Good point...I've been wondering when they will address this issue. TJ Yates was taken in the fifth round not as Schaub's replacement, but rather as a back up. Old school wisdom dictates drafting in the second or third round and having the young QB carry a clipboard for 2-3 years. I hope that this is the way they develop a quarterback, but unfortunately the overwhelming need at the position leads to teams drafting second, third or even fourth round talent in the first round, and starting them before they're ready (Locker, Gabbert, Ponder, Tebow).The changing of the guard at the QB position in the AFC South is underway. Are we ready for that future or will we be scrambling in a 2-3 years to catch up?
It seems to me there are only three ways to get a starting QB:
1). Be really, really, really bad like Indianapolis.
2). Trade three first round draft picks for a "lock" prospect like Washington.
3). Trade for a veteran player.
Options one or two presuppose a starting caliber QB is available in the draft. note: I was going to include 2007 as well but the quarterback class that year was just too depressing (think JaMarcus Russell).
Round 1 QBs
2011 - Cam Newton 1/#1, Jake Locker 1/#8, Blaine Gabbert 1/#10 and Christian Ponder 1/#12
2010 - Sam Bradford 1/#1 and Tim Tebow 1/#25
2009 - Matthew Stafford 1/#1, Mark Sanchez 1/#5 and Josh Freeman 1/#17
2008 - Matt Ryan 1/#3 and Joe Flacco 1/#18
Round 2-4 QBs
2011 - Andy Dalton 2/#35, Colin Kaepernick 2/#36 and Ryan Mallett 3/#74
2010 - Jimmy Claussen 2/#48 and Colt McCoy 3/#85
2009 - Pat White 2/#44 and Stephen McGee 4/#101
2008 - Brian Brohm 2/#56, Chad Henne 2/#57 and Kevin O'Connell 3/#94
Round 5-7 QBs of note
2011 - 5/#152 T. J. Yates, 5/#135 Ricky Stanzi and 7/#208 Greg McElroy
2010 - 5/#155 John Skelton and 6/#199 Joe Webb
2009 - 6/#201 Curtis Painter
2008 - 5/#156 Dennis Dixon, 5/#160 Josh Johnson and 7/#209 Matt Flynn
If I, as hypothetical general manager, use a top five pick on a quarterback he should be a franchise player. I think these guys fit that description; Cam Newton, Sam Bradford, Matthew Stafford, Josh Freeman, Matt Ryan, and Joe Flacco. We could for argument's sake include Mark Sanchez, but I won't. Maybe I'm projecting with Cam Newton, but the talent shown on the field puts him on my list.
So, with notable exceptions, if you want a starter you have to get him in the first round. It's also easy to see which first round selections were picked too early.
Ok, no problem! With the new rookie salary cap it's much easier than before to trade up into the top five picks. Ouch! That's the new problem. Now you have eight franchises all trying to trade up to get one player and you have to give up three first round picks. How many next year, four or five first round picks?
That leaves us at option three. Two good examples we're all familiar with, one good and one bad; Houston-Atlanta (Schaub) and Arizona-Philadephia (Kolb). One team let their scouts select the player and one team let the media select their player and overpaid. Guess which one was which.
Trading for our next quarterback could possibly be a much better value. Remember San Diego dumped Drew Brees after his rookie contract...