3. Smart Franchises Maintain A QB Pipeline
Look no further than the Packers here. They drafted Rodgers in 2005, when Brett Favre was still entrenched, and Rodgers sat for three seasons. During Favre’s epic consecutive start streak, Mark Brunell and Aaron Brooks highlight a list of notable backups who went on to start for other teams.
In New Orleans, the Saints have swapped Teddy Bridgewater for Jameis Winston behind Drew Brees. In New England they drafted Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett to come in behind Tom Brady in recent years, before trading them.
In this year’s draft, the Philadelphia Eagles drafted Jalen Hurts in the second round to become Carson Wentz’s backup. They previously compensated Nick Foles nicely to be the No. 2 quarterback, which only paid off with a Super Bowl ring when Wentz was injured in 2017.