It doesn't take long to identify quarterbacks as a hot commodity in the NFL.
This is a league, remember, that thrives on the passing game, with teams doling out $100 million deals and exhausting countless resources to ensure a signal-caller of top quality is leading their roster and, ultimately, reeling in Lombardi Trophies.
This is also a league where Tom Savage, a man with 56 career completions, zero touchdowns and one interception to his name, could very well be starting for a playoff contender in the AFC. This is a league where Josh McCown, coming up on 38 years old with his fourth team in seven years, was handed $6 million to top the New York Jets' depth chart.
Clearly, the search for good quarterbacks continues.
Nothing against Savage, McCown or anyone else talented enough to make it to the pros. But it's not every day that a team unearths a hidden gem like Tom Brady or has an elite prospect like Andrew Luck fall into its lap.
In the past decade of NFL Drafts, the disparity of results from quarterback picks is drastic. As the league trudges forward in its search for passing talent, some teams misjudging college arms, others misusing them and a select few breaking the bank to retain their "guys," here are the best and worst QB selections since 2007, starting with the downers:
The Worst
JaMarcus Russell, Oakland Raiders (2007, No. 1 overall)
One bust to rule them all.
Before ballooning to nearly 300 pounds, the ex-LSU star coaxed $60 million from the Raiders. His final career stat line: 25 starts, 18 touchdowns, 23 interceptions, 15 lost fumbles and a 7-18 record.
Johnny Manziel, Cleveland Browns (2014, 22nd overall)
The curse of Cleveland and No. 22. "Johnny Football" is apparently trying to clean up his off-field charades, but persistent misconduct undid his glorified career-that-could-have-been in a hurry. Fourteen games in, he played his last down.
Jimmy Clausen, Carolina Panthers (2010, 48th overall)
The Notre Dame product gets the slightest of passes for slipping into the second round. But his turnover-happy rookie year (three touchdowns, nine picks, two fumbles) foreshadowed a fade into the background of several teams' depth charts.
Christian Ponder, Minnesota Vikings (2011, 12th overall)
His name once had the Midwest clapping with cautious approval. It now elicits eye rolls.
Four years of injury-plagued mediocrity (38 touchdowns, 36 interceptions) probably kept Adrian Peterson from running his way to a Super Bowl.
Blaine Gabbert, Jacksonville Jaguars (2011, 10th overall)
Say what you will about his resurgence -- if you can call it that -- as a short-lived San Francisco 49ers fill-in. But his pre-draft hype was a joke once skittish pocket tendencies and a 36.0 passer rating in 2013 ended his Jags career after three years.
Jake Locker, Tennessee Titans (2011, eighth overall)
Anyone notice we're still in 2011? Locker had the Sam Bradford syndrome for a while, failing to live up to expectations thanks to injuries and poor support. Still, no run of consistent success in four years -- and an abrupt retirement -- were not top-10 material.
Brady Quinn, Cleveland Browns (2007, 22nd overall)
The first in a too-long line of failed first-round Browns QBs, he had the poster-boy look but spent just three years in Cleveland, never eclipsing a 67.2 passer rating before spending five years on and off six different teams as a backup.
Brandon Weeden, Cleveland Browns (2012, 22nd overall)
Why, again, did the Browns do this?
Already 28 at the time of his selection, the old man somehow is sticking around as a Houston Texans backup. Twenty-six picks in two years as a Browns starter, though, set Cleveland's QB plans back. Again.
EJ Manuel, Buffalo Bills (2013, 16th overall)
He never started more than 10 games in any of his four Bills seasons before heading to the Oakland Raiders as a reserve. Reduced to a wildcat specialist at one point, he was stripped of "future franchise QB" status in darn near an instant.
The Best
Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks (2012, 75th overall)
Forever the king of third-round picks, he has done everything to gloss over his 5-foot-11 frame.
A rookie run to the playoffs was just the start of a highlight-reel career that now includes three Pro Bowls, two NFC titles and, biggest of all, a Super Bowl victory.
Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons (2008, third overall)
Last season's MVP, a four-time Pro Bowl selection and Offensive Player of the Year for the 2016 NFC champions, he made a leap from very good to great at age 31, posting career numbers (4,944 yards, 38 touchdowns, seven picks) in Atlanta's run to Super Bowl LI.
Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens (2008, 18th overall)
Inconsistencies hound him from year to year, but let's not forget he was MVP of the Ravens' Super Bowl XLVII victory. For a guy hailing from a smaller college program, he remains a postseason stud, owning a 10-5 record in the playoffs.
Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions (2009, first overall)
The fourth QB to throw for more than 5,000 yards, he has battled an injury history to string together six consecutive 4,000-yard seasons, earning a Pro Bowl bid and Comeback Player of the Year honors with his rocket of an arm.
Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers (2011, first overall)
A streaky start to his career (post-big rookie season) quickly took a backseat to a 2015 MVP campaign.
A three-time Pro Bowl selection long feared for his legs as much as his arm, he revived Carolina, leading a near-perfect run to Super Bowl 50 and is the prototypical big-bodied dual-threat passer.
Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals (2011, 35th overall)
Like Flacco, his fellow AFC North QB, he isn't always a universally acclaimed star. (And his numbers back that up.) But he is also a staple of Bengals history, setting passing records during four consecutive trips to the postseason with Cincinnati.
Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders (2014, 36th overall)
Is it too early to crown Carr? His early returns suggest otherwise. You cannot expect much more from a second-rounder through three seasons than the poise, two Pro Bowls and elite numbers (81 touchdowns, 31 picks) he has offered.
Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts (2012, first overall)
Durability is a big concern. But considering the massive hype surrounding his post-Peyton Manning NFL arrival, he has excelled with little help from Indy personnel.
Eighty-six touchdown passes over the past three years are proof alone of his ability.
Tyrod Taylor, Baltimore Ravens (2011, 180th overall)
He gets some credit for being such a late pick. And unlike, say, Colin Kaepernick, he's holding a starting job seven years into his career. He did little but hold a clipboard for Baltimore but has been as solid as they come in two starting seasons with Buffalo.
The Incomplete
Among those who either haven't done enough good -- or bad -- to be locked into a category or, instead, simply need more time to prove themselves: Ryan Tannehill (Miami Dolphins, 2012), Kirk Cousins (Washington Redskins, 2012), Carson Wentz (Philadelphia Eagles, 2016), Jared Goff (Los Angeles Rams, 2016), Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys, 2016), Jameis Winston (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2015), Marcus Mariota (Tennessee Titans, 2015), Colin Kaepernick (San Francisco 49ers, 2011), Sam Bradford (St. Louis Rams, 2010).
