Being the number-one pick in a given draft makes it hard to do much except disappoint, but Sam Bradford managed, in 2010, to exceed even the lofty expectations inherent in his position—the Rookie of the Year vote won't come in for a while yet, but Bradford proved early and often in his rookie season that he really was the number-one player in the 2010 NFL Draft. Players like Ndamukong Suh looked more ready from the start, and Tim Tebow garnered his share of press by starting just three games, but comparing Bradford to his quarterback peers proves his year-one worth.
↵Bradford's 3512 yards were the second-most in rookie history at his position, but it's his 590 attempts—third in the NFL—that tell the full story of his first NFL season. The St. Louis Rams weren't in a position to give Bradford the Mark Sanchez treatment—like Peyton Manning before him, from the moment he beat A.J. Feeley for the starting job Bradford was a focal point of the Rams' offense. His 36.9 attempts per game were the most in Rams history, and the most St. Louis had seen since Neil Lomax did everything in the Cardinals' last season in town.
↵It's that readiness relative to his peers that distinguishes Bradford. While his fellow rookie quarterbacks spent the year interning or intending to intern, like Jimmy Clausen and Colt McCoy, or playing the Jerome Bettis role, like TIm Tebow, Bradford took command of an offense that had been running on empty for two years and forced it into something resembling game shape.
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