Here's our take on the top 10 worst quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL. Follow Nonstop Instagram: / nonstop TikTok: / nonstop Twitter: / nonstop Imagery supplied by Getty Images
As Colts fan, I truly believe if we had selected Leaf we wouldn’t have a team in Indy anymore. Colts were toying with the idea of moving to Los Angeles (or somewhere else), but once Peyton was killing it, we built a new stadium, and still have a team. That’s why Lucas Oil is commonly referred to as “The House that Peyton Built”, and it’s not wrong.
It amaze me that the narrative now as people look back on Maziel is one of surprise. There were plenty, and I mean plenty of people who had serious doubts that the guy could make it in the NFL. I remember my buddy and I watching the draft that year and being absolutley relieved when the Browns passed on him for Justin Gilbert. Then that relief turned into worry when they traded up to the end of the first round and horror when they took him. And in the end, Gilber ended up being just as bad, so it was a double whammy.
I remember that draft. As a Cowboys fan, I was worried the Cowboys would take him as it was rumored that Jerry was infatuated with him. Luckily Jerry was overridden in the draft room.
Yeah y'all Browns fans can't catch a break. I'm an Eagles fan but always root for the Browns to finally get over the hump to being respectable. Thought Baker was the answer. Your GM better start drafting QBs with year round tans. Y'all are the kings of white QBs busts.
Johnny Manziel was a sure fire bust. Guys like Mel Kiper and Skip Bayless that thought he should be first overall were oblivious to his excessive partying. When he failed to show up to the Manning Academy due to a hangover before his sophomore year at A&M, everyone should have sold their stock in Manziel.
He was a Psycho too mentally screwed up he was just white hype all He was dude was trash he was trash in college too saw him play in college backyard football crap that wasn’t gonna work in the nfl no head no smarts no accuracy small size no arm
Manziel was already a full fledged alcoholic coming out of college. I admit, I thought he’d be a competent pro QB not knowing his demons were so far along.
Mel Kiper and Skip Bayless. There are decades of reasons of why no one should ever listen to either of those fools. Yet every year, people act like their opinion means something. Why?
JaMarcus Russell is one of the biggest true definitions to the quote from A Bronx Tale: "The saddest thing in life is wasted talent. You could have all the talent in the world, but if you don't do the right thing, then nothing happens. But when you do right, guess what? Good things happen."
@@Storm-uo3wr He had the most potential coming out of college and into the NFL out of everyone else on this list and was the number 1 pick. Wasted potential is worse than no potential at all.
@@triplebbb1484 man you have guys like Heath Shuler, Andre Ware, David Klingler , Jim Druckenmiller should I go on ? I know what I'm talking about the media leads you all around by your noses
Unlikely, his whole style couldn’t translate to nfl play. He excelled going off the script, that kind of play doesn’t work in the nfl Edit: yes I understand other players do off script, I more mean when that is your entire persona as a player. That can be a skillset in your bag but to succeed in nfl need more than just that. Also mike evans was great
Time stamps 0:00 manziel 2:09 Harrington 3:27 Ieinert 4:57 Kaiser 6:20 winky 7:39 health Schuler 9:46 Akili smith 11:31 Jamarcus Russell 12:55 Ryan leaf 14:41 end Tell me if I missed any you guys
How many remember Scott Hunter from the 70's? Alabama QB drafted by Green Bay. Remarkable two game stretch in 1973 against the Lions and Bears. Combined 4 for 25 passing, 13 yards passing. Only 2 pics. Against the Lions he had -4 yards passing. 4 sacks for 33 yards. A team net passing total of -42 for the two games. 2 rushes for -5 yards. But one rush was for a TD. Plus don't forget his 3 fumbles.
I’ll see your Scott Hunter and raise you Terry Hanratty in 1974. He had swann, stallworth, frank lewis, franco, bleier etc and still had statistically the worst start I’ve ever seen.
@@ronsmac I remember reading a book on the Steelers, and how fans were calling for Chuck Noll's head almost immediately because, in the 1969 draft, he selected Mean Joe Greene instead of Hanratty, who they picked up in the second round.
Talent can only get you so far. You have to be healthy, mature, have integrity and have the right mindset. You also need to have the teammates and coaches that do their job properly and know what they’re doing.
NFL players have said, NCAA and NFL are basically 2 different sports, at every position. I think it gets lost on people, but every NFL team is an NCAA all star team. Every NCAA team is a high school all star team etc. When Manziel and Tebow are running around making all these plays, 4/5 kids on the field will never play a down in the NFL. The closest experience I have is... I was pretty good at soccer in high school. Made it to state playoffs and got obliterated. I got like one D3 offer (that I didn't take) and another kid got one D2 offer... that was it from our senior class. We won our division/conference, and we didn't have one NCAA D1 athlete on our team lol. Also, its soccer. We were all 17/18 years old... meanwhile in Europe they're playing for Manchester United and Barcelona at our age. We were so far removed from "rookie pro" level in a real league... and had no idea at the time. Its like that...
