5 worst rookie quarterback seasons in NFL history
Coming out of the NFL Draft, there have been plenty of quarterbacks down the year who have taken to the NFL like duck to water. Players like Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson, and Justin Herbert all had outstanding seasons immediately after entering the league.
Unfortunately this isn’t the case for every quarterback entering NFL. Some players take longer to adapt to the increased competition once they reach the pros, before going on to have Hall of Fame careers. However, some quarterbacks have had terrible rookie campaigns and never truly recovered.
Here are five of the worst rookie quarterback seasons in NFL history.
#5 - Terry Bradshaw
Terry Bradshaw was selected first overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970 NFL Draft out of Louisiana Tech. That was after the Steelers won a coin flip for the first pick against the Chicago Bears, as both teams had a 1-13 record the previous season.
Bradshaw split time during his rookie season with the team's starter at the time, Terry Hanratty. Bradshaw featured in 13 games, starting right during his rookie campaign, but his stat line left a lot to be desired. He threw just six touchdowns against a massive 24 interceptions and went 3-5 as the starter.
Bradshaw would of course become one of the best quarterbacks of his generation. He won four Super Bowls for the Steelers, as well as making three Pro Bowls, and getting an NFL MVP award in 1978.
He was also voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989, something that looked very unlikely after his shaky start in the league.
#4 - Alex Smith
Alex Smith, like Bradshaw, was selected first overall, in his case, in the 2005 NFL Draft. This draft went down in league history as we saw Aaron Rodgers sit for hours in the green room before he was selected by the Green Bay Packers 24th overall.
Coming out of Utah, many fans and analysts alike had Smith down as a bust. In the seven games he started in 2005, he only threw one touchdown against 11 interceptions and only won two games.
Smith also only amassed a passer rating of 40.8, averaging fewer than 100 passing yards per game.
Despite the dismal rookie year, Smith recovered and played his best football for the Kansas City Chiefs, where he made three Pro Bowls, leading the league in passing in 2017.
After mentoring Patrick Mahomes to take the starting role in Kansas City, Smith suffered a horrendous leg injury while with the Washington Redskins, which almost required amputation. Smith recovered, however, and even returned to the gridiron, as he was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2020.