A franchise quarterback. The supposed golden ticket to success in the NFL. If you don’t have one and aren’t actively aspiring for a high draft pick or looking to acquire one in a trade, there will be nothing but questions of: ‘How far can this team really go?’
For some teams, this isn’t a problem. They have their guy, they’ve given him his mega-contract that broke some sort of record if you frame it the right way, and they can focus on building a team around him. Others may be in a bridge year, and they know their single caller of the future isn’t sitting in their QB room at the moment.
And then there are those in the middle. They have the type of quarterbacks that fill endless time on sports radio and can lead to those classic debates at the local bar. Can we really build around him? Can he take it to the next level? Will he ever be considered elite?
Colin Cowherd identified the ten teams he puts in this middle category on The Herd today. They are the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons, Washington Commanders, Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, and San Francisco 49ers.
Out of these teams and their respective question mark guys, Cowherd took his pick of favorites.
“The two that I think will be successful would be [San Francisco’s] Brock Purdy and [Pittsburgh’s] Kenny Pickett. The other eight it’s a lot of finger-crossing and hoping.” Cowherd reasoned. “But Kenny Pickett and Brock Purdy have a couple of things in common. Both got a lot of college snaps. These guys started in college for three or four years, have seen a lot of coverages, and played against a lot of pros in college. Secondly, they joined really good coaches and really good rosters, and that matters a lot. Stable ownership in San Francisco and Pittsburgh, more than capable draft in developing history. One’s a great offensive coach, Kyle Shanahan, one’s a top defensive coach and culture setter in Mike Tomlin.”
Neither Pickett nor Purdy came out of college as a superstar prospect, although Pickett was much higher-touted. However, both showed enough last season to earn their fair share of believers in the NFL. As Cowherd pointed out, it is important for these guys to be surrounded by teammates and organizations who have been there before and can provide proper guidance to a young quarterback. Pickett has just about as good as it gets in terms of a situation for a young quarterback this season. Strong defense, an experienced coaching staff, mentorship in his two backups, and a solid core of weapons.
Barring an injury, Pickett and Purdy are set to face off in Week One, and for one of them, it will be a big win and step in the right direction to proving that they can be a franchise guy and answering their team’s quarterback question.
