Best way to get an elite QB

[n1997y]

Every team wants an elite QB. But what’s the best way to get one? The discussion of Purdy’s extension suggests there are different strategies, so which is best?

Is it better to churn through candidates until one emerges? Or sign a good prospect hoping they’ll get better?

It might be instructive to look at the last few elite QBs to see how they emerged. That raises another question: who are they?

For starters, who are the last five generational QBs to play in the NFL? Two are easy, Brady and Mahomes. After them, who else? Allen? Is he truly generational? Maybe we have to go back to Montana and Starr to find clearly generational talents, so perhaps it would be easier to find the top QBs of the past five to ten years and look at how they emerged.

For now, looking just at Brady, Mahomes, and Allen: one, Allen, stepped into a QB void; one, Mahomes, was a clearly superior prospect who developed and was promoted to replace an established star (Alex Smith); and one, Brady, was an unheralded rookie who developed behind the scenes until a fluke injury gave him the opportunity to supplant an established star (Drew Bledsoe) and he never looked back. So no common thread evident there.

What’s the best way to bag a unicorn, or roster an elite NFL QB?

 

[signbabybrady]

199

 

[maust]

199

 

[Thelonious]

You buy them, of course. Unfortunately, most are like the old Popeil Pocket Fisherman: you don't really know whether they are going to work for you until you unwrap them and try them out. Sometimes the ones that looked great on TV are really just flashy crap...er, crappies. Kinda lost my train of thought there.

Here's a GIF to make up for it. Not necessarily a package you want to unwrap.

 

[farn]

Weird that Purdy is used as an example of ‘elite’ in the first post. If he’s elite, I can’t imagine what title one would give to the likes of Elway-Montana-Marino-Kelly…

 

[n1997y]

Weird that Purdy is used as an example of ‘elite’ in the first post. If he’s elite, I can’t imagine what title one would give to the likes of Elway-Montana-Marino-Kelly…

Not used as an example of elite. I said the discussion of whether he was worthy of extending sparked my interest in the more general question of how to end up with an elite QB. Another example would be Kirk Cousins, as a QB that’s bouncing around the league getting signed by teams hopeful he’ll be good enough to lead them to the promised land. I figure if the Niners did not extend Purdy this year he would become the next Cousins, playing out his contract next year then hitting the FA market and being overvalued by teams desperate to find their next winning QB.

 

[XLIX]

Every team wants an elite QB. But what’s the best way to get one? The discussion of Purdy’s extension suggests there are different strategies, so which is best?

When you look at the (currently) elite QBs in the NFL, sure seems to me most (key word: MOST) of them were drafted by the teams they're still playing with.

 

[patfanken]

Every team wants an elite QB. But what’s the best way to get one? The discussion of Purdy’s extension suggests there are different strategies, so which is best?

Is it better to churn through candidates until one emerges? Or sign a good prospect hoping they’ll get better?

It might be instructive to look at the last few elite QBs to see how they emerged. That raises another question: who are they?

For starters, who are the last five generational QBs to play in the NFL? Two are easy, Brady and Mahomes. After them, who else? Allen? Is he truly generational? Maybe we have to go back to Montana and Starr to find clearly generational talents, so perhaps it would be easier to find the top QBs of the past five to ten years and look at how they emerged.

For now, looking just at Brady, Mahomes, and Allen: one, Allen, stepped into a QB void; one, Mahomes, was a clearly superior prospect who developed and was promoted to replace an established star (Alex Smith); and one, Brady, was an unheralded rookie who developed behind the scenes until a fluke injury gave him the opportunity to supplant an established star (Drew Bledsoe) and he never looked back. So no common thread evident there.

What’s the best way to bag a unicorn, or roster an elite NFL QB?

The answer is simple and obvious. You have to be very VERY ... lucky.

You cannot find the skills and qualities that make top 5 QB's simply in a college scouting report, or even what a player does his first couple of years in the league. If you look on what historically has made "generational QB's" it is largely the non-athletic attributes that separate that player from the vast majority of the rest.

It is the ability to make those around them better. It is their leadership skills. It is their ability to process vast amounts of moving information in 2 or 3 seconds and CONSISTENTLY make the right decisions. It is that innate drive to continually demand of yourself to improve and be better even after you have had some success. NEVER resting on your laurels.

You can try all you want to try and ferret out these attributes, but they can never be "quantified" like a 40 yd dash or a 3-cone time or an RAS score. They can only be "developed" over time.