@@Messup7654 This is why Brady, Warner, Romo, Purdy, Jimmy G (who was probably the most successful of them all in college) are rated highly. None of them rated highly in college, none of them you'd consider "super athletic", but they're accurate (60+%), get rid of the ball quickly (< 3 seconds), and don't make many mistakes (3:1 TD/INT). And they were all battle tested in college, and didn't have 6+ seconds to throw like the big school QBs. They're "mobile enough" and their arm is "good enough", but they don't have the arms or legs of the 1st round picks.
To reference a quote from another RU-vid video solely about Manziel (but could apply to other athletes listed here), "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard."
You forgot Dan McGwire (Mark McGwire's brother). Drafted by the Seahawks with the 16th pick in the 91 draft. He started five games in his career and appeared in just 12 for the Seahawks. He was just 74-of-147 with 745 yards, two touchdowns, and six picks in four seasons.
I've said this to many of my friends.. Cleveland biggest issue was they drafted quarterbacks instead of what they actually needed which were offensive linemen.
I have a theory about football roster building that goes that if your offensive line and your defense are good enough, if you've got an even halfway decent third-round pick on a rookie contract under center, you're already at an almost unfair advantage in terms of winning the Super Bowl. If you're going to pay a QB, he'd better be in the Brady/Manning/Brees/Mahomes tier, otherwise his contract will kill your ability to build a team around him. See guys like Jim McMahon, Jeff Hostetler, Mark Rypien, Trent Dilfer, Russell Wilson (told you so, Seahawks fans, that team declined the moment they had to pay Wilson)...
@@SimuLord Yup.. a good offensive line can protect the QB and open holes in the defense and give the QB time to think.. Whereas a crap Oline causes star players to get hurt. Hell if the Browns had a good offensive line when Kosar was playing he'd probably have a ring with them instead of the Cowboys... There's a reason why Kosar made so many passes to Ozzie... Ozzie was the only one within reach to get the ball because Bernie had to get rid of it so fast because the Oline couldn't protect him
@@unlimitedpower978 well yeah that’s cuz the dogshit QBs are usually third stringers or practice squad players. The only shit QBs who get a chance are first rounders, while guys like Nathan peterman pop up time to time, he rarely starts
I remember watching Heath Shuler as a little kid. I remember he took a snap, dropped back to pass and just tripped over himself on the mid field logo at RFK Stadium.
I was at FSU with Weinke. Because he had already gone through school when he was a baseball player he only had to be barely enrolled for his eligibility. I think he took one class in 98,99,00 each semester. Plus he had money from his Baseball days. So he lived in this big huge house off campus and it was like a super exclusive party house. I never went. I knew a few of the players like Janikowski but never meant Weinke. Dude was beyond legend status as a college player here. But i think everyone knew he wouldn’t make it in the NFL…
@@elliebellie7816IKR, some of these people are delirious. You don't make shyt in the minor leagues, they house you in a hotel, pay for your meals at Waffle House, you get a little per diem and that's the housing and meals
You can't talk about Leaf without mentioning the Kansas City game. He threw 1 for 15 for 4 yards with 2 interceptions and 4 fumbles. Granted, he was suffering from a viral infection but I can't comprehend a worse individual performance than that.
These QBs are perfect examples that pure talent only gets you so far. You have to have the right mindset, integrity, and maturity to truly succeed at the pro level.
At least they had a career. Maurice Clarett and Lawrence Phillips, both outstanding running backs in college, chose a life of crime instead of guaranteed millions playing in the nfl.
I think what you wrote just generally applies to succeding in life. The right mindset, maturity and intergrity will help you no matter where you are in life.
As a Bears fan, they have had more than their fair share of QB draft flops. But the biggest QB flop from the Bears that should be on this list is Cade McNown.
Warren Sapp as well. They randomly asked Sapp who was playing for the Raiders at the time on TV, "Calvin Johnson". No hesitation. Repeated his name two more times. Al got what he deserved
Honorable mention here should be Brodie Croyle, the former Chiefs 2006 3rd rounder out of Alabama. Made 10 career starts and went 0-10 in all of them. I remember telling my dad once..."You know every time he starts a game you may as well write that in as a guaranteed loss.'
