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The Apprentices
NO POSITION inpro football has seen more unfulfilled first-year potential than quarterback.So should you even bother with a rookie passer? To get a sense of what thisseason might hold for the three quarterbacks who were drafted in the firstround this year (the Broncos' Jay Cutler, the Cardinals' Matt Leinart and theTitans' Vince Young), we looked at the rookie-year performance of first-roundQBs over the past five seasons.
TELLINGNUMBERS
3 TDs for Bearstight ends through two games, matching their total for the entire 2005season.
6 Career 100-yardrushing games for the Falcons' Michael Vick, an NFL record forquarterbacks.
943 Careerreceptions by the Colts' MARVIN HARRISON, moving him past Art Monk for fifth onthe alltime list.
[This articlecontains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]
> CLEAR PATH Young has the easiest route to a full-time starting job,competing with a journeyman (Kerry Collins) and a player on the trading block(Billy Volek). His situation is similar to that of these first-rounders, whowere clearly better than the QBs they caddied for. The only passer to have asolid fantasy season was Roethlisberger, who made his first start in Week 3.
PLAYER, Team | ROOKIE YEAR | GAMES | STARTS | YARDS | TDS | INT | INCUMBENT |
BEN ROETHLISBERGER, Steelers | 2004 | 14 | 13 | 2,621 | 17 | 11 | TOMMY MADDOX |
DAVID CARR, Texans | 2002 | 16 | 16 | 2,592 | 9 | 15 | (EXPANSION TEAM) |
JOEY HARRINGTON, Lions | 2002 | 14 | 12 | 2,294 | 12 | 16 | MIKE MCMAHON |
PATRICK RAMSEY, Redskins | 2002 | 9 | 5 | 1,539 | 9 | 8 | DANNY WUERFFEL |
ALEX SMITH, 49ers | 2005 | 9 | 7 | 875 | 1 | 11 | TIM RATTAY |
MICHAEL VICK, Falcons | 2001 | 8 | 2 | 785 | 2 | 3 | CHRIS CHANDLER |
REX GROSSMAN, Bears | 2003 | 3 | 3 | 437 | 2 | 1 | KORDELL STEWART |
 
[This articlecontains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]
> HEIRAPPARENT Leinart and Cutler are backups to proven veterans who are hanging onto their jobs. (Leinart is understudy to Kurt Warner while Cutler is behindJake Plummer.) Both are just one big hit away from becoming the starter on ateam with an explosive offense. That makes them comparable to Manning andLeftwich, both of whom played significant roles as rookies.
PLAYER, Team | ROOKIE YEAR | GAMES | STARTS | YARDS | TDS | INT | INCUMBENT |
BYRON LEFTWICH, Jaguars | 2003 | 15 | 13 | 2,819 | 14 | 16 | MARK BRUNELL |
ELI MANNING, Giants | 2004 | 9 | 7 | 1,043 | 6 | 9 | KURT WARNER |
> WATCHINGAND WAITING All three of the 2006 first-rounders could end up on this list ofhighly touted QBs who never got much of a (or any) chance to show their talentsas rookies. Relegating a future star such as Palmer to clipboard-toting dutymight be the right call for an NFL team, but it doesn't cut the mustard in thewin-now world of fantasy football.
PLAYER, Team | ROOKIE | GAMES | STARTS | YARDS | TDS | INT | INCUMBENT |
CARSON PALMER, Bengals | 2003 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | JON KITNA |
JASON CAMPBELL, Redskins | 2005 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | MARK BRUNELL |
J.P. LOSMAN, Bills | 2004 | 4 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 1 | DREW BLEDSOE |
PHILIP RIVERS, Chargers | 2004 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 1 | 0 | DREW BREES |
AARON RODGERS, Packers | 2005 | 3 | 0 | 65 | 0 | 1 | BRETT FAVRE |
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G. NEWMAN LOWRANCE/WIREIMAGE.COM (YOUNG)
BABY STEPS Young (10 of 23 in two games) is one of three rookie quarterbacks to see action thus far.
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GENE LOWER/WIREIMAGE.COM (LEINART)
LEINART
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BRAIN BAHR/GETTY IMAGES (CUTLER)
CUTLER
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DON LARSON/WIREIMAGE.COM(HARRISON)
