5 worst rookie quarterback seasons in NFL history

Coming out of the NFL Draft, there have been plenty of quarterbacks down the year who have taken to the NFL like duck to water. Players like Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson, and Justin Herbert all had outstanding seasons immediately after entering the league.

Unfortunately this isn’t the case for every quarterback entering NFL. Some players take longer to adapt to the increased competition once they reach the pros, before going on to have Hall of Fame careers. However, some quarterbacks have had terrible rookie campaigns and never truly recovered.

Here are five of the worst rookie quarterback seasons in NFL history.

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#5 - Terry Bradshaw

Terry Bradshaw with the Pittsburgh Steelers

Terry Bradshaw was selected first overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970 NFL Draft out of Louisiana Tech. That was after the Steelers won a coin flip for the first pick against the Chicago Bears, as both teams had a 1-13 record the previous season.

Bradshaw split time during his rookie season with the team's starter at the time, Terry Hanratty. Bradshaw featured in 13 games, starting right during his rookie campaign, but his stat line left a lot to be desired. He threw just six touchdowns against a massive 24 interceptions and went 3-5 as the starter.

Bradshaw would of course become one of the best quarterbacks of his generation. He won four Super Bowls for the Steelers, as well as making three Pro Bowls, and getting an NFL MVP award in 1978.

He was also voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989, something that looked very unlikely after his shaky start in the league.

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#4 - Alex Smith

Alex Smith

Alex Smith, like Bradshaw, was selected first overall, in his case, in the 2005 NFL Draft. This draft went down in league history as we saw Aaron Rodgers sit for hours in the green room before he was selected by the Green Bay Packers 24th overall.

Coming out of Utah, many fans and analysts alike had Smith down as a bust. In the seven games he started in 2005, he only threw one touchdown against 11 interceptions and only won two games.

Smith also only amassed a passer rating of 40.8, averaging fewer than 100 passing yards per game.

Despite the dismal rookie year, Smith recovered and played his best football for the Kansas City Chiefs, where he made three Pro Bowls, leading the league in passing in 2017.

After mentoring Patrick Mahomes to take the starting role in Kansas City, Smith suffered a horrendous leg injury while with the Washington Redskins, which almost required amputation. Smith recovered, however, and even returned to the gridiron, as he was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2020.

#3 - Eli Manning

Eli Manning overcame his disappointing rookie season

One of the most controversial moments in draft history was when Eli Manning refused to play for the San Diego Chargers, instead opting for the New York Giants. The Giants might have been regretting that move following Manning’s rookie year.

After spending time sitting behind starter Kurt Warner throughout the year, Manning was limited to just seven starts. He didn’t get a win until the final game of the year against the Dallas Cowboys.

Manning only managed to throw for 1,043 yards total, as well as tossing just six touchdowns against nine interceptions. In addition, he only amassed a passer rating of 55.4, easily the lowest total of his career.

Manning, of course, recovered from this rocky start, leading the Giants to two Super Bowl titles over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, winning Super Bowl MVPs in both games. He was also voted to four Pro Bowls, and retired in 2020 holding virtually all passing records in New York Giants franchise history.

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#2 - John Elway

John Elway of the Denver Broncos

Like many of the other quarterbacks on this list, John Elway was the consensus number one overall pick when the Denver Broncos took him in the 1983 NFL Draft. However, like the other signal-callers on this list, he had a disastrous rookie season.

Elway began as the starter for Denver in each of his first two games. But after struggling, he was relieved by veteran Steve DeBerg in both outings where the Broncos won both games.

Elway’s rookie campaign was tarnished with inconsistency, both from his play and his availability, as he was in and out of the lineup due to poor play and injuries. He ended his debut season with just seven touchdowns to 14 interceptions and only won four of the 10 games started.

Elway would bounce back, however, as the Pro Football Hall of Famer was voted to nine Pro Bowls, winning league MVP in 1987. He led Denver to back-to-back Super Bowl titles in 1997 and 1998 before immediately retiring from the NFL.

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#1 - Ryan Leaf

Ryan Leaf of the San Diego Chargers

Undoubtedly, the worst rookie campaign for a quarterback in NFL history goes to former San Diego Chargers signal-caller Ryan Leaf. The team had selected him second overall in the 1998 NFL Draft, a pick after the Indianapolis Colts selected Peyton Manning.

It was clear Leaf was a bust from his rookie year, as his debut campaign was blighted by poor play and behavior. He missed the final day of a mandatory symposium for all NFL draftees, which led to a $10,000 fine.

He was also seen to have a terrible work ethic, with former teammates Rodney Harrison and Junior Seau criticizing him, saying Leaf was working on his golf rather than studying tape.

Leaf ended his rookie year with a terrible stat line - two touchdowns against 15 interceptions and a dismal passer rating of just 39.0.

It is no wonder that with this terrible play and work ethic, Leaf would be out of the league by the age of 26. An NFL Top 10 episode ranked him as the biggest bust in league history.