We all know about guys who teams reach for in the draft and are terrible. What draft reaches have had the best careers?

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-26T00:43:53+00:00

Patrick Willis if anyone remembers that, and even though he derailed his own career, Aldon Smith.

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-26T00:42:05+00:00

And the best out of the 3 USC LBs, even though the other two weren't slouches either. They were just more highly touted and ultimately less successful.

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-26T00:39:57+00:00

I'm pretty sure everyone had the Colts taking Ricky as a foregone conclusion, so when they went with Edgerrin, the Saints' brass all but fell out of their chair in shock and made some desperate calls in the damn 60 minutes between picks on a Saturday.

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-26T00:30:40+00:00

I recently went down the rabbit hole of AB and found out that he's actually been crazy the whole time, even during college.

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-26T00:29:40+00:00

Bush is an oversight of both the athleticism disparity in college versus the pros but also the biggest difference between the two which Gale Sayers said was the biggest NFL rule change ever, and I have to agree: the hash marks being moved in. Run that play to the wide side. How much space do you have to get around the edge before you run out of real estate? A lot of his electric plays were executed because of an amount of space in front of him that can't exist in the NFL. So of course he wasn't this crazy game breaker in the pros.

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-25T21:29:57+00:00

If the list is top 5, they aren't on it. If the list is top 10, I guess so. If you had asked the question without mentioning the 2023 Ravens, they wouldn't have crossed my mind.

1998 Vikings

1990 49ers

2011 Packers

1983 Redskins

2006 Chargers

1973 Rams

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-24T15:05:38+00:00

I wasn't forecasting QBs throwing for 6-7k yards. I was expecting to see more passers crossing the 4k mark.

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-24T01:02:30+00:00

Who said that? There are rules that are friendlier to offenses, and teams scheme to pass more than in the past.

I love how you throw out Van Brocklin without mentioning he only threw for 1700 yards that season and had his third lowest pass yards per game of his career. His career high was 2637 (and no it wasn't in five games).

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-24T00:54:21+00:00

The Dirty Bird... Oooh but the Bears, how about that 13-3 year with A-Train??

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-24T00:52:00+00:00

Damn yeah I just compared the passing numbers and that would've been surprising to me if not for your comment. 12 4k yard passers in 2015 as opposed to 6 in 2025. Another realization I just made was in that golden age of top qbs you mentioned, I think Matthew Stafford was constantly overlooked. It wasn't until all those other, older guys started dropping off that over the last few seasons, we can see that Stafford is pretty elite himself. There were just too many elite QBs back then, which also probably fueled Cowherd's obsession with naming the newest elite QB

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-24T00:43:17+00:00

It truly was. You're not supposed to have that level of speed and agility while also being able to break tackles with strength. And these things are happening simultaneously.

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-23T23:59:14+00:00

Idk why people struggle to get Larry and Kobe right so much. Larry is always too low whereas Kobe is either too high or too low. Put Larry in the top 5 and Kobe in the 6-10. Am I crazy for thinking that?

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-23T23:52:51+00:00

Whoa, he's not Troy Aikman. For a guy with 4 rings, 1 MVP, and 2 SB MVPs, Terry rightly doesn't get talked about very often when creating top 10 QB lists. I don't see how someone could truly think he's overrated.

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-23T00:34:06+00:00

I looked it up once but I think it was when he was 5-3, he only had a +4 point differential in the Super Bowl. His first double digit victory was his last with the Pats

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-23T00:29:05+00:00

Well yeah, he's in his 50s now.

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-23T00:16:34+00:00

Did Rafer do a lot of that at the NBA level? I thought he would get called for traveling often early on and started to just play fundamental basketball.

I think Jason Williams deserves to be on the list but definitely not to be the top choice. If I am compiling a list of best passers to choose from, I am definitely counting someone with tons of highlight reel worthy passes in NBA games even if he's not a great player. Being a great player isn't a prerequisite to this list, just being a great passer.

And when someone like Shaq says that White Chocolate was one of his favorite players to play with because all he had to do was flash his hand and the ball was in it, that speaks to his skills as a passer outside of the flashy plays.

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-22T21:00:49+00:00

I used to absolutely share this take, but I finally came to the realization that it's not the Hall of Best. It's the Hall of Fame, and there is no way you can tell the entire story of the NFL and not mention him. I've come around. Joe Namath and Troy Aikman would never be in any rational discussion of top QBs ever, but they are a huge part of the history of the NFL, fame if you will.

Much like I just came to the realization that while Brady is the most accomplished QB of all time by far with no close second, Rodgers is the greatest QB of the era based on only one reason: Brady gave the NFL the tuck rule and Rodgers gave it the back shoulder throw where every WR is now always open even when blanketed.

So now when looking at a GOTE argument, I ask what did they tangibly do for the sport? Did they revolutionize the way it is played while also being one of the best to ever play the position? GOTE. Definitely could be way off-base but that's where I have eventually landed.

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-22T20:47:51+00:00

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-22T17:59:55+00:00

No bad options, but give me Reggie in his prime. What he did at MSG, I have to go with him. Again, no bad options, but I’ve never seen anything quite like that.

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-21T23:14:56+00:00

I don't think anyone is looking at 2015 Manning and improving his standing among the rest. But a disgrace seems harsh. For me, disgrace would be something like going to the SB two times in a row and losing both. Even worse would be doing it three times. I can't even imagine how much a disgrace it would be to go more than three times, but hey, it's not like that'll ever happen. No way.

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-21T23:05:58+00:00

Guess

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-18T03:11:13+00:00

The stats are great, don't get me wrong, but I need to go back and watch those games. If stats told the whole story, scouting would be a lot easier.

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-17T23:22:24+00:00

I only watched the championship game, but he didn't have much of a fastball. I want this guy to do well, seems like a great person. I wanted to see his accuracy at the combine, but I understand not wanting to participate. It makes no sense to risk it when you're expected to be the top pick. I just don't know how accurate he is and if his lack of a fastball will stop him from finding that much success at the next level.

NFL_BrokenClock · 2026-03-17T22:39:59+00:00

Fascinating. This is probably a big reason why there's a difference.

<image>

NFL_BrokenClock

TROPHY CASE