The Top 10 Worst QBs in the History of the NFL

As we get ready for the NFL conference championship games this weekend, we can relish in the fact that we will get to watch four elite quarterbacks attempt to get their respective teams to the Super Bowl. Quarterback is, of course, the most important position in football and if you don’t have a good one, you don’t stand a chance. 

For many NFL quarterbacks, the road to success never materializes. For every Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson, there are dozens of guys that have careers that the average fan never even acknowledges. For dozens of others, their careers are, for lack of better words, not good. 

As we prepare to watch great quarterback play this weekend, let’s take a look at the 10 worst quarterbacks in the history of the NFL.

No. 10: Nathan Peterman

Yes, Peterman is actually still on an NFL roster. He’s the No. 3 quarterback for the Bears right now. He was a fifth-round draft pick in 2017 and assumed the starting job for the Buffalo Bills in Week 11. Peterman promptly threw five interceptions…in the first half!

His season-by-season QB rating numbers are legendary. They’re that bad – 12.4, 8.0, 24.3, 1.3, 41.9, and 1.9. Peterman’s the only guy on this list that will have a chance to play himself off of it.

No. 9: The Jacks

Jack Thompson, aka the Throwin’ Samoan, was the third overall pick in the 1979 NFL draft. He set numerous passing records at Washington State, but it never carried over to the pros. He never won more than two games in a season as a starter and was out of the NFL in six years.

Jack Trudeau was a record-setting quarterback at Illinois. He held the record for most consecutive passes without an interception (215) at one point. That also didn’t carry over to the NFL. Trudeau threw a pick once every 23 pass attempts in his career. As a starter for the Colts in his rookie season (1986), Trudeau managed to lose all 11 of his starts.

No. 8: The Lions Bust

Detroit will play San Francisco in the NFC championship Sunday with Jared Goff under center. Goff has done a tremendous job for the Lions, which is the exact opposite of Detroit’s first pick in the 2002 NFL draft. The Lions selected Oregon QB Joey Harrington, who was supposed to be the franchise’s quarterback of the future.

Harrington led the NFL with 22 interceptions in 2005 and went 26-50 as a starter. He threw touchdown passes, but also threw 85 picks. His career fizzled and he was out of football by 2009.

No. 7: Who?

Rick Norton is not a name most NFL fans will recognize. Norton is in the University of Kentucky’s Hall of Fame and was drafted No. 2 overall in the 1966 AFL draft by the Miami Dolphins. They’d probably like to have that pick back. Norton lost 10 of the 11 games he started as a pro and threw seven touchdowns compared to 30 interceptions. 

Norton once had a stat line that read 7-for-26 for 43 yards and five interceptions in a game against the Houston Oilers. Norton does have the distinction of being the last NFL QB to throw a touchdown pass at Wrigley Field.

No. 6: Raiders Get It Wrong…Twice

The Raiders drafted 6–foot-6-inch Andrew Walter out of Arizona State in 2005. Walter earned the Raiders starting job as a rookie. He went 2-6 in eight starts and threw 13 picks and, for good measure, fumbled the ball 13 times. In three short years, Walter was gone from the NFL.

So, the Raiders went back to the drawing board. In 2007, they had the first overall pick in the draft. The Raiders took the mammoth JaMarcus Russell (6-6, 260), who possessed a cannon for an arm. Unfortunately, he could do little more than throw a football 70 yards. Russell reported to camp one year over 300 pounds. His work ethic was awful and in three seasons, Russell threw 23 picks and fumbled 25 times. His record as a starter was 7-18. Many consider Russell to be one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history.

No. 5: College Hero, Pro Zero

David Klingler set 33 NCAA records as the quarterback at the University of Houston. It was Patrick Mahomes and Connor Halliday that broke Klingler’s ridiculous 716 yards passing in a single game record. Klingler still holds the record for most touchdown passes in a single game – 11.

Klingler was drafted No. 6 overall in 1992. He played on four garbage Cincinnati Bengals teams and went where many pro QBs have gone to die – Oakland. Klingler was out of football by 1998.

No. 4: The Old Man

Chris Weinke went and played professional baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays before matriculating at Florida State as a quarterback. At 28 years of age, Weinke won the Heisman Trophy. He led the Seminoles to a national championship in 1999 and a 32-3 record in his career.

Weinke was a fourth-round draft choice in 2001 and ended up starting his first NFL game as a rookie. He won it, but then lost 17 games in a row. His final NFL career record as a starter? 2-18. Weinke is the co-offensive coordinator at Georgia Tech. 

No. 3: Rocky Bottom

He was the 1993 SEC Player of the Year. Before Peyton Manning, there was Heath Shuler and before he became a Tennessee congressman, he was an NFL quarterback. Not for long though. Shuler was picked No. 3 overall by the Washington Redskins and was deemed the quarterback of the future. Then, he went 1-7 as a starter and was replaced by seventh-round draft pick Gus Frerotte. Shuler played in 29 games in the NFL over four seasons. Frerotte would go on the play 15 years in the league. 

No. 2: Bust

Another No. 3 overall pick in 1999 is one of the biggest busts in NFL history. He was also one of the worst quarterbacks ever. Akili Smith was a great athlete at Oregon, but there were red flags. He scored a 16 on the NFL’s Wonderlic test. A score of 10 is considered literate. A score of 20 indicates average intelligence. 

Smith would start 18 games in four seasons. He went 3-14-1. His career completion percentage? 46.6. Touchdown passes? Five. He tried his hand in NFL Europe and the CFL. They didn’t pan out either.

No. 1: Biggest Bust

If you haven’t figured it out yet, the guy considered the absolute biggest flop in NFL history is also the worst quarterback ever. Remember Peyton Manning? Yeah, he went No. 1 in the 1998 draft. No. 2? Ryan Leaf. 

The Chargers drafted the physically gifted Leaf, but he went 4-17 as an NFL starter. He continually got into verbal altercations with the media and his coaches. His career completion percentage was 48.8 and he was out of football in four seasons. In 2012, Leaf landed in jail on drug charges.