Every year around this time, ESPN makes waves with a handful of fan bases with its QB Tier Rankings. Writer Mike Sando took a poll of 50 coaches/executives and had them vote on whether QBs are first, second, third and fourth tier. Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback Sam Bradford landed squarely in the third tier at 23rd overall.
His ranking might not be worth a ton of debate considering more accomplished QBs like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers make up the top tier and young franchise players like Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota are in the twos. Until Bradford makes the playoffs and proves he can produce like a top QB, it’s fair to put him in the same category as Ryan Tannehill, Alex Smith and Andy Dalton.
Sandy’s write-up for Bradford starts out with a reasonable comment from an NFL executive:
“He gave them a chance, and I thought he was tough and stood in there, took some hits and I thought he had a good year,” a personnel director from one of the Vikings’ 2016 opponents said. “The ball comes out fast. No problems with the release. I think he needs a running game. You know where he is going to be in terms of planning your rush, taking away some stuff, so I think in his best year with a lot of weapons around him, he can probably play to the 2 level, but on average he is probably kind of a 3 guy that if he had a strong team, you can certainly win with him.”
But the more people quoted in the piece, the more inaccurate (and sometimes bizarre) the quotes get.
Line by line:
“An offensive coordinator defended Bradford by saying he couldn’t name any of the Vikings’ receivers.”
Both Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen ranked in Pro Football Focus’s top 20 last year.
“A personnel director said he’d be looking for the Vikings’ next starter if he were in charge there.”
They had a guy but… never mind.
“A secondary coach said Bradford is a good passer when he can throw from max protection with two- and three-man routes off play-action, but that he gets “jittery” and can look like “just a guy” under pressure.”
Bradford was one of the highest rated passers last season when under pressure and had the top completion percentage.
Of all NFL quarterbacks, Sam Bradford’s completion percentage was least affected by pressure. pic.twitter.com/kJQsTQKzqj
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) June 1, 2017
And lastly…
“I’d put him in the 4s,” the personnel director said. “He is a statue in the pocket, he is always hurt — just not somebody that I would want to put back there and give to my team and say, ‘Hey, this is your franchise quarterback, he is going to take you to the Super Bowl.’ You are setting yourself up to fail.”
Bradford has played 29 of a possible 31 games over the last two seasons. That’s not exactly being “always hurt.”
Also, putting Bradford with the fourth-tier QBs is over the top considering Brian Hoyer, Jared Goff, Tom Savage, Josh McCown, Cody Kessler and Brock Osweiler are the only QBs to make the fourth tier in the poll.
The post Where did ESPN’s ‘QB Tiers’ poll rank Sam Bradford? appeared first on 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Source:: 1500 ESPN Sportswire
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