The ten best rookie quarterback seasons in NFL history (Shutdown Corner)

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Two things stand out looking at the ten best rookie quarterback seasons of in modern (post-merger) NFL history: one, that there aren't very many great ones; and two, that most of those are recent. If the trend continues, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III  could wind up positioned well on lists like this one in the future. For now, though, here's who they're chasing. These are the quarterbacks who have gotten off to great starts. 10. Vince Young (Tennessee Titans, 2006) Vince Young won't appear on many lists of tremendous quarterbacking accomplishments, but he does squeeze onto this one. VY went 8-5 as a starter as a rookie, and just finished on the wrong side of the TD/INT ratio, with 12/13. That doesn't set the world on fire, but for a rookie, it's at least decent. Young's legs added a ton of value, giving the Titans an extra 552 rushing yards and 7 rushing TDs. 9. Sam Bradford (St. Louis Rams, 2010) Bradford threw the ball an insane 590 times as a rookie, trailing only Peyton Manning and Drew Brees in attempts in 2010. And he completed 60% of those, which is a plateau not often reached by rookie QBs. It also feels like it's worth pointing out that the top two receivers on that 2010 Rams team were Danny Amendola and Brandon Gibson. That ups the degree of difficulty significantly. 8. Joe Flacco (Baltimore Ravens, 2008) All Joe Flacco did in his rookie year was compile a record of 11-5 and lead the Ravens to the AFC Championship game. He also hit the 60% completion mark, and had more TDs than interceptions, and ended up being named the Rookie of the Year. The only blip was in Baltimore's last game of the season, the AFC Championship game in Pittsburgh, which is not an ideal scenario for a rookie QB. Pittsburgh killed him, forcing him into a 13-of-30, 0 TD, 3 INT performance. 7. Andy Dalton (Cincinnati Bengals, 2011) Dalton was perhaps overshadowed a bit by Cam Newton, but you could argue that he was just as good, especially if you're into the "Quarterback Wins" statistic . Even without it, though, Dalton was formidable: 3,398 yards, with 20 TDs against just 13 INTs. And before the season, most people expected the Bengals to be just horrific. They exceeded all expectations and made the playoffs, due in large part to Dalton's steady play.

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