Jeff Gross - Getty Images
This picture really has nothing to do with the post, but hey, it's Don Shula. Why not use it?
Yesterday, I asked this question on The Phinsider's Facebook page, and received seven comments, with six different answers. So, I thought I would bring the question to the full site:
You are the general manager of a brand new NFL franchise. There are no players protected in the expansion draft, meaning you can take anyone. Who is your first overall pick?
Let us know in the comments below.
0 recs | 83 comments
young, franchise quarterback first and foremost
Aaron Rodgers.
AnishB15 - February 18, 2012 via mobile
Aaron Rodgers
Hands down. Proven production. Proven Winner.
Honorable Mention: Matt Stafford
Urthling - February 18, 2012
Rodgers
With consideration also given to Newton
HighFlyers - February 18, 2012
Easy. Tom Brandstater.
Championnnshiiiip!!
BSerious72 - February 18, 2012
lmao
Nete88 - February 18, 2012
Cam
AlejandroN - February 18, 2012 via mobile
Mark Sanchez
IMadeThisNameAfterWeDraftedReshadJones - February 18, 2012
really?^^^ please tell me this is a joke.
have to go with rodgers!
daytonadolfan - February 18, 2012
lol… why is this not green yet?
jdelsandro - February 18, 2012
you haft to rec it!
wild zion beaver - February 18, 2012
you got balls lol
Nete88 - February 18, 2012
yeah that was the green moment of the day… lol
jdelsandro - February 18, 2012
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
finzrule - February 19, 2012
Mostly it wood haft to be the youngest prize on my list Andrew Luck, "Player wize" otherwise the man with an eye for tallent the young Coach exspirensed 35 y.old Don shula
wild zion beaver - February 18, 2012
All seriousness it would be Aaron Rodgers...
Here’s my list of top 10 franchise players; as you can see it is very QB driven
1. Aaron Rodgers
2. Drew Brees
3. Matt Stafford
4. Cam Newton
5. Patrick Willis
6. Darrelle Revis
7. Troy Polamulu
8. Julius Peppers
9. Demarcus Ware
10. Jake Long
BSerious72 - February 18, 2012
Runners up:
Suh, Mathews, Eli Manning, Big Ben, Ngata, Cutler, Berry
BSerious72 - February 18, 2012
the one person and he's great and all but as of right now he's only supply 5 years is brees
Nete88 - February 18, 2012
APeterson should be on that list
atleast on mine lol, but def Roger would be the 1st choice.
Aleta - February 18, 2012
Peterson is without a doubt the most talented RB in the NFL
but i can’t view RB’s or WR’s as franchise players… they are more like complimentary explosive players…. my opinion atleast…
Peterson can rush for 2000 yards and the Vikings could still finish 5-11
BSerious72 - February 19, 2012
this^^^
finzrule - February 19, 2012
Aaron Rodgers:
Not trying to repeat what everyone else is saying… but Aaron Rodgers is a franchise quarterback no doublt..
jdelsandro - February 18, 2012
Maybe the entire defense unit of the killerB's!
wild zion beaver - February 18, 2012
Mathews LB of Greenbay Packers,
wild zion beaver - February 18, 2012
... the young RAY LEWIS
Alpha6 - February 18, 2012
id add Ray Lewis OR Ed Reed...
but about 5 years ago…
I’m not adding ANYBODY over 30 on my franchise list
BSerious72 - February 19, 2012
Drew Brees
You can build an offense around him relatively quickly.
Fiasco Jones - February 18, 2012
hes 33 now. Its not about right now with an expansion team. Its building for the future. If you can get a young franchise qb, that makes a ton more sense.
Corners - February 18, 2012
id trade down
Get more picks :-)
carabetta13 - February 18, 2012 via mobile
Joe Thomas hands down
Sure I would love to have Aaron Rodgers, but it is hard for me to think he would be as effective playing from his backside.
Currently it was almost a tie between Thomas and Long. But fact remains, despite having almost no help, this guy has made it to four consecutive Pro Bowls and has yet to miss a game. One article stated:
Joe Thomas ranks as our No. 1 overall offensive lineman and No. 2 offensive player.
His play during four seasons in the NFL has been elite from the first game. In four seasons, he’s allowed only 19.25 sacks and committed only 21 penalties. During his rookie season, he was named to the Pro Bowl, and has been every year since.
Four Pro Bowls and three All-Pro selections later, Thomas is building a Hall of Fame career.
