NFL Quarterbacks who impacted the 2016 NFL Draft

There are several NFL quarterbacks who impacted the 2016 NFL Draft by playing better than expected.

This group features players who were either coming off of disappointing seasons or came out of nowhere. The biggest surprise this season has to be Kirk Cousins who has led the Washington Redskins to the a playoff berth. Cousins has been fantastic which includes a high completion percentage and a drop in turnovers.

Washington appears to have their quarterback of the future and thus will not need to address the position in the draft. This wasn’t the case early in the year where many felt that Cousins’ turnover issues would keep him from earning the long-term job.

The New York Jets have Ryan Fitzpatrick to thank for their current position in the playoff race. Fitzpatrick has done a good job playing under control and using all the weapons at his disposal. He quickly realized that force feeding Brandon Marshall gave the offense its best chance to succeed.

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Jay Cutler’s time with the Chicago Bears has been a major disappointment. He was brought in to help Chicago compete against the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers. However, Cutler’s tenure with the team as been filled with turnovers and an inability to register wins against the Packers.

This year things took a step in the right direction thanks to the addition of Head Coach John Fox and Offensive Coordinator Adam Gase. Despite what the stats might say, this was Cutlers best season in a Bears uniform. He overcame a lack of offensive weapons, a reshuffled offensive line and an injury to his safety net Matt Forte.

Chicago may add a young quarterback in the upcoming draft, but it will be several rounds later than what we expected when this season began.

Tyrod Taylor never had a great opportunity to show he had the ability to be a long-term starting quarterback. Things changed this year when he surprisingly won the Buffalo Bills starting job in training camp. Taylor has played extremely well this year and appears in line to return next year in the same role.

Without Taylor’s emergence, Buffalo would have likely needed to use an early pick to address the quarterback position.

Colin Kaepernick’s inability to develop in to a consistent player led to his benching and the elevation of Blaine Gabbert. This season was a disappointment for the San Francisco 49ers, but they have to feel pretty good giving Gabbert another shot at the starting job next year.

San Francisco does need to bring in someone to compete against Gabbert, but they have the opportunity to be a little more cautious with their decision making. There’s no reason for them to reach for a quarterback in the first round.

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