Exploring How the Saints Could Trade Up for Cam Ward
Great…all we need is arguably the greatest defense of all time and we have a chance. đŸ¥±
That's not the idea behind the Dilfer pic, it is to show that the other picks do matter, a lot.
There needs to be a balance. You can't give all your picks for a rookie QB, because no matter how good that QB is, and how good you think he's going to be in the pros, he is not going to win without a supporting cast. Picking a QB within the 1st 10 picks is no guarantee either. However, you can win with a decent QB and a good supporting cast, and you will definitely win more games with a decent QB with a good supporting cast than with a generational talent at QB with no supporting cast, defense included.
Out of curiosity, thinking of the Saints winning a SB with a FA QB, I went and looked at the last SB winners since the Saints won it with Brees; I was curious as to how many QBs picked within the first 10 picks have won SBs with the teams that drafted them since then. Then I figured, I'll do it since 2000, because why not, and to be fair to the guys who were drafted the last 5-6 years. After all, the SB is the ultimate goal, right?
Keeping in mind that Eli Manning was originally drafted by the Chargers, then traded to the Giants:
Out of the 26 SB winners, 7 teams won it with free agent QBs.
Only the Chiefs (Mahomes) and the Colts (P. Manning) have won SBs with the QB they drafted within the 1st 10 picks in the draft.
4 teams won it with the backup QB (Rams-Warner, Ravens-Dilfer, Eagles-Foles, Patriots-Brady, who was the backup to Drew Bledsoe in the 2001 season)
Out of 85 QB's picked in the 1st round, only 5 QBs have won SB's with the team that drafted them: Mahomes (10th overall), Flacco (18th overall) , Rodgers (24th overall), P. Manning (1st overall) and Roethlisberger (11th overall).
Here's the list:
2000 Rams Kurt Warner FA backup QB
2001 Ravens Trent Dilfer FA backup QB
2002 Patriots Tom Brady 6th rd, 199th overall backup QB
2003 Bucs Brad Johnson FA
2004 Patriots Tom Brady 6th rd, 199th overall
2005 Patriots Tom Brady 6th rd, 199th overall
2006 Steelers Ben Roethlisberger 11th overall
2007 Colts Peyton Manning 1st overall
2008 Giants Eli Manning trade
2009 Steelers Ben Roethlisberger 11th overall
2010 Saints Drew Brees FA
2011 Packers Aaron Rodgers 24th overall
2012 Giants Eli Manning trade
2013 Ravens Joe Flacco 18th overall
2014 Seahawks Russell Wilson 3rd rd, 75th overall
2015 Patriots Tom Brady 6th rd, 199th overall
2016 Broncos Peyton Manning FA
2017 Patriots Tom Brady 6th rd, 199th overall
2018 Eagles Nick Foles 3rd rd, 88th overall, backup QB
2019 Patriots Tom Brady 6th rd, 199th overall
2020 Chiefs Patrick Mahomes 10th overall
2021 Buccaneers Tom Brady FA
2022 Rams Matthew Stafford FA
2023 Chiefs Patrick Mahomes 10th overall
2024 Chiefs Patrick Mahomes 10th overall
2025 Eagles Jalen Hurts 2nd rd 53rd overall