These stats just make me think this is the guy to build my franchise around.
dolphinfan4lyfe - February 18, 2012 via mobile
one thing to remember:
Just because a LT isn’t a Pro Bowler doesn’t mean he isn’t good or effective. Rodgers doesn’t have a LT like Thomas now, yet has won a SB and just completed a 15-1 season. So I guess he is doing well playing from his “backside” (another silly myth: if a LT isn’t elite, then the QB is never going to have time to throw). Meanwhile, Thomas has never been to the playoffs because he is protecting crappy QBs. Jake Long made the playoffs once only because he had great QB play getting him there. He’s not made the playoffs since.
In a scenario like this, you would have a great LT, but by the time you drafted again, you would have a mediocre to awful QB. You could have Rodgers and say Ferguson, Gross, Diehl, Light as LTs which would be infinitely better than a Long or Thomas paired with Henne or sanchez or some other useless QB.
So while you might pick Thomas “hands down”, don’t expect to win very many games.
The Earl - February 18, 2012
i'd put Thomas and Long in a pick em
but if you picked Joe Thomas over Aaron rodgers to build your team around I literally would slap the crap out of you. Seriously, thats retarded.
BSerious72 - February 19, 2012
as the new franchise, they would get awarded the first pick in the draft, where i would be able to snag either Luck or RG3
But player draft for new franchises happen before the draft takes place , so id rather give my rookie signal caller a multiple year all pro to protect his blindside. Sue me.
dolphinfan4lyfe - February 19, 2012 via mobile
Andrew Luck...
He is the young guy who you can build around for years to come. He is as sure as you can get with a QB coming out in the draft.
Jason Scott_90 - February 18, 2012
not a bad pick... he might make my top 10
but there’s no way you can pick him over Rodgers, who is proven the best QB in the league and only 5 years in the NFL
BSerious72 - February 19, 2012
watch me....
He is the surest QB to come out since Peyton Manning… I am not alone in thinking this either… many scouts have echoed this same sentiment… They would take Andrew Luck over ANY player in the league, including Rodgers, Brees, and anyone else you got…. Why do you think the Colts are about to dump their franchise QB? Do you think they even consider that, if this guy isn’t in this year’s draft?
Jason Scott_90 - February 19, 2012
agreed but to put him over Rodgers or brees before even playing an NFL down??
No way!
BSerious72 - February 19, 2012
Eli Manning
2 superbowls and he beat whom some considered the best, Tom Brady, twice. Along the way during his last feat, he stopped into Lambeau and snatched last year’s ring and dance from Aaron Rodgers.
fin4three5yrs - February 18, 2012
aaron rodgers, then cam newton. Both do the same thing for their prototype version of qb, and thats score points. One is the best pocket passer in the NFL atm and the other is the newer bigger mick vick.
Corners - February 18, 2012
rgIII all the way
Nete88 - February 18, 2012
Im praying we get him on April.
Aleta - February 18, 2012
I believe that if were to ask any NFL fan this question, they would obviously pick...
Tom Bradstater.
southfloridamammalsfan - February 18, 2012
duh
BSerious72 - February 19, 2012
If we could turn back time
A young Ed Reed. But if it were today, I’d take Drew Brees. Second pick would be Julius Peppers. Third is LeSean McCoy.
BTW – I love the fact nobody mentions Tom Brady. Awesome! Haha.
Drumzan - February 18, 2012
F@ck Tom Brady!!! lol
Nete88 - February 18, 2012
lol why would anyone?
hes old and sucks haha
Ben Bacon - February 18, 2012
he's probably the best top 3 player in football
but the question was who would you build your franchise around… why would you pick a player who has less than 5 solid seasons ahead of him??
BSerious72 - February 19, 2012
No Curtis Painter?
Drumzan - February 18, 2012
he's too good, he'd make the rest of the team look bad
Nete88 - February 18, 2012
Hey now!
Quit pickin’ on my hometown boy!!! haha
We’re a small town, our county population is 20k. So having Painter in the NFL and then Clint Barmes (distant cousin of mine) in the MLB, is pretty cool even if they’re not exactly “stars.” But IDK what happened in Painter. His junior year at Purdue, they were talking him up as a hiesman candidate before he got hurt. Then it ALL fell apart since then.
Mr_Solo_Dolo - February 19, 2012
Is Andrew Luck part of this?
if so then we all know my choice lol
Ben Bacon - February 18, 2012
Has to be Rodgers...
#1Heatfan - February 18, 2012
also also
does cloning become realistic in this scenario?
cuz if it does it looks like #13 is gettin unretired….
and well avoid the whole piece of crap leg this time so he can actually move around
Ben Bacon - February 18, 2012
Brandon Fields!!