Drake Maye seemed like he has the talent to be a top 5 QB. He seems like he has the drive necessary to get better year over year as he tries to master his craft and overcome adversity. But the truly great ones in any team sport are NOT measured by the individual stats they put up, but how they make those AROUND them better. Brady was the epitome of that kind of player. He was a self made player who became the GOAT only have 2 decades of hard work and the drive to be better. We are only into year TWO of the Drake Maye era and we have a long long way to go before we see if he ends up being a true franchise QB, or just another guy who played QB in the NFL with various amounts of success.

There is a reason why there are so few of them.

 

[PP2]

Pray.

 

[PancakeBlockPaul]

I’m so glad Lawrence’s name wasn’t mentioned as “generational “ here. Because he is not. Kudos OP for not repeating the media dribble. Best way to get one? Draft and pray. Homegrown talent is the way to go with a smattering of mercenaries. When drafting, you get to develop them how YOU want them to play and hope they turn out the way you want. You just have to make sure he’s good before the draft unlike say Corky Jones.

 

[PancakeBlockPaul]

Not to reply to myself but I really wonder if there were questions about Macs resolve pre draft and if they were just ignored or what…

 

[SammyBlueCat]

Look for a Cat Like Quick mind

 

[mayoclinic]

Purdy as an "elite" QB is laughable. The question is, is he "good enough"? The 49ers are gambling that he is.

Every team wants a QB they can win with. Jalen Hurd is a great example. Not "elite", but good enough with a talented team around him.

The big question is when to cut your losses and move on. Sticking with someone who will never get you there is poison, but starting over is like panning for gold. Unless you get lucky, you end up no better off than where you wrre, sometimes worse. Most teams are stuck in this vicious cycle.

Getting a truly elite QB that you can build around is a bonus. Recognizing and supporting that is key, whether that player was drafted at 3 or 199.

 

[PancakeBlockPaul]

Look for a Cat Like Quick mind

Needs to be in the job description by default imo.

 

[BennyBledsoe]

An elite QB (or player) has to want to constantly improve, no matter how good or bad they start off with. They have to be willing to learn. Jerry Rice wasn't just BOOM....Jerry Rice. He perfected his craft to a level of intensity rarely seen before.

As for QBs, you have to be TOTALLY aware of what the strengths and weaknesses of YOUR team are, along with the defense you're facing. You have to be willing to suck it up, throw short passes if that's what your offense can do. Throw the ball out of bounds to avoid a sack. Keep your body out of danger until it's necessary.

 

[Steve102]

You buy them, of course. Unfortunately, most are like the old Popeil Pocket Fisherman: you don't really know whether they are going to work for you until you unwrap them and try them out. Sometimes the ones that looked great on TV are really just flashy crap...er, crappies. Kinda lost my train of thought there.

Here's a GIF to make up for it. Not necessarily a package you want to unwrap.

When does she, you know, move ?

 

[Wozzy]

Joe Montana, Kurt Warner, these weren't elite athletes... but they were elite QB's. I think too often people confuse the two, or assume they're mutually exclusive. Then there was that really not athletic guy who was taken in the 6th round that turned out pretty good. I hesitate to even mention him because posters here get too emotional talking about and ascribe magic powers to him... that made him unique. He wasn't magic, wasn't a great athlete, but he was unique in decision making, situational football, toughness and heart.

Meanwhile far superior athletes have fallen flat on their faces, or ended up unreliable decision makers. You need to draft great or good accurate college passers first and foremost. I think Josh Allen, who improved mightily as a pro, is few and far between. You don't often see average college passers improve in the pros like he did, it's an anomaly, his age and the team developing him was a large part of that.

QB's are hard to find, every year only a handful emerge from a draft class... like kickers, only they handle the ball and play a lot more. Smart, tough, accurate... the mental part of the game is the hardest to quantify among all rookie prospects, now shrink that down to the really accurate and explosive college passing talent pool... there's vey few legitimate QB prospects every year.

Now they have to go the competent teams... and the number of competent teams is low. If they go to a dog, their careers can sputter, they can get the crap kicked out of them and have nobody to throw too or weak schemes. That takes a really low percentage of capable prospects, and diminishes their chance to succeed even more. It's a team game, the prospect needs the right stuff, and land on a team that can develop and showcase him. A lot has to go right for a college QB to develop into a capable pro.

 

[Thelonious]

When does she, you know, move ?

Candy Darling, alas, moves no longer. She's up in Heaven, giving St. Peter tips on his eyeliner.

 

[Huckleberry1]

The best way to get an elite QB is to suck.

 

[Thelonious]

The best way to get an elite QB is to suck.

Not a sufficient condition, but pretty generally a necessary one. I mean, the Jets sucked for years and they ended up with Boy Wonders Sanchez and Wilson.