The NFL is full of young, developing quarterbacks, but a whopping seven have less than 16 games' worth of professional starting experience.
Jun 30, 2010 - In the off-season leading up to the NFL's 2009 regular season, we saw nine franchises make a change at head coach. That number dwindled to three just a year later, with Buffalo's Chan Gailey, Seattle's Pete Carroll and Washington's Mike Shanahan the only new head coaches entering the 2010 season.
When there isn't a great deal of turnover going on, it's reflective of the fact that there are a lot of young regimes (one or two years into a re-build) attempting to develop young players. This is true across the entirety of a given NFL roster, and quarterback is no exception. Taking a look around the league, there are a lot of young teams built around high-profile young signal-callers.
Even amongst that young group, there's a select company that is particularly green when it comes to NFL game experience. Seven teams - that's roughly a quarter of the league - are projected to field starting quarterbacks with less than one full season (16 games) of regular season professional starts under their belts. Even stranger, only one of those seven players is a rookie.
Sam Bradford might not start right away for the Rams, but as the No. 1 overall pick, coach Steve Spagnuolo would be remiss if he didn't get Bradford into the lineup at some point. There's a very strong chance that Bradford, 22, gets the opening-day nod over A.J. Feeley as it is. Bradford will be protected by one of the game's best running backs, but the Rams are re-tooling their offensive line and attempting to develop young receiving talent, as well. Bradford is in a good situation in St. Louis for the long term, but there will be growing pains early as the Rams' offense looks to come together as a collective, youthful whole behind its new franchise quarterback. Health is a huge concern for the former Sooner, as well.
Bradford totals: 0 career starts, 0-0 record
In terms of career starts, Kevin Kolb is nearly as inexperienced as Bradford (two career starts) despite being one of the oldest players on this list (he'll turn 26 in August). A second-round pick out of Houston in 2007, Kolb takes over the reigns of the Eagles franchise from Donovan McNabb - an unenviable task, to be sure. Kolb won't have to do much to emerge as the best signal-caller from a very dismal 2007 crop headlined by JaMarcus Russell, Brady Quinn, John Beck, Drew Stanton and Trent Edwards, but he faces very high expectations from an Eagles fan base desperate to see their team finally make it over the hump in the post-season. Kolb's got three years of experience in Andy Reid's offensive system, so the transition should be a very smooth one. He's got plenty of weapons, and could emerge as one of the league's brightest young players in 2010.
Kolb totals: 2 career starts, 1-1 record
Matt Moore is another quarterback from that fabled '07 crop, though he was not drafted (Dallas signed him as an undrafted free agent, and he ended up in Carolina at the start of that season). Like Kolb, he'll turn 26 in August, and is the oldest player on this list. Now that the Panthers have bid adieu to Jake Delhomme, they're giving the offense to Moore, an efficient player that has put up a surprising six wins in his eight career starts. Carolina is hopeful that the team's 4-1 finish to the 2009 season behind strong play from Moore isn't a mirage; he'll be assisted by one of the league's best rushing attacks and a conservative-minded head coach in John Fox. Consistent, heady play from Moore should keep the Panthers in the Wild Card conversation this season.
Moore totals: 8 career starts, 6-2 record
Josh Freeman will be the second-youngest starting quarterback in the league this season, having just turned 22 back in January. Though most scouts considered him a distant third in the QB crop of 2009, the 6'6", 248-pound Freeman showed flashes of brilliance in his rookie season, with multi-touchdown performances in wins over Green Bay (in his first career start) and Seattle, and another in a loss to Atlanta. He had his moments, but he also had plenty of bad showings, with five multiple-interception games (including a combined eight in Weeks 13 and 14). He's still very young and has enormous talent, but he'll obviously need to become much more consistent in 2010 - and that might be hard to do surrounded by the Buccaneers' young offensive talent, particularly at receiver.
Freeman totals: 9 starts, 3-6 record
Where Freeman is the second-youngest starter in the league, Matthew Stafford takes the cake, having just turned 22 in February. The NFL's youngest starting quarterback proved his toughness by playing through a shoulder injury, and also flashed brilliance, throwing for 422 yards and five touchdowns in a Lions win over Cleveland (which might be considered an asterisk to some). Durability remains a concern for Stafford, as he missed two starts early in the season before landing on IR prior to Week 16. Like Freeman, consistency is a concern with last year's No. 1 overall pick, as well, as Stafford put up six multiple-INT games in 10 starts, including three straight to close his season. Detroit is starting to make smarter decisions with its offensive personnel, however (Jahvid Best comes to mind), so Stafford should continue to make progress in his second pro season, even if it's somewhat slower than anticipated.
Stafford totals: 10 starts, 2-8 record
Chad Henne wasn't supposed to emerge as the Dolphins' starter last season, but a season-ending injury to veteran Chad Pennington forced Miami's hand. Pennington is still with the team, but the franchise is now in the hands of the 25-year-old Michigan product selected in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Henne was surprisingly consistent last season; helped by the league's No. 4-ranked rushing offense, Henne largely played the role of game manager. There are numbers to like from Henne's first 13 starts (61% completions, to start with), and he'll actually have a legitimate starting receiver to throw to in the form of Brandon Marshall. Henne has a bright future; all he needs to do is emerge as a more game-decisive factor as a passer, and to eliminate the down weeks (like his three-pick performances in losses to Buffalo and Tennessee).
Henne totals: 13 starts, 7-6 record
After struggling during the 2009 regular season, Mark Sanchez found his groove in the playoffs, stringing together three strong performances during the Jets' surprising run to the AFC Championship Game. Now the pressure on Sanchez increases dramatically in his second season, as the Jets are widely considered legitimate Super Bowl contenders after bringing in talented, big-name players during a productive off-season. Under Rex Ryan, the Jets will still be a run-and-stop-the-run team, so they'll be relying on a revamped rushing attack and Ryan's unique, highly effective defense to do the heavy lifting. But there won't be any excuses for Sanchez, either; the Jets have a wealth of skill position talent and one of the league's best offensive lines, so finishing as the league's second-worst passing offense again won't be acceptable. To start, the Jets will win more games in 2010 if Sanchez isn't so generous with the football (a combined 19 turnovers in five losses).
Sanchez totals: 15 starts, 8-7 record
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