Strange - February 18, 2012 via mobile
Tony Romo as place kicker
Uncletouchufunny - February 18, 2012
Chad Henne
kingmz - February 18, 2012
Current would be
Aaron Rodgers…my second pick would be Jake Long to protect his blind side.
If I could have any player past or present in their prime, it would come down to Dan Marino, Walter Payton or Jim Brown.
Blue or CONKZILLA - February 18, 2012
Ray Finkle
Blue or CONKZILLA - February 18, 2012
Brady.
Patssuck456 - February 18, 2012
The Bunch?
Aleta - February 18, 2012
To be honest
the guy in the above picture would be a great place to start.
Blue or CONKZILLA - February 18, 2012
Olindo Mare, is first pick
Newport4 - February 18, 2012
Sporano,
is that you?
PhinNomenol! - February 19, 2012 via Android app
Gimme RGIII
and I’ll build a team around him gladly. The elusive ability of Vick, the speed of Gates, plus pocket awareness and an arm plus touch…. Yeah, I’ll build a new franchise with him at the helm. A creative coach and OC who are not stuck in the traditional offense mindset will have a field day creating plays with his versatility. Add multidimensional threats similar to Bush, Clay and you have a completely new offensive style in the making.
PhinNomenol! - February 19, 2012 via Android app
going back in time
if we can go back a take a young and healthy peyton manning
aldolphins13 - February 19, 2012 via Android app
Calvin Johnson
A WR like him can make any QB look damn good.
tuscanitunr x2 - February 19, 2012
Clyde Gates.
BSerious72 - February 19, 2012
Easy Bresy
Drew Bress, what a standup guy with great playing ability. I wouldn’t want anyone else as my face of the franchise.
Close second to Andre Johnson.
Mr_Solo_Dolo - February 19, 2012
Ray Lewis from NFL []_[]
Young just out of The []_[]
NFL []_[]
SSFDballer - February 19, 2012 via mobile
I'd pick 1. a young Peyton Manning
with 2(a) John Elway and 2(b) Dan Marino
CanT0o - February 19, 2012
ok, if we're not going retro, I'll take Cam Newton
CanT0o - February 19, 2012
HERETIC!!!
Jason Scott_90 - February 19, 2012
ok, ok! Matt Moore! Better??
(sigh…)
CanT0o - February 19, 2012
TJ YATES
Farorefox - February 19, 2012
Willie Beamon
Strange - February 19, 2012 via mobile
Aaron Rodgers
finzrule - February 19, 2012
Luck
Rodgers will be 29 at the end of the season. Luck will be 23 this season. You are building a franchise from scratch, start with a guy who will be around for 15-17 years, not 7-9. It will take some time for you to build that team up to a contender. With Rodgers, that 7 year window suddenly becomes a 3 year window to win a title. With Luck, that 12 year window becomes 8 or 9, still almost a decade worth of contention.
And let’s not all pretend Luck isn’t going to be great. The guy has every skill and intangible you could want in a player. It’s going to take some freak injury for him to not be a top tier QB.
Rodgers is one of the best QB’s in the league right now, but I’d rather start with a guy who’s 6 years younger and is expected to be right at that level. By the time this team is loaded up and ready to be a force, Rodgers will be a few years out from a decline. I want a nice big window of opportunity to win titles, because it takes a perfect storm to win a Super Bowl.
Little Nicky 21 - February 19, 2012
Sure Luck but the premise was based on a player from the expansion draft.
texascowpunk - February 19, 2012 via Android app
thats why i chose Joe Thomas, that still leaves the possibility of drafting Luck in the draft, seeing as we would also inherit the first pick in the draft, we could then get a young signal caller to build the rest of the team around
Unlike Houston, who made Mario Williams their Franchise player, I would actually draft RG 3. Combination of Joe Thomas and RG 3 athletic abilities, would be an awesome foundation.
dolphinfan4lyfe - February 19, 2012 via mobile
Of course but still not in the spirit
of the question!
texascowpunk - February 19, 2012 via Android app
disagree
I think Luck will be a top 3 QB in the league for the next 10 years but im taking the sure thing over the unproven ANY day. Rodgers can be MVP for the next 10 years, no question. He’s a lombardi winner and I’d be willing to bet he gets another one too when its all said and done
BSerious72 - February 19, 2012
in 10 years he'll be 39..
That’s the point of taking Luck. The window is 6 years longer
Little Nicky 21 - February 20, 2012
Peyton Manning!!
BlaqDolfin - February 19, 2012
young*
BlaqDolfin - February 19, 2012
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