Peyton Manning says teams fail young QBs when they force them to change coaches and systems

When the Colts drafted Peyton Manning with the first overall pick in 1998, they built an offense around his skills and with a lot of his input, then let him run it year after year. Manning hopes other highly-drafted young quarterbacks can have the same luxury.

Manning said Kevin Clarke on This Is Football Teams need to be more patient with their young midfielders and do a better job of developing these young players within the same offensive system.

“It bothers me that Bryce Young is already in his third bullpen and has only played two seasons,” Manning said. “Caleb Williams will be on his third call center sometime next September. That to me is a miss. If we’re going to recruit this guy, well: Who’s going to be the head coach? Coordinator, this is the system we’re going to run. If the coordinator leaves And he took the job of head coach, I want the person who will replace him to accompany him 24/7.

Other first overall picks struggled early in their careers for the same reason, Manning said.

“I think Baker Mayfield had to learn five systems in four years. Alex Smith, six systems in six years,” Manning said. “Tom Brady has had the same system his entire career. I had the same system my first 14 years in Indy.

Asking a quarterback to learn a new offense is like asking him to master a new language, Manning said.

“Don’t make him learn Latin, German and French his first two years,” Manning said. “It’s not fair.”

Manning noted that Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, whose creative play designs made him a hot candidate for the head coach, has thrived alongside Jared Goff, who has grown as a quarterback playing in Johnson’s offense for four years.

“He doesn’t do it if Jared Goff can’t handle it,” Manning said. “Again, the quarterback and the quarterback have to be very close together.”