If you want a franchise-changing quarterback, you most likely need to trade up to get your guy — unless you conveniently had a disastrous season to hook your team up with a top pick. The Houston Texans used the second-overall pick to select C.J. Stroud and won their division in the same season. Their outlook as a franchise changed in large part because of Stroud’s play. But it’s just as crucial that the structure around the quarterback is stable for their development.
In his first season, they surrounded Young with Miles Sanders, Adam Thielen, and Hayden Hurst. These are veterans who have played in the NFL but were not in their prime or above average at their positions. Young ultimately did not have the rookie season that the Panthers were looking for after giving up so much to get him.
It’s still uncertain whether he will become their long-term answer, but head coach Frank Reich won’t get a chance to find out. Carolina fired him 11 games into the season. Young will be on his second head coach and offensive coordinator this upcoming season. The Panthers traded for wide receiver Diontae Johnson to help improve his supporting cast.
But the Panthers aren’t the only team to go all-in on a quarterback who didn’t work out. To select Sam Darnold, the New York Jets traded:
- Their sixth-overall pick
- Two second-round picks in the 2018 NFL draft
- And another second-round pick in 2019 to trade up to the third-overall pick
After Darnold’s first season, the Jets fired head coach Todd Bowles and replaced him with Adam Gase. New York produced the 31st and 32nd most points per game in the next two seasons, respectively, and they moved on from Gase. The Jets never made a big move at wide receiver to help support Darnold during the three seasons he started for them. In 2019, Jamison Crowder was his leading receiver with 833 yards. They never created a good environment for Darnold to thrive as a top-three pick in the NFL.
In 2018, the Baltimore Ravens traded back into the first round to draft Lamar Jackson. They gave up a second- and a fourth-round pick in 2018 and a second in the 2019 draft to receive the 32nd-overall and a fourth-round pick. Jackson sat behind Joe Flacco for the first half of the season before playing, and Baltimore developed him in a culture that head coach John Harbaugh had established.
Leave a Reply