Unless you have been living under a rock for the last 7-8 years or have stayed away from fantasy football you would know these two QB's light up scoreboards. Let's look at their numbers last year.
2014 Stats:
Drew Brees
456/659 (completed/attempted)
69.2% (completion percentage)
4,592 yards
33 touchdowns
17 interceptions
97% QBR
Phillip Rivers
379/570 (completed/attempted)
66.5% (completion percentage)
4,286 yards
31 touchdowns
18 interceptions
93.8% QBR
NFL.com published an article on December 3, 2013 "QB Index: Ranking the starters 1-32". Keep in mind that although this article is based of the 2013 season there may have been people who's play fell off after that 2013 season. However, the point of this is to show who was deemed elite or in their words "top of the food chain". According to the NFL post in 2013 Rivers and Brees were 2nd and 3rd respectively while in the company of Peyton Manning, Russell Wilson, and Aaron Rodgers. Not bad company to be in at all. So what you realize is that the past two seasons alone they have been in the upper echelon of passers.
With that being said Anthony and I stand on two different sides of acquiring one of the two QB's.
Before we get into our takes let's look at what we may have to give up to get one of them. First, we know we would be shipping off our first round pick (5th overall). Most people speculate that we wouldn't lose a first rounder we actually would acquire two. With these two QB's being proven vets there is the argument that one of them alone would be considered first round talent. Also, you have speculators that believe we would package another late pick for a late pick from either of those teams as well as getting their first rounder this year thus resulting in two picks and a player (from New Orleans or San Diego) for simply two picks.
So let's look at acquiring Drew Brees. With the Saints trade of Jimmy Graham they acquired an additional first round pick from Seattle. Based on the NFL trade value chart our fifth pick is worth 1500 points and our 69th pick is worth 245 which totals 1745 points. Meanwhile, the Saints 13th pick is worth 1150 points, 31st is worth 600, 140th is worth 36 and 146th is worth 33 points. Let's look at some trades scenarios.
Scenario 1:
Say we chose to go after their 13th, 140th and Brees we know that the value for the picks alone is 1186 leaving 559 points on the table before factoring in Brees' value. This seems to be the most sensible trade for the Redskins.
Scenario 2:
We go after their 31st, 140th and Brees. This trade is more beneficial to the Saints with the point total for the picks being 636. Still not including Brees' value. Redskins can even ask for an additional pick(s). If Washington chooses to do so again this trade can swing in favor of the Redskins if those picks pan out.
Keep in mind these are just scenarios that may be the most feasible.
Now let's look at scenarios for Phillip Rivers. San Diego owns the 17th pick in the first round, 117th in the fourth round and the 153rd in the fifth round.
Scenario 1:
17th, 117th and Rivers. The value for 17th is 950 points, 117th is worth 60 totaling 1,010 points excluding Rivers value. Much like scenario 1 for Drew Brees this scenario will be the best value for Washington.
Scenario 2:
Now let's keep the same pick and add the 153rd pick worth 30 more points. Now the total is up to 1,040 points. Not much more than the previous scenario but with the holes we have you can find a player you can groom or find a diamond. Our new GM has struck gold in this round previously.
The reason for trying to acquire one of these signal callers is simple. With one of these guys under center you instantly become better. Secondly, you believe that if you have either under center for 2-3 years that gives a QB on the depth chart or a QB that may be drafted time to learn from these All-Pro QB's.
Now with all the upside of these trades it's certainly a no-brainer to pull the trigger. Right? Wrong!
My take on the matter is simple. I simply feel that it's meaningless to trade for one of these guys although, they are proven here's why:
Age/Longevity
Neither are the ideal age. you have Brees who's 36 and Rivers who's 33. Who's to say they won't regress? Also, you have to consider not many QB's play at a high level in their 30's.
Money
- The salary the would command would hamper adding more players to fill roster holes. As well as making extensions to Ryan Kerrigan, Alfred Morris, and Trent Williams unless the QB's restructure.
Mentoring
The one thing I continuously hear is "you can bring one in to help speed up the progression of a QB on our roster". This is true. However, who's to say one of the signal callers on our depth chart will progress? It's odd thinking that two guys who weren't mentored who were kind of thrown into the fray are expected to be able to teach. I feel the best way to learn is film and gameday.
When you think of the top 5 QB's in the league which ones were mentored? Brady... No! How about Peyton? Hmmmmm what about Aaron Rodgers! Again the answer is no. Also, of the three I mentioned 2 sat for some games, Peyton was deemed day one starter and eventhough his first few years weren't prolific he's paved a nice career for himself without a veteran QB "grooming" him so did Brady.
Ask yourself. Is it worth swapping picks to take a leap of faith on a 30+ year old with the sole purpose of just launching us back into relevancy? Not even to be able to win the big game but just to be relevant rather than using this top 5 pick on someone we can mold. Why do we encourage our team to do the same thing year in and year out? Brees or Rivers won't make us contenders and that's the reality of it. However, as a fan base our standards aren't even high enough to want lofty goals because if they were we wouldn't want someone else's almost over the hill talent. If we are going to right this ship we have to steer away from things we've done over the past decade.
I appreciate the argument proposed by my friend and fellow blogger Kelvin Cash. I believe he makes some great points. I'm sure many of the readers may even agree. However, I have a slightly different take on this. I would absolutely love to see either Phillip Rivers or Drew Brees in burgundy and gold. I've got more than a couple reasons why, but let me begin by approaching the subjects that Kelvin used in his argument against acquiring either guy.
