Ryan Leaf. JaMarcus Russell. Akili Smith. Vince Young. Matt Leinart. Blaine Gabbert. Jake Locker. Josh Rosen. Robert Griffin III.
Each of these once-ballyhooed quarterbacks were top-10 NFL draft picks within the past quarter century. Each fizzled out without coming close to fulfilling their pre-draft hype, some surviving as few as three NFL seasons.
Let that inglorious list serve as a dose of reality to the quarterback-hungry teams eying potential saviors early in the first round of this week’s draft. History suggests that projected top-10 picks Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Mac Jones and Justin Fields aren’t all going to emerge as franchise quarterbacks — or even as dependable starters for that matter.