There were 15 quarterbacks selected in the 2016 NFL Draft. Two notable ones were Big 10 stars Christian Hackenberg and Connor Cook.
Hackenberg had an impressive freshman year at PSU, then regressed significantly. He had the tools but not the resume, making him one of the more polarizing prospects out there. The Jets drafted him 51st overall. Last year, Penn State went 7-6; this year, without Hackenberg, the team went 11-2. That represents an increase in winning percentage of 0.308.
Meanwhile, Cook led the Spartans to a 12-2 record last year. This year, without Cook and a number of other veterans, Michigan State collapsed, going 3-9. That’s a decline in winning percentage of 0.607. That’s the second largest decline, behind Mississippi State post-Dak Prescott.
Here were the 15 quarterbacks drafted:
| Rnd | Pick ▲ |
Tm | Player | Pos | College/Univ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | LAR | Jared Goff | QB | California | College Stats |
| 1 | 2 | PHI | Carson Wentz | QB | North Dakota St. | College Stats |
| 1 | 26 | DEN | Paxton Lynch | QB | Memphis | College Stats |
| 2 | 51 | NYJ | Christian Hackenberg | QB | Penn St. | College Stats |
| 3 | 91 | NWE | Jacoby Brissett | QB | North Carolina St. | College Stats |
| 3 | 93 | CLE | Cody Kessler | QB | USC | College Stats |
| 4 | 100 | OAK | Connor Cook | QB | Michigan St. | College Stats |
| 4 | 135 | DAL | Dak Prescott | QB | Mississippi St. | College Stats |
| 4 | 139 | BUF | Cardale Jones | QB | Ohio St. | College Stats |
| 5 | 162 | KAN | Kevin Hogan | QB | Stanford | College Stats |
| 6 | 187 | WAS | Nate Sudfeld | QB | Indiana | College Stats |
| 6 | 191 | DET | Jake Rudock | QB | Michigan | College Stats |
| 6 | 201 | JAX | Brandon Allen | QB | Arkansas | College Stats |
| 6 | 207 | SFO | Jeff Driskel | QB | Louisiana Tech | College Stats |
| 7 | 223 | MIA | Brandon Doughty | QB | West. Kentucky | College Stats |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
And here is the record of their college teams last year and this year, through Dec. 15:
| Rd | Pk | Team | Quarterback | School | 2015 Win% | 2015 Rec | 2016 Win% | 2016 Rec | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 51 | NYJ | Christian Hackenberg | Penn State | 0.538 | 7-6 | 0.846 | 11-2 | 0.308 |
| 3 | 93 | CLE | Cody Kessler | Southern California | 0.571 | 8-6 | 0.75 | 9-3 | 0.179 |
| 6 | 191 | DET | Jake Rudock | Michigan | 0.769 | 10-3 | 0.833 | 10-2 | 0.064 |
| 6 | 187 | WAS | Nate Sudfeld | Indiana | 0.462 | 6-7 | 0.5 | 6-6 | 0.038 |
| 4 | 139 | BUF | Cardale Jones | Ohio State | 0.923 | 12-1 | 0.917 | 11-1 | -0.006 |
| 1 | 26 | DEN | Paxton Lynch | Memphis | 0.692 | 9-4 | 0.667 | 8-4 | -0.025 |
| 6 | 201 | JAX | Brandon Allen | Arkansas | 0.615 | 8-5 | 0.583 | 7-5 | -0.032 |
| 3 | 91 | NWE | Jacoby Brissett | North Carolina State | 0.538 | 7-6 | 0.5 | 6-6 | -0.038 |
| 1 | 2 | PHI | Carson Wentz | North Dakota St. | 0.929 | 12-1 | 0.867 | 13-2 | -0.062 |
| 6 | 207 | SFO | Jeff Driskel | Louisiana Tech | 0.692 | 9-4 | 0.615 | 8-5 | -0.077 |
| 7 | 223 | MIA | Brandon Doughty | Western Kentucky | 0.857 | 12-2 | 0.769 | 10-3 | -0.088 |
| 5 | 162 | KAN | Kevin Hogan | Stanford | 0.857 | 12-2 | 0.75 | 9-3 | -0.107 |
| 1 | 1 | LAR | Jared Goff | California | 0.615 | 8-5 | 0.417 | 5-7 | -0.198 |
| 4 | 135 | DAL | Dak Prescott | Mississippi State | 0.692 | 9-4 | 0.417 | 5-7 | -0.275 |
| 4 | 100 | OAK | Connor Cook | Michigan State | 0.857 | 12-2 | 0.25 | 3-9 | -0.607 |
Let’s be clear: wins and losses aren’t a great way to measure a quarterback, and there’s a ton of noise in the data before you start comparing teams across seasons. Connor Cook on the 2016 Spartans wouldn’t have made Michigan State 12-2. That said, I find this stuff interesting in at least a trivia perspective. But maybe there’s a bit more to it, too. What do you think?