Age/Longevity
Yes, both Drew Brees (age 36) and Phillip Rivers (age 33) are in their thirties, but in the NFL a rise in age does not always represent a decline in value. If you look at the top ten in a few key statistics for quarterbacks last year you can see a representation of what I speak of.
Most of the top 10 leaders in passing yards in 2014 share a common trait.....almost all of them are over the age of thirty. Only three people are younger, those players are Matt Ryan (age 29), Matthew Stafford (age 27) and Andrew Luck (age 25). Andrew Luck, is the only one in the group that most people would even consider "a young quarterback".
The top 10 in Quarterback Rating for 2014 is almost no different. Actually, there aren't even three QB's under the age of thirty in the top 10, only Andrew Luck (again) and Russell Wilson (age 26) are present. Every other quarterback is over the age the age of thirty.
I'm not worried about age, I'm worried about level of play. Former NFL greats like Warren Moon, Joe Montana, Brett Favre, Steve Young, and John Elway have all played well in later stages of their careers. Fellow vets of today's NFL like Tom Brady (37) and Peyton Manning (39) are examples of this as well.
There's no way to know exactly how long either of the two will play, before they decide to hang up their cleats, but let's say both Drew Brees and Philip Rivers final seasons would be played at age 41. That would mean that Skins fans get to enjoy 5 years of great quarterback play from Brees, and 8 years of a high level of play from Rivers.
I'd take that, especially, given the fact that we currently have two young QB on our roster in Kirk Cousins and Robert Griffin III who might not even be in the league at age 30.
Money
You are correct here, the addition of such salaries to a roster may call for some restructuring from a quarterback, but this is common. Good QB's do it all the time, Tom Brady seems to do so almost yearly.
Each team has core guys that they value and players that they would prefer to keep, good franchises pay their core guys and also draft well to maintain and create new additions to a roster. I trust that our President Bruce Allen and New GM Scot McCloughan can get these things done. with Scot being one of the leagues best at talent evaluation and Bruce's strong point being cap management.
Mentoring
What exactly is that by the way? A mentor by definition can be a trusted counselor or guide, to me, by NFL standards...... those are Coaches, quarterbacks are notorious for not exactly mentoring other guys, they compete for their spot, and only one person can play. That's what QB coaches are for, and I'm glad someone in Washington was smart enough to acquire one this year. The mentoring job is now the responsibility of Matt Cavanaugh.
Though I do not believe in the general form of mentoring from the QB position, there is still, great value for other quarterbacks on a roster when you have someone who plays at a high level on a football team. A young QB, will get to see first hand what being a leader is like, how to conduct yourself as a leader and captain of a football team, what it takes to be great day in and day out, the work ethic that they have to posses in the film room and on the practice field, all these things, are examples of what a good young quarterback can learn before he even steps on the field in a regular season game. Many call it "learning from a distance".
Many quarterbacks have been through similar processes. Whether they sat behind a guy for years, a year, half a season, or even had stints with different teams before leading their own team and playing well, football fans have seen examples of this a good number of times:
- Steve Young backed up Joe Montana for 4 years.
- Aaron Rodgers backed up Bret Favre for 4 years.
- Tom Brady backed up Drew Bledsoe for 1 year.
- Brett Farve backed up Chris Miller for a year int ATL before landing in Green Bay.
- Eli Manning backed up Kurt Warner for about 9 games.
- Tony Romo sat behind Vinny Testaverde and Drew Bledsoe for 2 seasons.
- Philip Rivers sat behind....get this.....it's kinda funny given the topic....Drew Brees! For 2 years.
Every team is different, every season is different, the Saints didn't make it to the playoffs last year, the Chargers also did not make the playoffs, that does not mean that they are solely to blame, both those guys still played at a very high level, Rivers doing so in an extremely tough division.
Also, it is not fact that attaining either would not make us contenders, that is your opinion, which I respect. But I say, adding one of the leagues best QB's to the the leagues 13th best offense, would only enhance them, and make the team better, Brees and Rivers don't struggle with the phases of the game our quarterbacks are struggling to learn, and given the fact that many of the games they lost were largely due to poor quarterback play, I'd expect them to contend for the division crown and any team in the tourney is a threat to go all the way, just ask Eli Manning about that.
Is it worth swapping picks for a 30+ year old quarterback? Yes, it is, especially considering what our teams first round target could be. I seriously doubt it's a QB, but even so, if they drafted Marcus Mariota for example, wouldn't he benefit from watching Philip Rivers or Drew Brees for about 4 years? Isn't it better for him to sit anyway? Would you rather have him watching Colt McCoy, Kirk Cousins, maybe Rg3? I doubt that lol.
If the team is looking to add a pass rusher and not a quarterback, trading back to the 17th pick for Rivers, the 13th pick or even the 31st pick in the first round doesn't hurt them much in that scenario. They would still be in the running to pick up one of the drafts best pass rushers in a very deep and talented class. Even if they opted to go with another position like receiver or offensive line, they'd be in really good position there too. They would also, be in prime position to trade Robert Griffin for picks or player.
They would basically be gaining an Elite quarterback and still acquiring young talent that can enhance their team, that's not a loss, that's a "come up" and you explained in your scenarios that we would also get 4th round picks too!....What?! Thank you San Diego! Thank You New Orleans! That would be much appreciated, some people call that a "crack head deal"...I'll take it lol. That's like paying 20 dollars for an HD television.
