The past two Super Bowl champions have looked eerily similar. After building a stout defense and a decent offensive line, and acquiring at least one star receiving target, both the Los Angeles Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a big move for an aging quarterback. While Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady was obviously a higher caliber player than Rams’ trade target Matthew Stafford, who holds literally every quarterback record of the Detroit Lions, they drafted and built and then waited to luck out with a quarterback. While it worked for these two teams, it only guarantees one to two years of contention compared to a dynasty like the New England Patriots.
For one, the chances are next to zero that you can get the greatest winner of all time in Brady, which is impossible now that he’s retired, at least for the moment. The chances are only slightly better in hoping for a very good quarterback like Stafford who spent most of his career in football purgatory with the Detroit Lions. There aren’t that many good quarterbacks in the league, and you’d have to luck out and find an excellent quarterback who is available through trade or free agency. If you don’t find this mystical quarterback, you’re stuck in a position like the Indianapolis Colts, who boasted seven players in the Pro Bowl and yet lost their last two games, including one to the three-win Jacksonville Jaguars and missed the playoffs thanks to QB Carson Wentz throwing for only 333 yards over two games.
The Colts are a perfect example of this path’s downsides. They were in the sweepstakes for Stafford but settled for Wentz, who was coming off his worst year as a pro, with 15 interceptions in only 12 games. While Wentz had some decent moments in his first year as a Colt, he eventually could not even lead a talented team to the playoffs, let alone a Super Bowl.
Both the Rams and the Buccaneers have done an exquisite job drafting and trading for talent. The Rams drafted defensive tackle Aaron Donald and wide receiver Cooper Kupp, the best players at their positions this year. They traded for cornerback Jalen Ramsey, linebacker Von Miller, and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr,. two of them in this season alone, to compliment Donald on defense, and Stafford on offense. The Rams were one of the most talented teams the NFL has ever seen.
The Buccaneers drafted WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, linebackers Shaq Barrett and Lavonte David, as well as 2020-21 rookies Tristan Wirfs and Antoine Winfield Jr. Their team was set up perfectly for Brady and tight end and friend Rob Gronkowski, to join the team and lead them to a Super Bowl.
The downside to both teams’ moves is beginning to appear now, especially with the Buccaneers. Brady has retired, leaving the same quarterback hole open that was vacant until he joined the team. The Bucs now have to hope another quarterback wants to leave his team and go to Tampa, or hope they can draft a rookie who can make an immediate impact. Either way, they are at least two years away from truly competing for another Super Bowl, and by that time, Evans and David could retire, Godwin is a free agent, and Wirfs and Winfield Jr. will be in line for larger contracts.
For the Rams, Donald is already considering retirement, which would be a massive blow to their defense. Stafford is planning to sign another contract but he’s 34, an age when most quarterbacks begin their decline. Additionally, the Rams have no first-round draft picks until 2024, and have only a fifth round and two seventh round picks this year. While the Rams won a Super Bowl, they will eventually be forced to offload talent to begin restocking the draft cupboard. This path sets teams up for one or two Super Bowl appearances before a steep decline, not a consistent contention most teams desire.
The Rams’ Super Bowl opponent, the Cincinnati Bengals, show the path most teams have taken in the past, and should continue to take: draft a quarterback when you have the chance, get talent around him by drafting and signing good complimentary players in free agency, and be patient until it all works. It almost worked for the Bengals in quarterback Joe Burrow’s second year, and he’s only going to get better. The Bengals are set at quarterback, barring any terrible injury, for the next 10 years thanks to one draft pick, and now they can build around him. This is the path teams should follow, not the Rams’ and Buccaneers’ push the chips in mentality.
