Michael David SmithVerified account @MichaelDavSmith
FollowFollow @MichaelDavSmith
Today's reminder of the unpredictability of the draft: The first 4 QBs drafted in 2012 threw 0 passes in 2017. The 5th QB in 2012 was so bad, Houston gave up a second-round pick to get rid of his contract. The 6th, 7th and 8th QBs were Russell Wilson, Nick Foles and Kirk Cousins.
6:40 AM - 13 Feb 2018
Can't argue with the concept, but it is a little misleading. The author of the tweet makes it sound like the first 5 QBs were horrible and not worth the pick, yet the later round selections worked out wonderfully, making the reader think "early round QB selections are not good picks", or "a team can find just as good QBs in the late rounds as they can in the early rounds".
Luck (#1) and Tannehill (#3) were both injured in 2017 - so of course they didn't throw any passes. When healthy, Luck is the top of this class. Tannehill is about right in the 3 or 4 spot.
RG3 (#2) is out of the league - and rightfully so, although there are rumors he's trying to get back into a league somewhere. CFL?
Weeden (#4) is a career back-up. He was picked early because it was CLE, who went for a "big, AFC North kind of QB" after not being able to trade up for either Luck or RG3.
Osweiler (#5) did play in Denver, back where he started. He didn't perform great in HOU, as he wasn't a fit for that scheme/coach. Bad fit, so HOU got rid of him and his contract. Granted he's not a great QB, but the situation would lead more toward it being HOU's fault than Osweiler. Not defending Osweiler, but HOU offered the $$ to him without checking to see if he was the right fit for their system. HC and FO not on the same page. Sound familiar?
Wilson (#6) was a miss by many teams that year. He was overlooked because of his size/height. Sound familar?
Foles (#7) is a system QB. He's failed everywhere except where he fits the system (Reid, Pederson). Yes he helped lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory in 2017, but I don't think he's better than Luck. If Foles leaves Philly, I see a regression in his future.
Cousins (#8) is one I would argue could've/should've went higher. Like Wilson, he was overlooked by many - altho some of the stigmas are still there with him. He's not elite, like Luck is/was, but he's better than Weeden, Osweiler, and Foles.
If I could go back and redraft that class, I would rank them Luck, Wilson, Cousins, Tannehill, Foles, Weeden, Osweiler.