 2016. But it is still interesting how little the Cowboys have used draft capital to draft a QB. In the combined 19 years of the Cowboys having Romo and Dak under center, the Cowboys have only drafted 4 QBs.

One of the things I’ve noticed is the habit of many of the better NFL organizations is drafting QBs even when they have a quality starter. Look at these three organizations’ approach to drafting QB talent, even when they had a great starter:

• Green Bay- even when Brett Favre was QB, putting together a HOF career, the pack drafted 9 QBs in 13 drafts. In 2005, they drafted Aaron Rodgers in round 1, and went to 5 NFC championships and won a SB with Rodgers, yet in the 18 seasons Rodgers was in GB, the pack still drafted 6 QBs.
  
  
• San Francisco- the niners have played in 6 NFC championships and 2 SBs in this century and they have done that with 4 different starting QBs. Their habit of acquiring QB talent even when they have a great starter goes all the way back to the 80s when they acquired Steve Young in a trade with the Bucs when they already had the great Joe Montana. The niners have drafted 6 QBs in the last 12 drafts, and their draft of Brock Purdy with the last pick of the 2022 draft, even after drafting Trey Lance in round 1 in 2021 paid big dividends last season.
  
  
• New England- in the 20 seasons the GOAT Tom Brady was winning SBs in NE, the pats still drafted 9 QBs. Three of those QBs- Jacoby Brissett, Matt Cassel, and Jimmy Garropolo all were traded for better draft capital than they were originally drafted. New England‘s philosophy of drafting QBs even when they had the greatest QB in NFL history served them well.
  
  
• Kansas City- KC had Alex Smith from 2013-17, and he led the chiefs to the playoffs in 4 of his 5 seasons there. He was certainly seen as a good starter. Yet the chiefs chose to trade up in round 1 to draft Patrick Mahomes in 2017. No one knew Pat Mahomes was going to be what he turned into. And I’m a Texas Tech fan who saw Mahomes play in person 5 times!

Bottom line- IMO the Cowboys would be wise to draft a QB more often. The above teams have drafted QBs even with HOF talent in place. Regardless of what happens with Dak and his future with Dallas, this organization needs to draft a QB more often.

The Cowboys are one of the best. 25 wins in the last 2 years and look to be in the hunt with another 12 wins on the horizon this year.

 

[DallasEast]

The QB position is THE hardest to find sustainable, quality talent. It often requires several attempts before finding a QB that has real value. Doesn’t mean you have to use Day one or two draft picks every year, but there is certainly evidence that even after you find a quality starting QB, your team should still be QB shopping in the draft often.

For some reason, our front office does not choose to draft QBs very often. Since JJ bought the team in 1989, the Cowboys have drafted 7 QBs. That’s 7 QBs in 34 years. From 1992-2009, the Cowboys only drafted 2 QBs- Quincy Carter in 2001 and Stephen McGee in 2009. From 2010-23, we have drafted 3 QBs- Dak, Mike White and Ben DiNucci.

Part of this was because of finding Tony Romo as an UFA in 2003 and stumbling upon Dak in round 4 in 2016. But it is still interesting how little the Cowboys have used draft capital to draft a QB. In the combined 19 years of the Cowboys having Romo and Dak under center, the Cowboys have only drafted 4 QBs.

One of the things I’ve noticed is the habit of many of the better NFL organizations is drafting QBs even when they have a quality starter. Look at these three organizations’ approach to drafting QB talent, even when they had a great starter:

• Green Bay- even when Brett Favre was QB, putting together a HOF career, the pack drafted 9 QBs in 13 drafts. In 2005, they drafted Aaron Rodgers in round 1, and went to 5 NFC championships and won a SB with Rodgers, yet in the 18 seasons Rodgers was in GB, the pack still drafted 6 QBs.
  
  
• San Francisco- the niners have played in 6 NFC championships and 2 SBs in this century and they have done that with 4 different starting QBs. Their habit of acquiring QB talent even when they have a great starter goes all the way back to the 80s when they acquired Steve Young in a trade with the Bucs when they already had the great Joe Montana. The niners have drafted 6 QBs in the last 12 drafts, and their draft of Brock Purdy with the last pick of the 2022 draft, even after drafting Trey Lance in round 1 in 2021 paid big dividends last season.
  
  
• New England- in the 20 seasons the GOAT Tom Brady was winning SBs in NE, the pats still drafted 9 QBs. Three of those QBs- Jacoby Brissett, Matt Cassel, and Jimmy Garropolo all were traded for better draft capital than they were originally drafted. New England‘s philosophy of drafting QBs even when they had the greatest QB in NFL history served them well.
  
  
• Kansas City- KC had Alex Smith from 2013-17, and he led the chiefs to the playoffs in 4 of his 5 seasons there. He was certainly seen as a good starter. Yet the chiefs chose to trade up in round 1 to draft Patrick Mahomes in 2017. No one knew Pat Mahomes was going to be what he turned into. And I’m a Texas Tech fan who saw Mahomes play in person 5 times!

Bottom line- IMO the Cowboys would be wise to draft a QB more often. The above teams have drafted QBs even with HOF talent in place. Regardless of what happens with Dak and his future with Dallas, this organization needs to draft a QB more often.

A very good OP to review before commenting what the Jerry Jones-led front office *will do* at quarterback before any draft.