Football fans have witnessed some historically good debut seasons from rookie quarterbacks over the past few years. Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson turned in two of the best four rookie campaigns in NFL history by passer rating (minimum 160 attempts) in 2012. Marcus Mariota made the top 10 by that metric last year, which also saw Jameis Winston appear in the Pro Bowl (albeit after a record number of QBs dropped out due to the Super Bowl, fatigue or “injuries”).
Not every first-year signal caller takes the NFL by storm, though. Some rookies are thrown into the fire and emerge deeply scarred. PointAfter, a sports visualization site that’s part of the Graphiq network, set out to determine the worst passing seasons by rookie quarterbacks since 1980. That year marked the dawn of the decade when throwing the ball became many teams’ preferred method of attack, after the rushing mentality of “three yards and a cloud of dust” had previously pervaded the league.
Each player is ranked in reverse order of their passer rating during their first NFL regular season. Several Hall of Fame quarterbacks appear in this article, as they used their rough inaugural campaigns as valuable learning experiences. Others, such as the infamous bust who earned the No. 1 spot on the list, were simply too broken and battered beyond repair.
#30. Oliver Luck (1983)
Passer rating: 63.4
Team: Houston Oilers
Passing yards: 1,375
TD/INT ratio: 8/13
#29. Mark Sanchez (2009)
Passer rating: 63.0
Team: New York Jets
Passing yards: 2,444
TD/INT ratio: 12/20
#28. Quincy Carter (2001)
Passer rating: 63.0
Team: Dallas Cowboys
Passing yards: 1,072
TD/INT ratio: 5/7
#27. David Carr (2002)
Passer rating: 62.8
Team: Houston Texans
Passing yards: 2,592
TD/INT ratio: 9/15
#26. Ken Dorsey (2004)
Passer rating: 62.4
Team: San Francisco 49ers
Passing yards: 1,231
TD/INT ratio: 6/9
#25. Kyle Boller (2003)
Passer rating: 62.4
Team: Baltimore Ravens
Passing yards: 1,260
TD/INT ratio: 7/9
#24. Mike Pagel (1982)
Passer rating: 62.4
Team: Baltimore Colts
Passing yards: 1,281
TD/INT ratio: 5/7
#23. Chris Weinke (2001)
Passer rating: 62.0
Team: Carolina Panthers
Passing yards: 2,931
TD/INT ratio: 11/19
#22. Kerry Collins (1995)
Passer rating: 61.9
Team: Carolina Panthers
Passing yards: 2,717
TD/INT ratio: 14/19
#21. Matthew Stafford (2009)
Passer rating: 61.0
Team: Detroit Lions
Passing yards: 2,267
TD/INT ratio: 13/20
#20. Steve Walsh (1989)
Passer rating: 60.5
Team: Dallas Cowboys
Passing yards: 1,371
TD/INT ratio: 5/9
#19. Vinny Testaverde (1987)
Passer rating: 60.2
Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Passing yards: 1,081
TD/INT ratio: 5/6
#18. Donovan McNabb (1999)
Passer rating: 60.1
Team: Philadelphia Eagles
Passing yards: 948
TD/INT ratio: 8/7
#17. Joey Harrington (2002)
Passer rating: 59.9
Team: Detroit Lions
Passing yards: 2,294
TD/INT ratio: 12/16
#16. Neil Lomax (1981)
Passer rating: 59.9
Team: St. Louis Cardinals
Passing yards: 1,575
TD/INT ratio: 4/10
#15. Josh Freeman (2009)
Passer rating: 59.8
Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Passing yards: 1,855
TD/INT ratio: 10/18
#14. Kyle Orton (2005)
Passer rating: 59.7
Team: Chicago Bears
Passing yards: 1,869
TD/INT ratio: 9/13
#13. Heath Shuler (1994)
Passer rating: 59.6
Team: Washington Redskins
Passing yards: 1,658
TD/INT ratio: 10/12
#12. Jimmy Clausen (2010)
Passer rating: 58.4
Team: Carolina Panthers
Passing yards: 1,558
TD/INT ratio: 3/9
#11. Craig Whelihan (1997)
Passer rating: 58.3
Team: San Diego Chargers
Passing yards: 1,357
TD/INT ratio: 6/10
#10. Billy Joe Tolliver (1989)
Passer rating: 57.9
Team: San Diego Chargers
Passing yards: 1,097
TD/INT ratio: 5/8
#9. Andrew Walter (2006)
Passer rating: 55.8
Team: Oakland Raiders
Passing yards: 1,677
TD/INT ratio: 3/13
#8. Troy Aikman (1989)
Passer rating: 55.7
Team: Dallas Cowboys
Passing yards: 1,749
TD/INT ratio: 9/18
#7. Eli Manning (2004)
Passer rating: 55.4
Team: New York Giants
Passing yards: 1,043
TD/INT ratio: 6/9
#6. John Elway (1983)
Passer rating: 54.9
Team: Denver Broncos
Passing yards: 1,663
TD/INT ratio: 7/14
#5. Jack Trudeau (1986)
Passer rating: 53.5
Team: Indianapolis Colts
Passing yards: 2,225
TD/INT ratio: 8/18
#4. Eric Zeier (1995)
Passer rating: 51.9
Team: Cleveland Browns
Passing yards: 0,864
TD/INT ratio: 4/9
#3. Ryan Lindley (2012)
Passer rating: 46.7
Team: Arizona Cardinals
Passing yards: 752
TD/INT ratio: 0/7
#2. Alex Smith (2005)
Passer rating: 40.8
Team: San Francisco 49ers
Passing yards: 875
TD/INT ratio: 1/11
#1. Ryan Leaf (1998)
Passer rating: 39.0
Team: San Diego Chargers
Passing yards: 1,289
TD/INT ratio: 2/15