I try to read these things with an open mind, but let me tell you at the point Peter King lost me with his theory that athletic quarterbacks will be a thing of the past shortly.
More and more general managers I speak with are hesitant about putting their quarterback at the kind of risk so many mobile quarterbacks are in these days. Look at the young, athletic playoff quarterbacks last year. Colin Kaepernick, declining. Cam Newton, declining. Russell Wilson, treading water. Andrew Luck is athletic but also effectively functions in the pocket; he’s certainly a rising star. But there’s been a hey-wait-a-minute moment when it comes to mobile quarterback as the wave of the future.
Russell Wilson treading water?
Wilson is 32-12 as a starter with a Super Bowl ring. I like how he put an asterisk with Andrew Luck, who is great and getting better, but has had his struggles just like anyone else.
If you look at all the starting quarterbacks in the NFL this season there are only like 7-8 quarterbacks who I would consider IMMOBILE in the pocket. The days where more quarterbacks were like Dan Marino (in speed, not talent) are over.
Also Peter King overlooks something else, colleges are breeding many more athletic QBs than immobile ones, so if you are drafting one, he is probably going to be mobile in some capacity. I understand what King is saying about athletic quarterbacks putting themselves more at risk when they scramble, but QBs will always be at risk.
When a young immobile quarterback struggles, the media doesn’t hold it against other quarterbacks. No one says we aren’t going to draft any more statues in the pocket, so why would RG3 struggling mean the death to athletic quarterbacks? Things that makes you go hmmmmm.
There is a big difference between being an athletic quarterback that can pass and a running quarterback. So, like it or not, the athletic quarterback is here to stay, it is up to the teams to tailor offenses and hone their talents.