Why You Can’t Let Young QBs Learn from the Bench/MMQB

Why You Can’t Let Young QBs Learn from the Bench

By Andy Benoit

Every team would love to keep its highly drafted quarterback under wraps for a season or two so he can slowly transform into a franchise player, but it’s a pipedream in today’s NFL

The MMQB spent 24 hours with quarterback prospect Patrick Mahomes as he prepares for his pro day.

Every year we see NFL teams draft an unready quarterback in the first or second round, with the intention of having him learn from the bench as a rookie. The Bears (Mitchell Trubisky), the Texans (Deshaun Watson) and especially the Chiefs (Pat Mahomes) will toy with this idea in 2017. It’s a logical and admirable approach. Every team wants its guy to be like Aaron Rodgers emerging from Brett Favre’s shadow, turning an apprenticeship into stardom. The only problem: that never happens anymore.

Literally. It … does … not … happen. Since 2006, no team that drafted a quarterback in the first two rounds sat him for the entirety of his rookie season and then saw him become a long-term franchise quarterback. In fact, only two QBs in that time who sat out their entire rookie seasons have even gone on to start at least 48 games: Colin Kaepernick, with the 49ers, and Chad Henne, with the Dolphins.

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[mmqb.si.com]