New York Jets: Franchise quarterback doesn’t have to be top pick
Even since Joe Namath left the New York Jets, they’ve been searching for a franchise quarterback, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a first-round pick.
What is a franchise quarterback? Donovan McNabb was considered one, and he was a consistent winner, but couldn’t win the big one. Troy Aikman was certainly one, and he was a No. 1 overall pick and won three Super Bowls in four years.
Terry Bradshaw was also considered one. He was also drafted first overall, and until Super Bowl XLIX, he was one of two quarterbacks to have won four. Russell Wilson is one, and he’s been to the Super Bowl twice, winning once. Then, there’s Tom Brady, the guy who went from being the No. 199 selection to seven Super Bowl appearances and five wins.
The New York Jets are looking for that guy, the one that can take them to a place they haven’t been since 1968.
Let’s look at multiple Super Bowl wins as the barometer for labeling someone a franchise quarterback. In the Super Bowl Era, only 12 quarterbacks have won two-or-more Super Bowls. Here are the quarterbacks who’ve won multiple Super Bowls.
| 1st round picks | Picks after the 1st Round | |||
| Player | Overall Selection | Player | Overall Selection | |
| Terry Bradshaw | 1 | Tom Brady | 199 | |
| Troy Aikman | 1 | Joe Montana | 78 | |
| Eli Manning | 1 | Roger Staubach | 129 | |
| Peyton Manning | 1 | Bart Starr | 200 | |
| Jim Plunkett | 1 | |||
| John Elway | 1 | |||
| Bob Griese | 4 | |||
| Ben Roethlisberger | 11 |
If you look at that chart, you’d probably say that the Jets need to make a first round selection in that case. Both sides are listing the quarterbacks in order of number of Super Bowls won from highest to lowest (with ties being ranked by draft order).
The first round selections have won a combined 19 Super Bowls, and that’s great. There’s one problem with looking at simple numbers. When you take the Super Bowl accomplishments of the first four first round picks, it doesn’t equal the other four. Bradshaw, Aikman, and the Manning brothers have a combined 11 Super Bowl wins, while Brady, Montana, Staubach and Starr won 13.
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This doesn’t account for players like Brett Favre, Russell Wilson, Joe Theisman and Kurt Warner who only have one Super Bowl win each, but have been to two or more. None of those players were drafted in the first round either.
| 1st round picks | Picks after the 1st Round | |||||
| Player | Overall Selection | Wins | Player | Overall Selection | Wins | |
| Terry Bradshaw | 1 | 4 | Brett Favre | 33 | 1 | |
| Troy Aikman | 1 | 3 | Russell Wilson | 75 | 1 | |
| Eli Manning | 1 | 2 | Joe Montana | 78 | 4 | |
| Peyton Manning | 1 | 2 | Joe Theismann | 99 | 1 | |
| Jim Plunkett | 1 | 2 | Roger Staubach | 129 | 2 | |
| John Elway | 1 | 2 | Tom Brady | 199 | 5 | |
| Bob Griese | 4 | 2 | Bart Starr | 200 | 2 | |
| Len Dawson | 4 | 1 | Kurt Warner | UDFA | 1 | |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 11 | 2 | Total | 17 | ||
| Total | 20 |
So, even if you want to use getting to multiple Super Bowls and winning one as your barometer, it’s too close to call to say selecting a quarterback in the first round is a must. The class of quarterbacks is widely touted as one of the best in years, but even that doesn’t make it a must.
Next: Jets: Top 10 options at quarterback in 2018
Let’s not rush to the picks, though and cloud the judgement because of perceived talent. We can find good talent later in the draft. It just takes ingenuity and guts to wait and build the team around him properly.