Agreed. I'd add Cade McNown, who is largely forgotten (unless you're a Bears fan, sigh) because he basically retired so quickly that he never had a chance to show his true level of SUCK. 😁
The national football league is scripted and considered sports entertainment it isn't a real sport like collegiate wrestling all these players that supposedly busted were apart of the nfl storyline
I do think it’s worth remembering that the league was different before around 2015 and guys with similar pass TD and INT counts was standard. The rule changes have altered the game. If you look at some of the greatest QBs ever before the 2000s, the stats alone would look like an average starter at best in 2023.
I know there's a lot of QB draft busts out there, but the one that really sticks out to me is was Brady Quinn. Played in 24 total games, had a overall rating of 53.8, 12 total TD's, and 17 INT's..... Didn't play at all for Denver in 2010 and 2011 or 2013 for the Jets and Rams. That's a draft bust if I ever seen one.
The problem with Leinart is that USC's collective greatness made him look a lot better than he actually was, he had a below average arm and just made him not very good. AZ dumped him, put in Warner and instantly was a series away from winning a Superbowl and with Leinart they were going nowhere fast.
As a Bears fan, it feels good to see how other franchise have struggled to find a quarterback. It also feels good that even with the dumpster fires that the Bears have had, none of them made this list.
You left out probably the second biggest bust in NFL history (Heisman Winner drafted no. 7 overall) because he played so few games (started only six games in three years) that people forget he existed… Andre Ware.
I'll say it, High School and College Football is a toxic cesspool where these boys get these overinflated egos because everyone tells them how great and awesome they are and everyone lets them coast through that phase in life because nobody demands anything of them beyond chuck this football down a field. I betcha all of y'all have stories about THAT kid in your hometown who was treated with velvet gloves all because he played whatever sport your small town loved the most.
Yeah, man, my mom told me a story of a friend she and my dad had in high school that was going to play at Washington State, but is now serving life because his girlfriend broke up with him and had a new boyfriend and he ended up murdering the guy in his truck
@@bigting5466 legends? Buddha is a legend. Mother Theresa is a legend. Lincoln is a legend. At best you get some good entertainers. All they will ever be. Definitely not legends 😂
I remember seeing Johnny Manziel in the CFL (Canadian Football League) He played 2 Teams in 1 year, that would be the Hamilton Tiger-Cats & Montreal Alouettes in 2018, after that, he couldn't play another CFL game
In manziels second season, he actually had a couple games where he didn't look bad, one if them being the game where he was hitting himself with the tablet. That being said, his off field antics were just too much, with him going to Vegas in disguise being the final straw
It’s crazy looking back at Manziel.. in todays nfl he could have succeeded, but he literally partied his way out of the nfl. I didn’t really realize it back then bc I was younger, but damn he really had a problem. It’s a shame we didn’t see what he could’ve been
He came from a wealthy oil family, so he just didn't have the need to play professionally. It was probably more a clout thing for him to make the league more than anything.
I didn't ever think he would make a good NFL QB. Besides his small stature, he was not a great passer, team leader, not sure how well he read defenses. In college he was famous for running around and making plays out of nothing, but couldn't see that translating to the NFL.
If you followed Manziel's college career, it was no shocker that his NFL career was short. He was a renowned partier, ESPN covered him 24/7. Notwithstanding his off field behavior, he could have been a great fit in the Read Oprion gimmick offense, but he was a very slight framed guy with subpar arm talent, he had a limited ceiling talent wise.
That's not remotely true. It still goes to the best player. But players putting up huge numbers in high offense schemes that don't work in the NFL doesn't translate to the pro game.
Not necessarily true. If you look back at the winners from the past 10 years, you'll notice that a few of them have found decent success in the NFL(granted, not all of them). Of course they're not all superstars, but they have had their moments. Although you do have guys like Henry, Jackson, Murray, and Burrow. Mariota and Mayfield were promising at the start
As a Panthers fan I remember the week 1 Chris Wenkie win, I was so hyped for him :P That was the game where the first time Steve Smith touched the ball in an NFL game he returned it for a touchdown. Then 2 days later September 11th happened.
Yeah I remember the Peyton and Ryan draft hype of who should go first. Peyton had the talent but also the maturity and work ethic needed to be successful. Colts did ok on that one.
@@geoffroi-le-Hook Chandler eventually led a team to the Super Bowl and George wasn't a bad QB, he was just a headcase but he didn't play badly in Indy. He was the product of piss poor coaching. He even won a playoff game and had an excellent game against the Greatest Show on Turf by throwing for 423 yards and 4 TD's as a Viking.
@@chadhoy7489 And unlike David Klingler, he didn't have the excuse of being butchered behind a terrible offensive line. Mainly because Ware almost never got on the field.
