The 5 Worst Teams in the NFL at Drafting Quarterbacks

Landing a franchise quarterback is the single most difficult task to accomplish in the NFL. Free agency and trades rarely yield starters, and quarterback value is in the midst of a large bubble in the draft, forcing teams to take passers before the relative risk and reward dictates they should go.

Meanwhile, teams that have their quarterback situation solved can continue to take blue-chip players, widening the gap between the haves and the have-nots.

Some teams just can't get it right no matter how hard they try. The landscape of drafted quarterbacks is littered with busts, but a few teams rise to the top when asking who is the worst at drafting quarterbacks in the NFL.

Buffalo Bills

The Bills are poised to challenge the New England Patriots this year, but their (lack of) skill drafting and developing quarterbacks has little to do with it.

2004 first-round pick J.P. Losman had a 10-23 record in five years with the Bills before giving way to 2007 third-round pick Trent Edwards.

Edwards was 14-18 during his stint as the team's starting quarterback, but his inability to stretch defenses and otherwise boldly lead the offense forced the team to turn free-agent pickup Ryan Fitzpatrick, who is still the team's starter after signing an extension that included $24 million guaranteed. That illustrates the collateral damage of drafting poorly at quarterback: committing too much money to a mediocre starter when you can't land one.

Amazingly, the team has only drafted one other quarterback in the last 16 years: 2010 seventh-rounder Levi Brown, who is no longer with the team.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Blaine Gabbert's ignominious start to his NFL career immediately brings the Jaguars to mind when you think of teams that have botched the job of drafting a quarterback. Gabbert could come out of his tailspin, but as of this moment, his career is on the trajectory of a spectacular bust.

Jacksonville took another quarterback in the top 10 in the last 10 years: 2003 No. 7 overall pick Byron Leftwich. Leftwich actually had a 24-20 record as a starter for the team, but they pulled the rug out from under him and installed David Garrard on the eve of the 2007 season.

Garrard is the one bright spot in the last 10 years—a starting quarterback found in the fourth round of the 2002 draft.

The team's unwillingness to take any developmental quarterbacks in the last 13 years is another problem. The Jaguars have had a strong running game and defense for basically their entire existence, but their inability to solve their quarterback woes in the draft has kept them languishing in the seas of mediocrity.

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns' quarterback position reads like a tragedy that just gets keeping sadder the farther you get into it.

The first pick of the franchise's reboot (and 1999 draft), Tim Couch, had a 22-37 record in five years with the team.

2004 fourth-round pick Luke McCown actually started four games in his rookie year, going 0-4 and getting cut before the 2005 season.

2005 third-round pick Charlie Frye was also forced into starting during his rookie year and mustered a 6-13 record in three forgettable years with the team.

2007 first-round pick Brady Quinn went 3-9 in three years with the team before being shipped off to Denver in a trade for Peyton Hillis—maybe the best thing the Browns have done involving a drafted quarterback.

2010 third-round pick Colt McCoy started as a rookie (see a pattern?) and went gone 6-15 during his two years as a starter.

Now, 2012 first-round pick Brandon Weeden is very likely to—you guessed it—start as a rookie. If he's bad enough, the Browns could be forced to draft a quarterback high in the first round of the 2013 draft and, alas, start him as a rookie.

Miami Dolphins

Few teams will be able to match the Dolphins' run of failed quarterback picks in the second round.

2007 pick John Beck lasted two years with the team and failed to win a game.

2008 pick Chad Henne at least played out his rookie contract, but struggled to a 13-18 career record and threw more interceptions than touchdowns during his time with the team.

2009 pick Pat White was drafted as more of a gadget quarterback to be fair, but he didn't even make the team in his second season and is now out of football.

2012 No. 8 overall pick Ryan Tannehill may be the answer, but there would be no question if the Dolphins didn't squander so many recent picks at quarterback.

Oakland Raiders

JaMarcus Russell has become so synonymous with "first-round quarterback bust" that he gets the Raiders on this list by himself. He is the finale in the fireworks show of highly-touted quarterbacks who set their franchise back for years.

The Raiders are still flailing in the attempt to dig out of the hole Russell created, trading a first- and second-round pick for Carson Palmer last year in a trade that will be mocked for almost as long as the Russell pick will be.

The list of draft-related quarterback gaffes doesn't end there. 2005 third-round pick Andrew Walter went 2-7 in three years with the team. 2001 second-round pick Marques Tuiasosopo spent seven years in total with the Raiders and started two games, losing both.

2011 third-round supplemental draft pick Terrelle Pryor could end the nightmare, but he could also be another hi-hat in the comedy act that is the Raiders quarterback position over the last decade.