Fansided

Some NFL teams would take Sam Bradford over Mariota or Winston

By Stanford Crissey

Sam Bradford's last NFL action was this preseason game against the Browns. Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Sam Bradford's last NFL action was this preseason game against the Browns. Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Report says some teams are more interested in the St. Louis Rams QB than the top draft prospects

Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston have been pegged as the top two draft prospects for some time now, and conventional wisdom says that it’s very possible that they are the top two overall picks in this year’s draft.

That, however, does not mean all teams feel that way.

More from Los Angeles Rams

In fact, there are some teams that would rather take a chance on Rams quarterback Sam Bradford, who has missed the last year and a half of regular season football, than spend a first-round pick on Winston or Mariota, according to Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole.

The Rams are expected to move on from Bradford this offseason. He is slated to make $13 million this coming season and the Rams would have to eat much of that salary if they release the former number one overall pick.

Cole did not specify which executives prefer Bradford or whether they have any specific qualms about Mariota or Winston, saying that the teams prefer Bradford because “they have seen what Bradford can do.”

In fact, we have all seen what Bradford can do, and it’s solid but far from spectacular. In his four seasons of play (not counting 2014), he has a career 58.6 completion percentage, 59 touchdowns to 38 interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 79.3. He did, however, post a 90.9 rating in his abbreviated 2013 campaign, albeit in only seven games.

So that’s what Bradford can do. It’s fine, but that’s before considering that his last NFL start came in October 2013; that he has only played 16 full games in two of his five years; and that he is coming off not one, but two ACL tears.

And yet, some NFL executives evidently prefer that body of work to the promise of Mariota or Winston. Granted, there are some concerns about both prospects (particularly Winston, who has been tied to sexual assault and, much less seriously, the theft of crab legs). They might be amazing, they might be terrible; but isn’t it worth taking the chance?

If you’re not yet convinced that this might be a bad idea, Pro Football Reference lists Bradford’s most similar players as Mark Sanchez and Tim Couch. I want to talk to these NFL executives; I have some Radio Shack stock to sell them.

More from FanSided

Home/Los Angeles Rams