Move over 2021 NFL Draft quarterback class. The 2022 draft’s quarterback class is ready to take the mantle of “worst ever.”
With the Pittsburgh Steelers trading quarterback Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles after just two seasons, the list of quarterbacks drafted that season is now worse than ever and has only one quarterback starting for the team that drafted him.
It was Dane Brugler of The Athletic who first pointed out just how different the Class of 2022 looks after the quarterback trades we’ve seen over the past few days. The first six picks consist of Pickett, Desmond Riddler, Malik Willis, Matt Corral, Bailey Zappe and Sam Howell.
Of those six, three have now been traded (Pickett, Ridder and Howell) while Corral isn’t even in the NFL and is instead playing minor league football. Willis and Zappe are still with their original teams, but as backups (and not even highly-respected ones at that).
Ironically, the seventh round of that draft has more playoff starts and Super Bowl rings than the other six combined.
Chris Oladokun (241st overall) has been a third-stringer in Kansas City for two years and won back-to-back Super Bowls without even being active on game day.
Skylar Thompson (247th overall) started a playoff game for the Miami Dolphins in 2022 in place of an injured Tua Tagovailoa.
Then there’s Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy, whose story we all know.
In a weird way it’s an inverse of the much-maligned Class of 2021, whose best quarterback was the first pick and had a bunch of other quarterbacks in the first round who have tried and failed to be impact players.
Which quarterback crop was worse?