As the NFL Combine takes place this week in Indianapolis, we are ultimately looking for the next franchise quarterback. In our journey, we often associate collegiate draft prospects with previous players who attended the same school and performed at the same position. We take note of the players who have gone on to NFL stardom, we also note the players who have not succeeded. We speculate if the newest prospect will perform like his predecessor. In the end, we are looking for the next franchise quarterback.
Great tailbacks have long been associated with the University of Southern California. Mike Garrett began the “Tailback U” legacy at USC in 1965 by rushing for 1,440 yards and consequently won the Heisman Trophy after that regular season. Other top USC tailbacks to follow included Heisman winner O.J. Simpson (1968), Charles White (1979), Marcus Allen (1981) as well as Heisman runners-up Anthony Davis (1974) and Ricky Bell (1976).
Mike Garrett
Garrett went on to play in the American Football League (AFL) with the Kansas City Chiefs. He played in the first AFL-NFL World Championship (now called the Super Bowl) as well as in Super IV, as the Chiefs captured their first championship in beating the Vikings. That game was the last AFL-NFL World Championship before the AFL-NFL merger. Garrett played in a backfield that would have three backs on the field at the same time, reminiscent of the San Franscico 49ers and it’s “million-dollar backfield” of the early 1950s. As the tailback, Garrett would stand deepest in the backfield.
Simpson became the first NFL player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season in 1973. One of only eight players to date who have rushed for more than 2K in a season, Simpson remains the only player to do so in a 14-game regular season.
Mar Shawn Lloyd is the Trojan top running back in this year’s draft. A durable back with excellent balance, Lloyd, while not expected to be a first day selection, is a top prospect in this 2024 Draft class.
Franchise quarterback hotbed
Trying to find a similar comparison for quarterbacks on the college level has proven to be elusive. Western Pennsylvania does lay claim to having six quarterbacks elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame – George Blanda, Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, Joe Montana, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino. It therefore considers itself as the cradle for great NFL quarterbacks.
Former LSU standout Joe Burrows may have started a legacy run of franchise quarterbacks with the prospect of Jayden Daniels being taken in the Top 10 in this year’s draft. Burrows played his last two collegiate years at LSU. The 2019 Tigers won a national championship, going 15-0, as Burrows completed 76.3% of his passes, for 5,671 yards, with 60 TDs and just 6 INTs in one of the most statistically impressive seasons of all time. In his last game, the title game against Clemson, Burrows threw for five touchdowns. In his professional career to date, Burrows has completed 68% of his passes, with 97 TDs and just 37 INTs.
Franchise Quarterback Draft Projections
The current draft projections seem to fall in line with the following:
- Chicago Bears: Caleb Williams, QB
- Washington Commanders: Drake Maye, QB
- New England Patriots: Marvin Harrison, WR
- Arizona Cardinals: Rome Odunze, WR
- Los Angeles Chargers: Joe Alt, OT
- New York Giants
If the above projections fall in line, the New York Giants will have an opportunity to draft a top-flight quarterback. While it is true that their existing quarterback, Daniel Jones, is under a multi-year contract, it is also true that over the last three years, 129 quarterbacks have attempted 35 or more passes of 10 yards or more. Among them, Jones ranks 128th in completion percentage, and 124th in EPA per play. It is also true that the offensive line was porous last year, allowing 85 sacks of the quarterback, the most in nearly 40 years. One can correlate that Jones has been physically punished to the point that it is affecting his reads and throws down the field. Fixing the offensive line by itself will not fix the woes of the quarterback. Time to look for a new quarterback.
Jayden Daniels
One gets wishful watching Jayden Daniels’ play this year and hoping he will be the next franchise quarterback. The LSU quarterback completed 72% of his passes, while throwing for 40 TDs with just 4 interceptions. The next Joe Burrows? Time to inject new blood in a franchise that has drafted in the top 10 seven times in the last 10 years.
Barry Schustermann
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