I'm looking to put together a comprehensive list of QB's that were drafted into the NFL with as few college starts as Sanchez had, and started year one. If anyone is aware of QB's that started fewer than say 20 games, and started year one in the NFL.....it'd be greatly appreciated.
i think tom brady only started around 20 games in collage... maybe 25... but he didnt really play in the NFL untill his second season... but he won a superbowl... (ps: i hate the pats... just so everyones aware)
Brady started 25 games in college I believe, but then also had the benefit of a full year on the sidelines, before being tossed into the fire. Matt Cassell had zero college starts, but was on the sidelines for 3 years learning the NFL game, before he ever had to start. Really having a tough time coming up with any names, that fit a similar criteria to Mark.
Alex Smith is the closest I can think of. nevermind.. just realized he didn't start his entire first season
That's a worthwhile example though.....Smith only had 22 college starts under his belt, and then was thrust into the starting role by week 5. He finished the year with 7 starts, a QB rating of 40.8, only 1 TD to 11 INT's with a completion percentage of 50, averaging under 100 yards passing, per game.
I actually looked into it the other day, there really haven't been that many guys to have a similar experience, at least not over the last 20 years. I don't think I found any others in that period that started 10+ games as a rookie without at least 2 years starting in college.
Bradwaysucks and I had this conversation in early September. Sanchez is the first of his kind because anyone with his limited experience entering the NFL usually a later round pick and sits for a while. Sanchez is a new type of case, which makes him more exciting to watch.
Like Mick said, you'd probably have to look into later round guys that got forced to play due to injury or something like that. What I would do is find a site that tracks rookie stats, and compare it to profootballreference's college FB site to see their experience.
