Plain English with Derek Thompson

Why Is It So Hard to Predict the Next Great Quarterback?


Listen Later

This week we have the NFL draft, which is an annual exercise in failure. Every year, some NFL team makes a disastrous quarterback decision but also overlooks a potential star. Why is it so damn hard to predict QB play in football? Are scouts stupid, or is the future just unknowable, or is hiring fundamentally chaotic, or is there something specific about quarterbacking that makes it uniquely difficult to forecast? The economist David Berri joins to share his research on why scouts are terrible at evaluating quarterbacks. His ideas shed light on larger questions like "What is talent, exactly?" and "Does anybody know what they're doing when they're hiring somebody for a new role?"

Host: Derek Thompson

Guest: David Berri

Producer: Devon Manze

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Plain English with Derek ThompsonBy The Ringer

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

1,881 ratings


More shows like Plain English with Derek Thompson

View all
The Bill Simmons Podcast by The Ringer

The Bill Simmons Podcast

30,049 Listeners

The Press Box by The Ringer

The Press Box

3,099 Listeners

Pivot by New York Magazine

Pivot

9,000 Listeners

The Ringer NBA Show by The Ringer

The Ringer NBA Show

9,323 Listeners

The Watch by The Ringer

The Watch

5,319 Listeners

Somebody's Gotta Win with Tara Palmeri by The Ringer

Somebody's Gotta Win with Tara Palmeri

1,862 Listeners

The Rewatchables by The Ringer

The Rewatchables

13,685 Listeners

The Mismatch by The Ringer

The Mismatch

5,462 Listeners

The Ryen Russillo Podcast by The Ringer

The Ryen Russillo Podcast

14,265 Listeners

The Big Picture by The Ringer

The Big Picture

5,404 Listeners

The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway by Vox Media Podcast Network

The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway

5,256 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

15,306 Listeners

The Prestige TV Podcast by The Ringer

The Prestige TV Podcast

1,633 Listeners

The Town with Matthew Belloni by The Ringer

The Town with Matthew Belloni

979 Listeners

Good on Paper by The Atlantic

Good on Paper

378 Listeners