Former first-round draft pick Sam Bradford has not had an exactly ideal start to his NFL career. An ex-Sooner, Bradford was taken ahead of Tim Tebow and Jimmy Clauson in what turned out to be a tremendously talented draft-class; albeit if not at the quarterback position. Rob Gronkowski, Dez Bryant, Demaryius Thomas, Bryan Bulaga, Ndamukong Suh, C.J. Spiller, Eric Berry and Earl Thomas are just a few of the elite-level players that came out of college in 2010.
All pick-comparisons aside, the Rams needed a quarterback and Bradford became their guy. After becoming the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year in 2010, the Rams were more than optimistic that they had found their face of franchise in the 6-4 Oklahoma native.
Setting rookie passing records for consecutive pass attempts without an interception, and most completions by a rookie quarterback, Bradford started his NFL career in remarkable fashion.
The 2008 Heisman Trophy winner has not shown the tremendous talent he displayed at the collegiate level since his rookie season, and his numbers pale in comparison to those he set at Oklahoma.
In 31 games as a Sooner, Bradford tossed 50 touchdowns and just eight interceptions to go along with 8,403 yards and a respectable 67.6 completion percentage.
On the contrary, in his sophomore season under the arch, Bradford threw for just six touchdowns in ten games before missing six contests due to a high-ankle sprain. Bradford finished his season on the bench, the Rams went 2-14, and coach Steve Spagnuolo was handed his walking papers by the St. Louis brass. Will Bradford face the same fate just two seasons later?
Due to last season’s trade with the Washington Redskins, St. Louis has the 2nd overall selection in the upcoming draft, and a second-chance opportunity that would make Cleveland Browns’ fans green with envy.
Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater, and Derrick Carr are the top-tier quarterback prospects in this year’s class, and the Rams would be wise to consider one of them with the first of their two first-round selections.
St. Louis missed the rookie wage scale by one year, and thus made Bradford the most highly-paid rookie gunslinger in history. After inking a six-year $78 million deal with $50 million guaranteed, Bradford’s cap-hit has not been worth his play on the field.
In 49 starts, the former Sooner has a completion percentage of 58.6, and a touchdown to interception ratio of 59-38. With Bradford under center the Rams have gone 18-30-1, not exactly stellar numbers. Heck, even profootballreference.com dislikes Bradford as they list the “similar players” on his stats page as: Tim Couch, Vince Young, Mark Sanchez, and Kerry Collins. None of those men were worthy of being a “face of franchise” and neither is Bradford.
While the St. Louis quarterback’s rookie deal is still in effect, Bradford would likely seek a similar deal should the Rams decided to ask him to restructure. Making more per year than Tom Brady, Carson Palmer, Cam Newton, and Alex Smith, Bradford’s pay for play ratio is an albatross of poorly allocated resources
In the three seasons since his rookie campaign, Bradford has never ranked higher than 11th in passing yardage, largely due to the fact that he has played sixteen games just twice in four years. Most recently, Bradford suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and missed the final nine games of the 2013 season.
So if his mediocre play was not enough to sour Rams’ fans milk, the 2008 consensus All-American’s injury history surely is. During his time in the trainer’s room, his backup, Kellen Clemens was 4-5 as a starter, recorded a completion percentage of 58.7 (.1 higher than Bradford’s career average) and threw for 1,673 yards with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Sure, the former Sooner does deserve credit for his campaign in 2013: 60.7 completion percentage on 1,687 yards and 14 touchdowns with just four interceptions, but for what the Rams are paying him, Bradford is not worth the price-tag.
With a plethora of talent on both sides of the ball and a virtual armada of talent at the skill-positions, why wouldn’t St. Louis target another top passing prospect? Bradford ranks 30th amongst active players in completion percentage, 26th in passer rating, 15th in passing yards per game, yet is 4th in pass attempts per game.
This type of lackluster performance is far less than is rightfully expected form a number-one draft pick, and Bradford is doing little to prove that he is the face of franchise St. Louis is so desperate for. It has been a decade since Kurt Warner and Mike Martz’ greatest show on turf haunted opposing defenses, and there is a direct correlation to the Rams’ losing-ways since the departure of St. Louis’ dynamic offensive weapons.
Bradford was drafted to be THE man, but for now he remains simply: a man. A man that should take his time off to update his resume.