The Cowboys and QBs -- High Number and Low Number Models
Posted by Rafael at Monday, January 06, 2014
Always keep the quarterback position stocked. That was a philosophy held by the first Cowboys regime. In the 28 drafts he ran for the team, Gil Brandt drafted 15 quarterbacks, a rough average of one every other draft. In the famous '64 draft which produced three Hall of Famers (Mel Renfro, Bob Hayes and Roger Staubach) Staubach was one of three quarterbacks selected, even though Don Meredith was in his prime years.
Roger Staubach - the
prize of a QB numbers game.
The following year, Dallas spent the 5th overall pick on California's big armed QB Craig Morton, Brandt's QB splurges meant the team was in no danger when the 30 year old Meredith announced his surprise retirement after the '68 season. That depth provided a second dividend six years later, when Staubach was established as the starter. Dallas traded Morton mid-season to the Giants for a 1st round pick. That proved to be the second overall selection in 1975, a pick Dallas used on Randy White.
Stockpiling quarterbacks provided a similar dividend for Jimmy Johnson, as yesterday's story showed. Johnson picked three in his five years running the Cowboys war room.
Of course, both of those regimes operated without a salary cap, meaning quarterbacks were inexpensive to draft. Furthermore, Landry didn't face free agency, meaning he could develop his signal callers slowly. Most quarterbacks in those days were asked to "carry the clipboard" for a couple of years before they got their first starts.
The modern CBAs, which limit first contracts to four or five years, and the salary cap, create pressure to play quarterbacks sooner and to make cut-or-keep calls on them earlier than in the past. What's more, the cost of high-round quarterbacks can be dangerous to a franchise's health. In the previous collective bargaining agreement, quarterbacks taken at the top of the draft received increasingly excessive signing bonuses. Jamarcus Russell pocketed over $31 million in guaranteed money from the Raiders in 2007. Sam Bradford, the last QB taken first in the old system, got $50 million in guarantees from the Rams in 2010.
Despite these financial disincentives, most NFL teams continued the practice of drafting quarterbacks on a regular basis. As this chart shows, in the years since Dallas double dipped on Troy Aikman and Steve Walsh, teams have drafted signal callers at the rate of one every three years.
That old school method still works. Consider the Patriots, who took Tom Brady in the 6th round of the 2000 draft and saw him replace Drew Bledsoe, the 1st overall pick of '93, in the Pats 2001 Super Bowl run. Brady's instant evolution let New England trade Bledsoe for a 1st rounder the following year. The Pats have drafted five QBs since taking Brady and had Matt Cassel, their 2005 7th round selection, ready when Brady blew out a knee in the 2008 opener. Cassel led the team to an 11-5 finish and the Pats dealt him for a high 2nd rounder two years later, realizing an impressive return on investment.
Quarterbacks Drafted by Team 1990- 2013
13 -- Redskins
12 -- Broncos, Jets, Packers
11 -- Eagles
10 -- Bears, Buccaneers, Patriots, Ravens, Steelers, 49ers
9 -- Bengals, Cardinals, Chargers, Giants, Seahawks, Vikings
8 -- Falcons
7 -- Browns, Colts, Lions, Panthers, Rams, Saints, Titans
6 -- Raiders, Texans
5 -- Bills, Chiefs, Dolphins, Jaguars
4 -- None
3 -- Cowboys
Average 8.3 per team
Most teams does not include the Cowboys, who have taken one every ten years on average, since Jimmy Johnson picked Bill Musgrave in '91.
The Cowboys clearly operate on a different business model when it comes to quarterbacks. Yet, they've had a quality quarterback starting for them in most years since Jerry Jones bought the team. Does a different model mean a lesser model? We'll consider that question tomorrow.
Quarterbacks Drafted by Regime
Landry/Brandt ('61-'88) -- 15 in 28 drafts.
Johnson ('89-'93) - 3 in 5 drafts.
Jones/Switzer/Gailey/Campo/Parcells/Phillips/Garrett ('94-'13) - 2 in 20 drafts.