QBU: Schools That Produce the Best Quarterbacks in the NFL

1. Oklahoma Sooners

•Kyler Murray

•Baker Mayfield

•Jalen Hurts

The winner of the QBU title has to go to the Oklahoma Sooners as of right now. What puts this unit over the others? Volume, playoff appearances, and the high upside of Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts. But what about Baker Mayfield?

Before he became such an enigma in the NFL, Mayfield was a polarizing college football prospect. Mayfield famously served as the backup at Texas Tech in 2013, but not behind the quarterback that you think. Davis Webb was entrenched as the starter, and in 2014, Patrick Mahomes would arrive on campus. This led to Mayfield entering his name into the transfer portal, and due to the old rules, he was forced to sit out the entire 2014 season. The best was yet to come for Baker.

Mayfield committed to the Oklahoma Sooners and won the starting job for the program in 2015. In his three years as a starter under Lincoln Riley, Mayfield put up gaudy numbers. He threw for 119 touchdowns while only throwing 21 interceptions. He averaged nearly 4000 passing yards per season, and edged out both Bryce Love and Lamar Jackson for the Heisman trophy in 2017. Mayfield entered his name into the draft and saw himself go No. 1 overall to the Cleveland Browns.

As a rookie, Mayfield opened the season as a backup before eventually taking over for Tyrod Taylor in week three. He guided the team to a 7-8-1 record in 2018, one year removed from when the Browns won zero games. Mayfield’s second season was flat out terrible, as he threw 21 interceptions in one season (matching his total across three seasons with Oklahoma). The team hired Kevin Stefanski following their 6-10 season, marking the third head coach for Mayfield in as many seasons. This time, they hired the right guy.

Stefanski wisely leaned on the power-run game, utilizing Mayfield more as a souped-up game manger. This led to the best season of his professional career and the best season the Browns have had as a franchise since returning to Cleveland in 1999. Mayfield threw for 3827 yards, 26 touchdowns and cut his interception number down to eight. The Browns won 11 regular season games and even got a playoff win against their bitter rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mayfield and the team dropped a hard-fought contest against the Chiefs, but the optimism going forward was as strong as it has ever been.

To the dismay of Browns fans, this joy did not carryover to the 2021 season. Mayfield suffered a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder when he attempted to make the tackle against the Texans after throwing an interception. Mayfield courageously battled through the injury, but this was to the detriment of the team and his own personal standing in the league. The Browns missed the playoffs and Mayfield was used as the scapegoat. Cleveland would go on to trade for Deshaun Watson, leaving Mayfield in no-man’s land. He was recently traded to the Carolina Panthers, and will be given the opportunity to resuscitate his career. It’s impossible to ignore the fact that he won a playoff game with the Cleveland Browns, something that was not in anyone’s mind following a winless 2016 campaign.

Next up, we will go back to Jalen Hurts. As stated in the previous slide, Hurts took the Alabama Crimson Tide to two straight playoff berths as the starter. He then moved on to Oklahoma after losing the quarterback battle to Tua Tagovailoa. In Norman, Lincoln Riley unlocked another facet of Hurts’ game. Hurts became a much better passer in terms of fundamentals. He incorporated more of a pro-style approach, showing NFL scouts that he had potential as a pocket passer to pair with his exceptional athleticism as a runner. Hurts increased his completion percentage by more than five points and threw 32 touchdowns to only eight interceptions. On the ground, he rushed for 1298 yards and 20 touchdowns. He earned yet another playoff berth, this time with the Sooners, but ultimately fell to the eventual National Champions — the LSU Tigers.

Following a storied college career that saw him lead two blue blood programs to playoff appearances, Hurts entered his name into the 2020 NFL Draft. To the surprise of many, the Philadelphia Eagles — of all teams — drafted him. The team had recently inked their current starter, Carson Wentz, to a lucrative contract extension. Still, they used their second rounder on Hurts, creating controversy in Philadelphia. Wentz immediately was threatened by the organization’s decision to take another quarterback so early. This was a large part of the reason Wentz fell apart in 2020. Hurts was inserted into the starting lineup for four games as a rookie, and showed enough flashes that the franchise felt comfortable trading Wentz away.

Hurts entered the 2021 season as the top guy on the depth chart. He missed two games, but in his 15 starts, the team went 8-7 and qualified for the playoffs as the seventh seed. Something about Jalen Hurts and postseason berths. Hurts looked raw as a passer, don’t get me wrong, but the added element he brought on the ground helped balance things out for the offense. During the final couple months of the season, the Eagles shifted to more of a run-heavy approach, and you better believe that Hurts made things difficult for opposing defenses. He averaged nearly six yards per carry and spearheaded the best run game in the league. They came up short in their playoff game against Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, but Hurts has won everywhere he’s ever been, and the roster is stronger now than it was before. The Eagles will win the NFC East if Hurts can develop more as a traditional passer.

The final member on this list is one of the most exciting to play the quarterback position in recent memory. Kyler Murray was drafted in the top ten of the MLB Draft as an amateur, but he decided to forego the opportunity to play baseball, and play college football instead. Murray initially enrolled at Texas A&M for the 2015 season, but was stuck behind Kyle Allen on the depth chart. This led to Murray transferring to Oklahoma. After satisfying the old transfer rules by sitting out all of 2016, Murray became the No. 2 on the depth chart behind Baker Mayfield. Mayfield won the Heisman trophy in 2017, so it’s hard to blame Riley for keeping Murray on the bench.

In 2018, Murray would get his chance to shine at long last. Murray threw for 4361 yards and tossed 42 touchdowns in 14 games. That’s an average of 311 yards and three touchdowns per game. Unlike Mayfield, Murray was a superb athlete that also rushed for 1001 yards and 12 touchdowns. Over 5000 all-purpose yards and 54 combined touchdowns led to Kyler Murray taking home the 2018 Heisman trophy, marking back-to-back Heisman winners for the Oklahoma Sooners. Similar to Mayfield before him, Murray was taken No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft. The Arizona Cardinals completely abandoned their previous year investment in Josh Rosen to take Murray. That’s how special Kyler is.

Murray hit the ground running as a rookie, earning Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and making the Cardinals brass look like geniuses for taking the gamble. For a second straight season, Murray appeared in all 16 games, but also battled injuries down the stretch. Still, he showed clear signs of improvement each and every week, providing excitement for the fan base heading into 2021. The season began with a bang, as the Cardinals won their first seven games behind the MVP-favorite, Kyler Murray. The team would lose their next game, and Murray suffered yet another injury. This time, he was forced out of action for three games. When Murray returned, he was clearly less than 100%, leading to the team dropping four of his final six starts. Because of how great he and the team were the first two months, the Cardinals still qualified for the postseason for the first time since 2015.

There you have it, the QBU list is officially complete. What do you think? Tell me what I got right and where I got it wrong. The debate is strong for a number of these schools, but as of today, I have to give the edge to the Oklahoma Sooners.