NFL Analysis
3/27/24
9 min read
Ranking Best Supporting Casts for Top Pick Quarterbacks of The Last 20 Years
The Chicago Bears hold the No. 1 overall pick for the second year in a row, and this time, they're clearly taking a quarterback. Last year, they passed on Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud in favor of a significant trade down, which netted them Carolina's top pick in this draft.
After moving Justin Fields to Pittsburgh, the Bears are set to take Caleb Williams No. 1 overall.
The Bears had a busy offseason to this point. They have a young, talented offensive line, and they are bringing back DJ Moore, Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson to boost the offense.
The defense is building around Montez Sweat, Tremaine Edmunds, Jaylon Johnson and a handful of talented, young secondary members.
Trading a fourth-round pick for Keenan Allen, signing D'Andre Swift and adding Kevin Byard helped solidify a roster that finished 7-10 in 2023. This infusion of talent and new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron's arrival make the Bears’ outlook brighter than it has been in a long time.
We don't know exactly what Williams' full supporting cast will look like yet. Still, considering Chicago ranked 18th in scoring offense and 20th in scoring defense, there's been a debate about whether he will have the best supporting cast for a No. 1 pick in modern NFL history.
That made us dive into the supporting casts for the top quarterback picks in the last 20 years to see how the Bears compare to the best and worst situations.
Best Supporting Casts for Top Pick QBs
1. 2011 Carolina Panthers, Cam Newton
The 2011 Carolina Panthers are a unique case study. This is fitting because Cam Newton was a unique playmaker. Carolina produced the fifth-best scoring offense in a run-centric attack. DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart and Newton combined for 2,303 yards and 25 touchdowns on the ground.
Steve Smith (1,394 yards and seven touchdowns) and Greg Olsen as receiving options helped Newton significantly. This was a great offense, and the coaching staff effectively maximized the personnel. Because of the high-end talent and defined scheme, this was a superior supporting cast to Chicago's.
2. 2023 Houston Texans, C.J. Stroud
The Houston Texans entered the 2023 season embracing youth across the unit, but early expectations were low. Several early contributors emerged, giving the Texans a strong supporting cast for C.J. Stroud.
Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik proved to be a fast riser in his first season as a play-caller. Then, breakout playmakers Nico Collins and Tank Dell became one of the league's best one-two punches.
Houston also gave Stroud excellent bookend tackles, and the trade for Shaq Mason significantly helped the guard position. There were some issues in the run game, but once Devin Singletary took over as the starter for Dameon Pierce, Stroud had more help.
This Houston offense had more talent than most expected and had one of the better-supporting casts for any rookie quarterback taken in the last decade. Chicago's 2024 unit is likely to be on par with them.
3. 2012 Washington Commanders, Robert Griffin III
This team might've had the best overall situation of any quarterback drafted in the top five in the last 20 years. Led by head coach Mike Shanahan and a staff that included Kyle Shanahan, Mike McDaniel, Matt LaFleur, Slowik and Sean McVay, Robert Griffin III had elite offensive minds around him. He responded with an incredible debut season and a Wild Card Round appearance.
Alfred Morris rushed for 1,613 yards and 13 TDs, while the combination of Pierre Garcon, Santana Moss, Leonard Hankerson and Josh Morgan proved efficient and effective in a run-heavy offense. Though star power was lacking around Griffin, the staff and scheme did tremendous work to maximize the unit.
Chicago likely lacks the same coaching pedigree but has stronger individual playmakers.
4. 2008 Atlanta Falcons, Matt Ryan
We're going pretty far back to find another notable supporting cast, but that's because top quarterbacks usually go to awful situations. Matt Ryan might've played behind a bad offensive line, but he had some playmakers to target, and he made the most of them.
The Falcons finished 10th in scoring in 2008, riding Michael Turner for 1,699 yards and 17 touchdowns. Roddy White produced 1,382 yards and seven receptions, and Michael Jenkins had 777 yards and three scores.
Ryan certainly contributed to a unit that lacked depth and a stable blocking situation. Still, the Falcons did well to provide an elite rushing attack to ease him into the offense.