Jeff kemp would have been a good addition to this list. The Rams had Eric Dickerson in their backfield, which was the only reason they won games. But it wasn’t unusual for Kemp to go 2 for 19 in passing. He was abismal.
McQuilken's story was told very well by Secret Base in their series on the Falcons; he's succeeded in so much after football, it's almost like his playing career is a footnote to the rest of his accomplishments.
Nonsense. he was bad his first year, bad his second year, and maybe the biggest jackass in Cleveland sports history with Frank Lane being his only real competition. Modell is in another category.
Kizer left Notre Dame WAY too early. Only played there 1 season after red shirting his freshman year, and went to the draft after his sophomore year. Even Brian Kelly said he wasn’t ready. Still the Browns drafted him and started him.
Unpopular opinion - this is why I don't think the idea of declaring early for the NFL after the three years should be a thing. Wait one more year, and then I would be okay with that. Similarly, in the NBA, I'd split the difference and say play two years in college or equivalent level internationally (and actually play, not redshirt) and then you can declare after that.
Those 1990's were the absolute worst for Bengal fans & to top it off they even had bad coaching too! Shulas boy wasn't no Don Shula; "Not to be mean lol 😆 but it was a recipe for disaster for the Bengals back then & anyone who stayed loyal deserves at least some free merchandise & a few free tickets lol
The mystery for me is how they went from almost winning a Superbowl in the 1988 season on January 1989 to turning into a consistent losing team until like the 2010's & on then they started to actually be decent again & with Joe Burrows as their QB & that awesome Wide receiver corps they have become one of the best in the NFL the past couple of years
@🐯WHO-DEY🏉(with an A, not er) 🤣 oh yeah lol very true but at least they're championship caliber now but yes it was bad back then my grandfather was a diehard Bengals fan & he'd always tell me oh no it's worst than the 1970's lol not again he replied every year lol but we had somewhat of hope when they had Jeff Blake he had a cannon arm & was actually good lol but those 1990's Bengal teams noone was bailing them out lol
I saw an interview with Leaf and came away very impressed. He took full responsibility for his problems...on and off the field. He has learned some hard lessons in life.
I remember watching Manziels first few games. To be fair the Cleveland OL was pretty bad, but also when a guy talks so big about himself the opposing defense is going to be a little more motivated, he was pretty much running for his life out there.
The common denominator amongst many of these failures . . . winning the Heisman. Whether it is ego, thinking you are better than everyone else, or just here for the big paycheck, the tie in to the Heisman is glaring. I would never want my team to draft a Heisman winner.
Weinke actually projected to be the starting QB for FSU before he left for MLB. This set up Charlie Ward to become the starter and the rest is history.
Manziel's happier just doing backyard football with the FCF. Also, Leinart went on record saying that once he got to the NFL, he partied and slacked off because of the status of being in the big league, something that he regrets to this day.
@@jimshipp7776 I actually say this a lot when people criticize QBs even in the XFL and USFL: A quarterback is only as good as the line in front of him. People thought Matthew Stafford was hot garbage until he left Detroit. Then he led the Rams to a ring thanks to a front line anchored by Andrew Whitworth.
Leinart and Maziel had the same problem. Just cuz they were "The Man" in college and won the Heisman, they both thought it would b a breeze in the NFL. But when their names wound up more in entertainment news rather than the sports pages, that should b a BIG RED FLAG that they were destined 2 fail cuz they spent more time partying than actually paying attention 2 the job they were paid 2 do.
@@AdderTude I remember Warren Moon being horrible when he first came to Houston. He was sacked 12 times in a game against Dallas. I thought he was going to be a bust after being so successful in the CFL. 3 years later, as the Oilers gradually improved their offensive line to eventually become one of the best, was the start of a 7 straight year playoff run led by Moon. The only reason he didn't make it to a SB is because the Oilers were jinxed. Lol.Just kidding on that part. I don't bieve in jinxes.
Manziel nuked his own career. He actually showed some progress in his second year, but he preferred to party. He was a rich boy who really never felt the struggle. While smaller guys like Wilson, or Brees excelled, Manziel never had any time learning a playbook.
To be fair, NFL is a new monster. Just like high recruits from HS do horrible in college. Its a new level and the defense is exponentially harder. Its the same for any other position.
