How the 2011 NFL Draft was the height of terrible QB draft decisions

Remember in 2011 when four quarterbacks were taken in the top 15? It was the height of terrible quarterback decision making.

“They got a chance with him at quarterback.” 

Those were the words of Mike Mayock on NFL Network during the shortly before Cam Newton was selected by the Carolina Panthers with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft, but they applied to all of the quarterback picks from a largely ill-fated draft class. 

At the time, anyway. Now, not to so much. The 2011 draft class is instead a cautionary tale on quarterback economics and the perils of panicking and drafting for need instead of taking talent. 

Taking Newton was a bold stroke of genius by then GM Marty Hurney, but it wasn’t a guaranteed home run. Newton wasn’t the top top quarterback on Mayock’s best available (Blaine Gabbert was) and wasn’t even in the analyst’s top 10. 

Before the draft, ESPN’s Mel Kiper likened Newton to Akili Smith (a “one-year wonder”). There was a very real debate about whether Newton, Gabbert or Jake Locker would be the best quarterback in the draft class. 

It’s all a perfect backdrop, five years later, to a bizarre breakout of aggressiveness in the draft when it comes to quarterbacks.

The Rams traded a pile of future picks to the Titans for the rights to the top pick, presumably to draft Jared Goff. They apparently learned nothing when fleecing the Washington Redskins during the Robert Griffin III deal back in 2012, loading up on defensive players and watching the Redskins roster crumble. 

The Eagles did the same with the Browns for the second pick, presumably to draft Carson Wentz, who has less than 650 career college passing attempts. Yes, they already have Sam Bradford and Chase Daniel on the roster.

Paxton Lynch’s stock is surging. Connor Cook is getting mentioned as a possible first-round pick. 

We probably won't see anything like 2011, but it was a different environment. The lockout had just been temporarily lifted -- Roger Goodell sarcastically thanked the Radio City Music Hall crowd that lustily booed him throughout the entire event -- and there was limited ability to acquire players.  

"This is how the draft is supposed to work! The most electrifying player goes to the worst team and gives that team hope!" -- Michael Irvin screamed over the montage of Newton going to Carolina.

It really wasn't that simple. Newton was a dynamic player at Auburn who took college football by storm in his only year with the Tigers, passing for 2,854 yards, rushing for 1,473 yards and compiling a total of 50 -- fifty -- touchdowns. Despite the statistics, Newton was heavily scrutinized throughout the draft process, questioned for wanting to be an "icon and an entertainer," and bashed for having a "fake smile." He wasn't the top quarterback on everyone's board! 

Nowadays you hear people like Bills GM Doug Whaley say they thought they'd get Cam at No. 3 if Andrew Luck came out. 

"When we first started the draft process, we thought we'd have a good shot at Newton," Whaley told Sports Illustrated recently. "[Stanford quarterback] Andrew Luck, had he come out, would have been the first pick. Denver was at No. 2, and they didn't need a QB. So we thought, 'We'll get Cam at No. 3.' "

John Elway kind of snuffs out this notion, having said the Broncos would have taken Cam at No. 2 if Carolina passed. 

Ignore the benefit of hindsight: Gabbert was considered a possibility to be the first quarterback off the board for stretches of time. When the Cardinals took Patrick Peterson and the Falcons took Julio Jones, Gabbert's name was mentioned over and over because he was still on the board. It reached a fever pitch when Aldon Smith, also of Missouri, went to the 49ers. 

"First and foremost there's a quarterback sitting right there that they probably didn't expect to be sitting right there," Mayock said.

And that's when the spiral began. Except it wasn't the quarterback anyone expected, because the Titans took Jake Locker. 

The move was surprising because, you know, it was an unproven, raw, athletic quarterback, someone who wasn't at the top of the board and someone who didn't get much attention because of the pace involved that night (maybe Goodell was sick of being booed?). Locker completed only 54 percent of his passes at Washington and no one blinked when Tennessee used the ninth overall pick on him.

Gabbert went two picks later, sandwiching future All-Pro tackle Tyron Smith, the sort of miss that makes people rethink their career choice. 

It's easy with five years of knowledge to pick apart these moves. But it felt crazy at the time too. It was the first time three quarterbacks had been taken in the first 10 picks since 1999. And we weren't done yet. 

Two picks later, Christian Ponder of Florida State went to the Vikings at No. 12 overall. Taken in between Gabbert and Ponder? J.J. Watt. 

"He's one of these lucky guys that there wasn't any free agency at quarterback," Steve Mariucci said of Ponder. 

That's really the whole crux of this thing: the economics of finding a quarterback in the NFL always makes for an interesting proposition. Sam Bradford signed a bridge contract (one year with an option) featuring $22 million guaranteed, but is unhappy about being a bridge quarterback.

Quarterback is such a valuable commodity in the NFL that teams without a viable solution at the position are willing to drastically overpay. Add in the inability to acquire a quarterback during the lockout (only Kevin Kolb was available without actually being available and the Cardinals would trade for him later) and desperate teams were bound to be really desperate.

Locker, Gabbert and Ponder would combine for 86 starts, 87 touchdowns and 82 interceptions with the respective teams who took them on draft day. 

Flash forward to 2016 again. Five years later and plenty of teams don't have solutions at the position. The Rams and Eagles are both in quarterback limbo but for entirely different reasons. (The Rams can't stay out of 7-9's way and pretended to love Case Keenum. The Eagles are about to have $45 million committed to three quarterbacks.) 

The Jets and Bills are playing footsie with Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tyrod Taylor. The Broncos just won a Super Bowl with a broken-down Peyton Manning, giving John Elway absolute authority to grin behind his aviators while he plays chicken with the market. 

We know two guys will come off the board in the first round. Lynch is a lock as well. Rumors about Connor Cook and -- gasp — Christian Hackenberg continue to percolate in the days leading up to the draft. 

It's possible we get another name involved here despite the lack of guarantees at the position and despite the lack of star power. Drafting a quarterback is never easy. But over-drafting a quarterback really early is the sort of mistake that can set a franchise back a couple of years. 

Time is a flat circle, even in the NFL.