The Detroit Lions have a chance to something special right now. With Matthew Stafford gone, and just about everyone else along with him, the Lions find themselves in the perfect position to rebuild in a completely different way.
For years, most teams have operated under the same old form. Let’s go out and draft a quarterback in the first round and build around him. Sometimes it works, but more often than not, it fails hard. Recent history shows that this form is dying on the vine frequently and at an accelerated rate.
First round quarterbacks 2010-2019
| 2010 | Rams | Sam Bradford | 1 | 5 | 49 | No | Fired after 1 season |
| 2010 | Broncos | Tim Tebow | 25 | 2 | 14 | No | Fired after 2 seasons |
| 2011 | Panthers | Cam Newton | 1 | 9 | 124 | No | Fired in 2020 |
| 2011 | Titans | Jake Locker | 8 | 4 | 23 | No | Fired after 1 season |
| 2011 | Jaguars | Blaine Gabbert | 10 | 3 | 27 | No | Fired after 1 season |
| 2011 | Vikings | Christian Ponder | 12 | 4 | 36 | No | Still with team |
| 2012 | Colts | Andrew Luck | 1 | 6 | 86 | No | Fired after 5 seasons |
| 2012 | Football Team | Robert Griffen III | 2 | 3 | 35 | No | Fired after 2 seasons |
| 2012 | Dolphins | Ryan Tannehill | 8 | 7 | 88 | No | Fired after 2 season |
| 2012 | Browns | Brandon Weeden | 22 | 2 | 20 | No | Fired after 1 season |
| 2013 | Bills | EJ Manuel | 16 | 4 | 17 | No | Fired after 3 seasons |
| 2014 | Jaguars | Blake Bortles | 3 | 5 | 73 | No | Fired in 2020 |
| 2014 | Browns | Johnny Manziel | 22 | 2 | 8 | No | Fired after 2 seasons |
| 2014 | Vikings | Teddy Bridgewater | 32 | 3 | 28 | No | Still with team |
| 2015 | Buccaneers | Jameis Winston | 1 | 5 | 70 | No | Still with team |
| 2015 | Titans | Marcus Mariotta | 2 | 5 | 61 | No | Fired after 1 season |
| 2016 | Eagles | Carson Wentz | 2 | 5 | 68 | No | Still with team |
| 2016 | Broncos | Paxton Lynch | 22 | 2 | 4 | No | Still with team |
| 2017 | Bears | Mitchell Trubisky | 2 | 4 | 50 | No | Still with team |
| 2017 | Chiefs | Patrick Mahomes | 10 | 4 | 46 | Yes | Still with team |
| 2017 | Texans | Deshaun Watson | 12 | 4 | 53 | Yes | Fired in 2020 |
| 2018 | Browns | Baker Mayfield | 1 | 3 | 45 | Yes | Fired after 2 seasons |
| 2018 | Jets | Sam Darnold | 3 | 3 | 38 | No | Fired after 1 season |
| 2018 | Bills | Josh Allen | 7 | 3 | 43 | Yes | Still with team |
| 2018 | Cardinals | Josh Rosen | 10 | 1 | 13 | No | Still with team |
| 2018 | Ravens | Lamar Jackson | 32 | 3 | 37 | Yes | Still with team |
| 2019 | Cardinals | Kyler Murray | 1 | 2 | 32 | Yes | Still with team |
| 2019 | Giants | Daniel Jones | 6 | 2 | 26 | Yes | Still with team |
| 2019 | Football Team | Dwayne Haskins | 15 | 2 | 13 | No | Fired after 1 season |
It’s hard to look at that chart and still feel like this is the most viable way to build a team.