The quarterback position is somewhat similar to tight ends in that you’re usually fine with any landing spot affording you a shot at a legitimate and immediately productive fantasy asset. Drafting a starting quarterback is great but ask the Dwayne Haskins or Sam Darnold owners how they feel about it so far. Some teams are not equipped to support or develop a high-level quarterback. These are those organizations.
Washington Redskins
Washington just drafted Dwayne Haskins in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft and there are already rumors they want to draft another at number two overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.
That’s enough reason to make this a terrible quarterback landing spot. Yes, they have what looks to be a number one receiver in Terry McLaurin who finished as the WR25 his rookie season, but that still doesn’t fix the numerous issues that plague Washington. They fielded one of the worst defenses in the league last year. Football Outsiders has them ranked 24th in defensive DVOA and 23rd in weighted defense. Washington represented the bottom of the league and Ron Rivera, the newly hired defensive-minded head coach, will be looking to bolster that unit.
Washington started a rookie quarterback behind a mediocre offensive line, at best, with few offensive weapons. Haskins struggled last season and not just because he wasn’t good at football. Actually, he improved over the course of the year. Haskins threw five of his seven touchdowns and just one interception in his last four games and improved his completion percentage in each of his last four games. Yet, Washington would rather waste a first-round pick and cut bait than try and develop a player who was put in a nearly impossible situation. Drafting two quarterbacks in the first round two years in a row generally isn’t the preferred plan, but rumors imply they may go that direction. See Arizona as it pertains to the Kyler Murray and Josh Rosen experience.
Also, Dan Snyder is the owner. Need I say more?
Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville appears to be in full rebuild mode. They traded Jalen Ramsey in the prime of his career last year and just moved AJ Bouye for a fourth-round pick, then Calais Campbell for a fifth-round pick.
On March 18th, they traded the $88 million mistake that is Nick Foles to the Chicago Bears, leaving Gardner Minshew as the starting quarterback. Minshew showed promise last year but was benched for Foles in Week 10 when he returned from injury. That’s not the greatest vote of confidence for a young player. Jacksonville could look to bring in another quarterback through the draft as competition. You may ask “Why would they draft a quarterback?”. Jacksonville picks in the top 10 and you never know what a team will do if a top-tier prospect falls to their draft position.
The chaos doesn’t end there. Leonard Fournette is one of the last true weapons left in Jacksonville and he didn’t seem happy about Bouye’s departure. The Jags’ receivers aren’t elite by any standards making this a tough place to play regardless of the quarterback’s experience. DJ Chark was their WR1 last year but he’s more of a possession receiver finishing with 73 receptions on 118 targets for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns while feasting on a high target share (22.36%).
Jacksonville’s offensive line was also awful. They ranked 27th in pass protection and gave up 49 sacks. The entire situation in Duval leaves them as one of the most unattractive landing spots for a quarterback in this class.
Miami Dolphins
This may not be the case much longer but the Dolphins are currently one of the worst landing spots for a young quarterback in this class. Their team is simply not set up for a rookie to step in and succeed. They had the worst offensive line last year, ranking 32nd in run blocking and pass protection.
The Fins were the worst rushing team in the league and had no running back to speak of. Amazingly, Ryan Fitzpatrick was their leading rusher in 2019.
They averaged just 72.3 rushing yards per game and the only attractive assets they own are their young pass-catchers. The Fins are attempting to address their running back needs by signing Jordan Howard.
Sadly, the Dolphins sit at pick five in this year’s NFL Draft so they’ll have a shot at one of these young stud quarterbacks. Sure, being drafted by the Dolphins is a fairly certain path to a starting job, but is it a certain path to success? I don’t think so.
New England Patriots
The Patriots aren’t a bad landing spot because of coaching or a lack of talent surrounding the quarterback (though there are some issues in that department as well). It’s all about being the heir apparent to Tom Brady. Who could possibly fill the G.O.A.T’s shoes once he hangs it up?
Rumors are the Pats could be looking at players like Jordan Love or Jacob Eason, but whoever it is better have thick skin because New England fans are no longer familiar with losing. They may not respond so kindly.
Nobody wants to be the guy to succeed Brady. You want to be the guy after the guy. There is a real discussion to be had about the lack of offensive weapons on the Patriots but I have no doubts about Josh McDaniels and Bill Belichick’s ability to develop a rookie quarterback. I just don’t think the proper time to initiate the process is during the Tom Brady transition.
Green Bay Packers
Aaron Rodgers was operating behind one of the best offensive lines in the league last year. They ranked sixth in pass protection and Rodgers had the sixth most time to throw with all the time and space he needed to work. Being a quarterback in Green Bay wouldn’t be so bad if they had dependable receivers other than Davante Adams. The Packers didn’t have a receiver with over 1,000 yards last year and no other receiver on the team besides Adams has ever had over 500 yards in a season. It’s Adams or bust.
The Packers do have a decent defense and finally a solid running game so you may be wondering why this is such a poor landing spot for a quarterback? It’s because Rodgers is under contract through 2023 and doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to take someone under his wing and teach him the ropes, much like Brett Favre who once said it’s not his job to mentor the younger quarterback in waiting. I know what you’re thinking, “Well, it worked out for Rodgers”, but very few rookies can sit for three years with little to no help, and turn into one of the best ever.
We’ve seen young guys like Matt Flynn and Brett Hundley come in and fizzle out. These quarterbacks obviously never had a real chance in Green Bay, but they also were never successful elsewhere. I would avoid almost any quarterback drafted to the Packers.
Thank you for reading. If you have any thoughts or would like to discuss, you can find me on Twitter @WillieBeamanDFF
