Last week during the NFL Draft, a fact was mentioned that sent me reeling!
When the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Kenny Pickett, it marked the latest a quarterback had been drafted since Jim Druckenmiller was taken 26th overall back in 1997.
That got me thinking, what other QBs were drafted that year? And were there any good ones? Of course, I went through a retro draft rabbit-hole and discovered that although it was a decent draft overall, it was a lousy quarterback draft, quite possibly the worst ever.
Throwback, Woah back to the 1997 draft
The 1990’s-era San Francisco 49ers had some great teams, culminating in a blowout victory over the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX.
As the decade wore on the team sought to find an heir apparent to aging star QB Steve Young. Elvis Grbac played well in spurts in 1995 and 1996 but bolted for Kansas City when they offered him a big contract and a chance to start.
Druckenmiller was next up and he actually started the second game of his rookie season. The Niners won despite 10 for 28 passing and three interceptions by Druckenmiller.
He was inactive for all but two games the following season and out of football by 1999.
Jake the Snake, leader of the pack?
Similar to Pickett, who attended the University of Pittsburgh, Jake Plummer was taken by his in-state team, the Arizona Cardinals, after a starry career at Arizona State.
Plummer got the chance to play early on in the desert, starting nine games in his rookie season. He even led the NFL in yards per completion that first year. That tendency to air it out also led to a lot of interceptions. “The Snake” threw 20+ picks in a season five times, four with the Cards.
After six years in Arizona, Plummer signed with the Denver Broncos and enjoyed a resurgence. He finished third in Comeback Player of the Year voting following the 2003 season and was a Pro Bowler in 2005.
Ultimately, Plummer was most known for two fairly memorable playoff victories. A 1998 wild-card game upset over the Dallas Cowboys and in 2005, a divisional ousting of the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots. He threw exactly 161 touchdowns and 161 interceptions in his career. He had some good moments, but if he tops the list, you know it’s gotta be pretty bad.
Best of the rest?
Danny Wuerffel excelled at the University of Florida but was the victim of the ill-fated Mike Ditka comeback with the New Orleans Saints. There was not a whole lot of talent there and any prospects were traded away in the disastrous Ricky Williams trade. Wuerffel was often clobbered but somehow managed to last six years in the league, although he started just ten games.
Scrolling through the rest of the list, it somehow gets worse. Pat Barnes? Mike Cherry? Chuck Clements? Who the heck are these guys? Now we’re talking about the sixth round, not exactly a gold mine for QBs, Brady notwithstanding.
Tony Graziani sounds like someone featured in an episode of The Sopranos, actually, he was the Atlanta Falcons’ seventh-round pick. Koy Detmer did have one shining moment, an 18 for 26, 227 yards, two touchdown gem against the 49ers on Monday Night Football.
One last a couple of points on how bad this draft was for quarterbacks. Mr. Irrelevant, the title for the last player selected, was Ronnie McAda, a pivot from Army. The Green Bay Packers took him after setting an Army record for passing with 954 yards?!
It turns out that the best QB of this class wasn’t even drafted. Jake Delhomme played 11 years in the NFL, passed for over 20,000 yards, played in 10 playoff games, and even started in a Super Bowl. He couldn’t do what Plummer accomplished by beating Brady in the big game, but, as we’ve learned, there’s no shame in that.
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