While you may be out there finding yourselves on the path to self discovery, I’m on the path to stats discovery as we close in on the beginning of the 2024 season. Every week as we approach the NFL season opener, I’ll take you on a truth-seeking, deep stats dive into a topical, debated NFL storyline.
Today’s topic is a draft debate. Jordan Love and Tua Tagovailoa both signed massive extensions in the last month, meaning the 2020 NFL Draft has produced a whopping $1.2 billion in quarterback contracts between Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert, Jordan Love and Jalen Hurts.
If their franchises are willing to commit that sort of cash, I don’t think it’s too early to suggest this is a generational group that could challenge 1983 and 2004 for the best quarterback classes of all time. For a refresher, the 1983 class produced a record six quarterbacks drafted in the first round (it was matched in 2024), including a record three Hall of Fame quarterbacks: John Elway, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino.
The 2004 class could also have a trio of Hall of Famers in Eli Manning, Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger. They all rank top 10 all time in touchdown passes and this is the only class to produce multiple quarterbacks with multiple Super Bowl wins.
Does 2020 even belong in the conversation?
Those are the gold standards for quarterback draft classes and they have set the bar very high. But, if $1.2 billion doesn’t convince you, here’s why the 2020 group belongs in the conversation.
While 1983 and 2004 produced three all-time great quarterbacks, 2020 could be the deepest class ever, and perhaps the first to produce five franchise quarterbacks. No draft class has ever featured five quarterbacks who spent at least 10 seasons with their debut team. There’s a long way to go, but this group has a shot. If they all play out the life of their second contract (which is a big IF), they would be on the…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/can-the-2020-nfl-draft-quarterback-class-challenge-1983-and-2004-for-best-of-all-time/
Author : Douglas Clawson
Publish date : 2024-08-16 12:43:02
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