5. 2015 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jameis Winston
Jameis Winston was added to a team that went 2-14 in its previous season, so the baseline talent was lower than what Chicago boasted by the end of 2023. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a few star playmakers to give Winston, including running back Doug Martin (1,402 yards in 2015) and Mike Evans. Still, the team's depth was wiped out due to injuries. The offensive line was also a disaster outside Donovan Smith and Logan Mankins.
Tampa Bay finished 20th in scoring offense and 26th in defense scoring. The roster needed a few more offseasons to become more viable, so this team was definitely behind Chicago's likely 2024 roster.
6. 2012 Indianapolis Colts, Andrew Luck
Bad supporting casts defined the Andrew Luck era in Indianapolis, but it didn't start that way. The Indianapolis Colts made the playoffs with an 11-5 record in 2012 despite Luck completing 54.1 percent of his passes, throwing 18 picks and taking 41 sacks. It wasn't a dynamic unit, but it was functional.
Vick Ballard led the Colts in rushing, but the ground game was weak overall. What made this a decent supporting cast was the presence of Reggie Wayne (1,355 yards at 34 years old), T.Y. Hilton (861 yards and seven touchdowns) and tight end Dwayne Allen (521 yards). It's hard to say the Colts gave Luck more than what the Bears are handing to Williams, though.
7. 2020 Cincinnati Bengals, Joe Burrow
The Cincinnati Bengals finished just 4-11-1 in 2020 after drafting Joe Burrow. The team only got 10 games from their top pick before a torn ACL ended his season. It was a snakebitten year for the unit, getting only six games from Joe Mixon and eight from Tyler Boyd. The Bengals had an impressive group of playmakers, with A.J. Green and Tee Higgins on the roster, but the offensive line was a disaster.
Burrow took 32 sacks and had a 7.3 percent sack rate in 10 games. No running back with more than 63 carries averaged more than 3.6 yards a touch. Plus, it was head coach Zac Taylor's first season at the helm, and the unit looked overwhelmed.
Chicago has a more stable and balanced situation than Burrow entered.
8. 2021 Jacksonville Jaguars, Trevor Lawrence
The 2021 Jacksonville Jaguars had a couple of players on the 2023 Panthers: DJ Chark and Laviska Shenault. This team was an abject disaster under Urban Meyer, ultimately losing 14 of 17 games and ranking dead last in offense.
Trevor Lawrence had a little talent around him, including Chark, Marvin Jones and James Robinson, but the supporting cast is among the worst we've seen.
The team's lack of consistent identity and quality game planning under Meyer and OC Darrell Bevell were also significant issues. Players like Laquon Treadwell, Tavon Austin and Carlos Hyde had no business being on the field for an NFL team, let alone being among some of the team's top producers.
9. 2004 New York Giants, Eli Manning
Eli Manning only started seven games in his rookie season as Kurt Warner earned the first shot for the New York Giants. The offense struggled, ranking 22nd in scoring, without great receiving options. They did have Tiki Barber in his prime, though, and he rewarded the offense with 1,518 rushing yards, 578 receiving yards and 15 total touchdowns.
The receiving corps was limited beyond Barber, so Chicago has a better cast. Amani Toomer led the team with 747 receiving yards but had zero scores. A young Jeremy Shockey produced 666 yards and six scores, but the rest of the unit lacked impact talent. Warner and Manning also took 52 sacks, so the line struggled to keep the quarterbacks clean.
10. 2023 Carolina Panthers, Bryce Young
The 2023 Panthers are an example of one of the worst supporting casts we've seen in recent memory. Coach Frank Reich could not build any type of system around Bryce Young's strengths, and the personnel's limitations were only partly to blame. On paper, a group with Chark, Adam Thielen and Miles Sanders should have had some bright moments.
However, this was a bad mix from the start. Rookie WR Jonathan Mingo was misused throughout the year, and the offensive line suffered significant injuries that stunted the run game. Young looked like a deer in headlights, but the scheme's lack of motion and easy completions further exposed the unit's talent deficiencies.
The 2024 Bears will be a more talented offense, on every level, than the 2023 Panthers.