Nathan Peterman 1 and 3 with a 3-12 TD to INT ratio. His QBR ratings for each year in the league were 12.4, 8.0 24.3 and 1.3 Rick Norton with the Dolphins and Packers who had a record of 1-10 and 7-30 TD to INT ratio. He was so bad he once went 7-26 passing in a game for 43 yards and 5 picks What about the guy before Jamarcus Russell on the Raiders? Andrew Walter 2-7 as a starter with a 3-16 TD to int ratio In his rookie season over 8 games went 2-6 with 13 INT's and 13 fumbles
Peterman's career passer rating is 39.4. If you don't complete a single pass but at least avoid throwing an interception, you get a 39.6. How about Randy Hedberg? As far as I'm aware, he is the only QB in league history to start a game (never mind four of them) and retire with a career passer rating of zero.
Nobody expected Manziel to do anything. I think Todd Blackledge (7th overall pick by KC in '83) would be on here. He finished throwing under 50% completions with more picks than TDs, a guy who was drafted before Jim Kelly and Dan Marino along with other great Hall of Famers the Chiefs missed out on.
Leaf may be worse stats wise than Russell but Russell singlehandedly caused the rookie-scale contracts we see today in the NFL. That's like being the negative Julius Caesar of the NFL; a trailblazer of horrible. I'd give him 1A to Leaf's 1B.
Agreed. Russell was 1 overall too and came into the seasons fat, out of shape, and not knowing any of the playbook. Easily the worst QB bust of all time.
These aren't the 10 worst qb's in NFL history. These are the 10 biggest busts. There is a difference. I can safely say as a Bear's fan, we have had QB's worse than a few guys on this list.
I think Leaf and Russell are interchangeable as to who was worse. I had a front row seat with Russell. The thing about him is he had the talent, but simply didn’t try or care.
You must remember that this is a team sport and a good quarterback is just part of a winning puzzle solution. Receiving/run talent, blocking, play calling, and defense all bear on a quarterback's success (the way we define it).
I remember interviews and bio pieces on JaMarcus Russell. That was a sad moment for a young athlete. He had big name organization willing to take a chance on him and he just fall into downward spiral of depression. The only bad thing, he has every been tied to was having codeine in his possession. Better than a Hollywood Housewife with a purse full of pills.
Not sure if it is because he is still not retired (although he is a backup/practice squad), but Nathan Peterman definitely deserves a mention here. Actually, there are a few more that deserve a mention, so there should be a "Honorable Mentions" section.
Dieter Brock - 1985 LA Rams. He got to the playoffs because of Eric Dickerson. Versus the Dallas Cowboys, he was 6-for-22 for 50 yards and an interception. The Rams actually won that game because of Dickerson’s rushing for 248 yards and a stellar defense (Dallas had fewer yards than Dickerson alone with 243 yards total offense). The next week, he got 66 passing yards vs the Chicago Bears in a 24-0 loss.
It makes you wonder though, some of these picks were for teams that were always going to be awful no matter who they drafted. Maybe if the team set an offence that allowed the player to develop it might be a different story. Brock was an unfortunate case. If I recall he came from the CFL which was better suited his throwing style; very side arm. Also, if you're talking about the season ending in the '85 Superbowl, there weren't too many QBs who got the better of the Bears Defence that year.
What is even more revealing than these great choices are the dozens of others that also qualify. The reality is most QBs drafted early turn into busts and most Super Bowl champs and hall of famers are drafted without the hype or win because they have a championship caliber team and coaching staff around them. There is a lesson in this that the teams in the NFL just can't seem to figure out. The fact that Manziel was drafted at all much less first is shameful.
I watched a few of Maziel's games at A&M so it's amazing how he ever won the Heisman or got drafted above the 5th round. He's short and thin. He can't read a defense. His highlights in college are essentially: Wait for pressure. Scramble. Then throw it to the true stud on that team, Mike Evans. 😂
Watching Manziel the 2 years he played at A&M were the best years since John David Crow and Jack Pardee. He was exciting to watch and the crowd just knew he was going to win the game.
Johnny Fooseball was like that in HS just got covered up. All he every did was beat Bama, once. Joey Herrington was a punching bag at Detroit, he developed happy feet.
You definitely got #1 right. You could see his immaturity on full display in the rose bowl. And his attitude too. The only other one on his level was Johnny football.
Marty Domres, the colts quarterback between Unitas and Bert Jones was one of the worst to start a whole season. Jameis Winston's 30 ints. in a modern day NFL season has to be one of the worst statlines ever.
This should be top 10 worst qb's based on hype. Johnny Manziel is not a top 10 worst qb of all time. There is SO MANY other qb's that did absolutely horrible. How is Nathan Peterman not on this list? Dude threw 5 INT in a HALF. He threw more INT in that half than he has TD's in his CAREER.
@@kendraftman The title of the video is “10 worst quarterbacks”. When they were drafted has nothing to do with being the worst. The relevance for that belongs in a “draft bust” video.
