Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook has drawn some recent buzz, with ESPN's Jon Gruden saying he thinks he'll be the best quarterback to come out of this year's draft. For that to happen, he'll have to prove he can be more accurate than he was in college.
Cook completed only 56 percent of his passes last season. Of the 42 quarterbacks drafted in the first round since 2000, only 11 have completed under 60 percent their final season of college. The vast majority of those quarterbacks flopped in the NFL. Josh Freeman, Joey Harrington, Rex Grossman, Jake Locker.
Accuracy isn't everything; note Brandon Weeden atop the list below, and Matt Ryan down near the bottom. Still, it's something Cook will need to overcome to be a successful pro.
First-round quarterbacks (and possible 2016 first-rounders) this century, sorted by completion percentage their final year of college, are shown below.
FIRST-ROUND QUARTERBACKS, 2000-PRESENT | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Pk | Player | Team | Att | Com | Pct | P Yds | TDP | Int |
2012 | 22 | Brandon Weeden | Clev. | 564 | 408 | 72.3 | 4727 | 37 | 13 |
2004 | 4 | Philip Rivers | NYG | 483 | 348 | 72.0 | 4491 | 34 | 7 |
2012 | 2 | Robert Griffin III | Wash. | 406 | 291 | 71.7 | 4293 | 37 | 6 |
2012 | 1 | Andrew Luck | Ind. | 404 | 288 | 71.3 | 3517 | 37 | 10 |
2014 | 32 | Teddy Bridgewater | Minn. | 427 | 303 | 71.0 | 3970 | 31 | 4 |
2014 | 22 | Johnny Manziel | Clev. | 429 | 300 | 69.9 | 4114 | 37 | 13 |
2005 | 25 | Jason Campbell | Wash. | 270 | 188 | 69.6 | 2700 | 20 | 7 |
2004 | 11 | Ben Roethlisberger | Pitt. | 495 | 342 | 69.1 | 4486 | 37 | 10 |
2015 | 2 | Marcus Mariota | Tenn. | 445 | 304 | 68.3 | 4454 | 42 | 4 |
2013 | 16 | EJ Manuel | Buff. | 387 | 263 | 68.0 | 3397 | 23 | 10 |
2007 | 1 | JaMarcus Russell | Oak. | 342 | 232 | 67.8 | 3129 | 28 | 8 |
2010 | 25 | Tim Tebow | Den. | 314 | 213 | 67.8 | 2895 | 21 | 5 |
2014 | 3 | Blake Bortles | Jac. | 382 | 259 | 67.8 | 3581 | 25 | 9 |
2005 | 1 | Alex Smith | S.F. | 317 | 214 | 67.5 | 2952 | 32 | 4 |
2000 | 18 | Chad Pennington | NYJ | 433 | 292 | 67.4 | 4006 | 38 | 12 |
2003 | 7 | Byron Leftwich | Jac. | 491 | 331 | 67.4 | 4268 | 30 | 10 |
2016 | ? | Paxton Lynch | ? | 443 | 296 | 66.8 | 3776 | 28 | 4 |
2005 | 24 | Aaron Rodgers | G.B. | 316 | 209 | 66.1 | 2566 | 24 | 8 |
2011 | 1 | Cam Newton | Car. | 280 | 185 | 66.1 | 2854 | 30 | 7 |
2009 | 5 | Mark Sanchez | NYJ | 366 | 241 | 65.8 | 3207 | 34 | 10 |
2006 | 10 | Matt Leinart | Ariz. | 431 | 283 | 65.7 | 3815 | 28 | 8 |
2015 | 1 | Jameis Winston | T.B. | 467 | 305 | 65.3 | 3907 | 25 | 18 |
2006 | 3 | Vince Young | Tenn. | 325 | 212 | 65.2 | 3036 | 26 | 10 |
2002 | 1 | David Carr | Hou. | 476 | 308 | 64.7 | 4299 | 42 | 7 |
2016 | ? | Jared Goff | ? | 529 | 341 | 64.5 | 4719 | 43 | 13 |
2008 | 18 | Joe Flacco | Balt. | 521 | 331 | 63.5 | 4263 | 23 | 5 |
2011 | 10 | Blaine Gabbert | Jac. | 475 | 301 | 63.4 | 3186 | 16 | 9 |
2003 | 1 | Carson Palmer | Cin. | 489 | 309 | 63.2 | 3942 | 33 | 10 |
2016 | ? | Carson Wentz | ? | 208 | 130 | 62.5 | 1651 | 17 | 4 |
2004 | 1 | Eli Manning | S.D. | 441 | 275 | 62.4 | 3600 | 29 | 10 |
2007 | 22 | Brady Quinn | Clev. | 467 | 289 | 61.9 | 3426 | 37 | 7 |
2012 | 8 | Ryan Tannehill | Mia. | 531 | 327 | 61.6 | 3744 | 29 | 15 |
2011 | 12 | Christian Ponder | Minn. | 299 | 184 | 61.5 | 2044 | 20 | 8 |
2009 | 1 | Matthew Stafford | Det. | 383 | 235 | 61.4 | 3459 | 25 | 10 |
2004 | 22 | J.P. Losman | Buff. | 422 | 251 | 59.5 | 3077 | 33 | 14 |
2008 | 3 | Matt Ryan | Atl. | 654 | 388 | 59.3 | 4507 | 31 | 19 |
2006 | 11 | Jay Cutler | Den. | 462 | 273 | 59.1 | 3073 | 21 | 9 |
2009 | 17 | Josh Freeman | T.B. | 382 | 224 | 58.6 | 2945 | 20 | 8 |
2002 | 3 | Joey Harrington | Det. | 322 | 186 | 57.8 | 2415 | 23 | 5 |
2003 | 22 | Rex Grossman | Chi. | 503 | 287 | 57.1 | 3402 | 22 | 17 |
2002 | 32 | Patrick Ramsey | Wash. | 449 | 256 | 57.0 | 2935 | 22 | 13 |
2010 | 1 | Sam Bradford | St.L. | 69 | 39 | 56.5 | 562 | 2 | 0 |
2016 | ? | Connor Cook | ? | 408 | 229 | 56.1 | 3131 | 24 | 7 |
2011 | 8 | Jake Locker | Tenn. | 332 | 184 | 55.4 | 2265 | 17 | 9 |
2001 | 1 | Michael Vick | Atl. | 161 | 87 | 54.0 | 1234 | 8 | 6 |
2003 | 19 | Kyle Boller | Balt. | 421 | 225 | 53.4 | 2815 | 28 | 10 |
--Andy Richardson