(11-29-2022, 11:24 AM)Bullseye Wrote: Of the 25 players listed, SIX (6) threw 17 INTs or more in their rookie years:  Aikman, Manning, Luck, Cam Newton and Trevor Lawrence.  Aikman and Manning are first ballot Hall of famers. having won multiple Super Bowls.  Luck made multiple Pro Bowls. Matt Stafford has made Multiple Pro Bowls and won his first Super Bowl this last season. Cam Newton made a Super Bowl and several Pro Bowls.  Though it's early, Trevor Lawrence is on a pace to be a top statistical QB this year.

Those from the list throwing less than 17 INTs their rookie seasons had vaarious reasons for the lack of INTs.  There were many who had a relatively small number of starts.  Testaverde only threw 7 INTs his rookie year, but threw a prolific number of INTs over the course of his career.  His critics called him "Interceptaverde."  He had a total of 4 starts.  Jamarcus Russell started a whopping one (1) game his rookie year, which accounts for his 4 INTs.  There are others below 17 INTs their rookie year who, in NFL terms, were less than successful.  The counterintuitive conclusion is there seems no correlation between the lack of INTs thrown by rookie #1 overall QB picks and their success.

I think one of the big factors not listed on a stat sheet is how the team approached their young QB - how many teams embraced the role of game manager vs. gunslinger? How many chose to lean on run game or defense in lieu of relying on deep bombs? You can see with a lot of the guys who did throw a lot of picks, their coach and team gave them the keys to the car and let them drive, fully understanding that the road would be bumpy to start.

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