@calfoxwc said:

It is an important indicator, but there can be other factors involved. If you were to put the same qb in a pro style offense,

with a team that doesn't have great talent around him, his completion percentage will fall, surely below 60%.

Put that same qb in a spread offense, with a superior oline, with terrific wr's etc...and his completion percentage would

go very high. To be accurate- the circumstances need to be appraised. Just my goofy opinion.

But, if a guy is like, say at the bottom of the statistical rung on ALL categories among the top prospects.....then you should steer clear. 

But, here was Bill Polian on ESPN this morning....when talking about Baker Mayfield:

"Despite his statistics,  I would steer clear of him as there is one stat about him that I cannot ignore when making that #1 overall pick:   his height."

Polian would never draft a 6'0" QB in round one.     When given the Drew Brees and the Russell Wilson examples he says:  Yes, there ARE outliers...but  a. you cannot make a living on outliers.....and NFL GMs make their living on who they draft.  and B.  Brees was taken in round 2....Wilson in round 3....so if you are going to go with an outlier....do it with a later pick, like those guys were.  Not with your #1 pick.

with a team that doesn't have great talent around him, his completion percentage will fall, surely below 60%.

Put that same qb in a spread offense, with a superior oline, with terrific wr's etc...and his completion percentage would

go very high. To be accurate- the circumstances need to be appraised. Just my goofy opinion.

@the-gipper said:

You are talking a completely different era.     

You are talking about a different era.  While 49.7% may not have lead the league in 1952...I would wager it was close to the top of the rankings in that state.

Times changed sometime in the late 70s/early 80s.   PB/Otto Graham ran an early version of the WCO...which didn't come back until the early 80s. 

Note:  Terry Bradshaw was 4 Super Bowls despite having  a career 51.9% completion pct.   and having a 212-210  TD/Int. ratio. 

Today...having those numbers  means you may be an Arena League candidate at QB.   But, today, Bradshaw would likely have similar numbers to today's best QBs.....because of the rules and the offenses he would be running.

I know and said that. 

@mjp28 said:

Historically maybe the best BROWNS QBs ever, 49.7 one year? 55.8% career.......yes different era but still.

Otto.

Year	Age	Tm	Pos	No.	G	GS	QBrec	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	TD%	Int	Int%	Lng	Y/A	AY/A	Y/C	Y/G	Rate	Sk	Yds	NY/A	ANY/A	Sk%	4QC	GWD	AV
Career				126	114	57-13-1	1464	2626	55.8	23584	174	6.6	135	5.1	99	9.0	8.0	16.1	187.2	86.6						10	10
1946	25	CLE	QB		14	9		95	174	54.6	1834	17	9.8	5	2.9	79	10.5	11.2	19.3	131.0	112.1
1947+	26	CLE	QB		14	9		163	269	60.6	2753	25	9.3	11	4.1	99	10.2	10.3	16.9	196.6	109.2
1948+	27	CLE	QB		14	14		173	333	52.0	2713	25	7.5	15	4.5	78	8.1	7.6	15.7	193.8	85.6
1949+	28	CLE	QB		12	11		161	285	56.5	2785	19	6.7	10	3.5	74	9.8	9.5	17.3	232.1	97.5
1950*	29	CLE	QB	60	12	12	10-2-0	137	253	54.2	1943	14	5.5	20	7.9	80	7.7	5.2	14.2	161.9	64.7						3	4
1951*+	30	CLE	QB	60	12	12	11-1-0	147	265	55.5	2205	17	6.4	16	6.0	81	8.3	6.9	15.0	183.8	79.2						1	1
1952*	31	CLE	QB	14	12	12	8-4-0	181	364	49.7	2816	20	5.5	24	6.6	68	7.7	5.9	15.6	234.7	66.6						1	1
1953*+	32	CLE	QB	14	12	11	10-1-0	167	258	64.7	2722	11	4.3	9	3.5	70	10.6	9.8	16.3	226.8	99.7						2	2
1954*+	33	CLE	QB	14	12	12	9-3-0	142	240	59.2	2092	11	4.6	17	7.1	64	8.7	6.4	14.7	174.3	73.5
1955+	34	CLE	QB	14	12	12	9-2-1	98	185	53.0	1721	15	8.1	8	4.3	61	9.3	9.0	17.6	143.4	94.0						3	2

You are talking about a different era.  While 49.7% may not have lead the league in 1952...I would wager it was close to the top of the rankings in that season.

Times changed sometime in the late 70s/early 80s.   PB/Otto Graham ran an early version of the WCO...which didn't come back until the early 80s. 

Note:  Terry Bradshaw was 4 Super Bowls despite having  a career 51.9% completion pct.   and having a 212-210  TD/Int. ratio.   He had his best completion pct. the year before he retired...due to rule changes. 

Today...having those numbers  means you may be an Arena League candidate at QB.   But, today, Bradshaw would likely have similar numbers to today's best QBs.....because of the rules and the offenses he would be running.

@the-gipper said:

Your question is two fold:   A.  Is completion pct. important when evaluating a draft prospect?

B. Is completion pct.  important in a veteran QB. 

Now...perhaps the two questions can be somewhat interrelated....but not necessarily.

If you have your NFL QB throwing for a league low 53.6% completion pct......as the Browns had....you have a 16 loss season. So you are damned skippy that comp% is important.  (not everything...but still very important)

If you have a draft prospect throwing close to that....it is not a good sign....but depending on other factors....it may be possible...though extremely difficult to overcome.

Yes when you're trying to evaluate a NCAA player and his potential value as an NFL quarterback completion percentage is just another data point like offense scheme he was in,  release times and how big his hands are. 

B. Is completion pct.  important in a veteran QB. 

Now...perhaps the two questions can be somewhat interrelated....but not necessarily.

If you have your NFL QB throwing for a league low 53.6% completion pct......as the Browns had....you have a 16 loss season. So you are damned skippy that comp% is important.  (not everything...but still very important)

If you have a draft prospect throwing close to that....it is not a good sign....but depending on other factors....it may be possible...though extremely difficult to overcome.

Plus you have to watch generalities!  (oh wait, that was a generality  )

AND COMPLETION PERCENTAGE IS VERY IMPORTANT! Well maybe in a dink and dunk passing game. (oh another generality)