From Dave Te-Little Bit of 1st Round Quarterbacks

Well, actually a lot. Sorry for the tables messed up here - I'm not computer savvy & it could be the forum format not lining them up right. Maybe cut & paste on your end to read better. Again, apologies.

THE NFL DRAFT REPORT PRESENTS
THE 2018 NFL DRAFT QUARTERBACK ANALYSIS – PART II

This is the second of The NFL Draft Report’s four-part series dealing with the 2018 NFL Draft Quarterback Class and the Veteran Free Agency Group. In this feature, The NFL Draft Report takes a look at the "Fantastic Five" - the top-rated college quarterbacks who are considered to be potential first round draft selections.

As stated previously in Part One of our quarterback analysis, most draft analysts predict that five quarterbacks could be selected during the first day of draft proceedings. That would equal the total taken in the 1999 draft for the second-highest total of quarterbacks taken in any one season.

That year, it featured Tim Couch heading to Cleveland with the top choice, Donovan McNabb following with Philadelphia taking him second and Cincinnati addressing their need at number-three with Akili Smith. Duante Culpepper proved to be the most productive of the passers taken that year, joining Minnesota with the eleventh choice before Chicago saw the twelfth pick, Cade McNown, have a short professional career.

Of course, the 1983 draft was an historical phase, as six quarterbacks were selected in the first round - the most ever. It also saw three of those six selections - John Elway (first pick, to Denver), Jim Kelly (14th to Buffalo, with a side trip to the USFL before donning a Bills uniform) and Dan Marino (Miami, at pick 27) all end up entering the NFL Hall of Fame.

As the song artist, Citizen Kane would sing, all three of those performers could chime in with the "I've Seen Better Days" verse, but for the likes of the other three first round quarterbacks - Todd Blackledge (Kansas City at seventh), Tony Eason (15th to New England) and Ken O'Brien (Jets at 24th), well, the other part of that song held true - "and the bottom dropped out."

NOT EVERY DRAFT SAW A FIRST ROUND QUARTERBACK SELECTION

As much as NFL general managers covet players at the quarterback position, they did not really show them "much love" during several drafts. In fact, the first phase of the draft, in 1936, not one quarterback was chosen among the 81 players selected. The following year, just two passers heard their names called on draft day. Sammy Baugh was the first to be taken, with Washington using the sixth overall pick in 1937 for the future Hall of Fame talent.

Baugh would start 83-of-163 games from 1937-52, completing 1,693-of-2,995 passes (56.53%) for 21,886 yards and 187 touchdowns against 203 interceptions. The only other quarterback taken in the '37 draft was Mickey Kobrosky, a fifth round pick by the Giants, but he lasted just seven games as a professional, hitting on 2-of-13 tosses for 18 yards and two interceptions.

No quarterbacks were taken in the 1938, but in 1939, seven passers were selected. Columbia's Sid Luckman, the second overall pick, by Chicago, had a Hall of Fame career under George Halas, hoisting the ball 1,744 times with 904 successful throws that netted 14,686 yards and 137 scores.
Davey O'Brien was the fourth overall choice by the Eagles, but only played two season, as he threw 34 interceptions in 22 games.

O'Brien is still a revered name in the collegiate circles. In 1977, directly after the death of O'Brien, an award was established as the Davey O'Brien Memorial Trophy, and was given to the most outstanding player in the Southwest. Texas running back Earl Campbell won the trophy in 1977, Oklahoma running back Billy Sims won it in 1978, and Baylor linebacker Mike Singletary won it twice in 1979 and 1980. In 1981, the award was renamed the Davey O'Brien Award.

Presently, the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award is presented annually to the collegiate American football player adjudged by the Davey O'Brien Foundation to be the best of all National Collegiate Athletic Association quarterbacks. Since the renaming of the award in 1981, four players have won the award twice: Ty Detmer of BYU, Danny Wuerffel of Florida, Jason White of Oklahoma, and Deshaun Watson of Clemson.

NFL teams continued to draft quarterbacks in the first round from 1942 through the 1973 processes. In 1974, none were taken in the opening round and of the total of twenty taken, just the 53rd overall choice, Arizona State's Danny White, had any success in the league. Selected by Dallas, he would start 92-of-166 games, connecting on 1,761-of-2,950 throws (59.7%) for 21,959 yards and 155 touchdowns from 1976-88. He would later go on to be one of the more successful head coaches in the Arena Football League.

The 1984-85 drafts were also barren of first round quarterbacks. There were twenty-six passers taken during those two combined drafts, with Randall Cunningham being the first taken in 1985 by Philadelphia with the 37th pick. He started 135 times from 85-2001, throwing for 29,979 yards and 207 touchdowns while scoring 35 more times while running for 4,928 yards on 775 attempts (6.34 ypc).

Boomer Esiason was the first quarterback taken in 1984, joining Cincinnati at pick #38, starting 173 contests over eleven seasons. He totaled 37,920 aerial yards with 247 touchdowns, but also threw 187 interceptions. Jay Schroeder (third round to Washington in 1984) was the only other passer from the 84-85 classes to throw for over 20,000 yards (20,063 with 114 touchdowns).

The 1988 draft also did not feature a first round quarterback among the thirteen chosen. Tom Tupa (68th in the third round to the Cardinals) was the first taken and he lasted eighteen years in the league - mostly as a punter - throwing for 3,430 yards on 504 chances. The most successful in the '88 draft class was Chris Chandler, another third rounder (76th) who joined Indianapolis. Until he retired after the 2004 campaign, he started 152 times, amassing 28,484 yards with 170 touchdowns on 2,328-of-4,005 attempts.

The last time a quarterback did not go in the first round was 1996. Since then, 56 signal callers have earned first round draft status. None from the eight selected in 1996 amounted to much. Tony Banks enjoyed the most success and was the first taken that year, as St. Louis snared the Michigan State prospect in the second round with the 42nd selection. In ten seasons and 78 starts, he generated 77 touchdowns and 73 interceptions from 1,278-of-2,356 attempts for 15,313 yards.

THE NFL'S INFATUATION WITH FIRST ROUND QUARTERBACKS

Since the draft's inception in 1936, 161 quarterbacks have been selected in the first round, including a few that were chosen by the old American Football League organizations during the draft wars of the 1960s, brought about after Oakland's Al Davis raided the established league.

By the end of its sixth season in 1965, the American Football League had overcome its initial status of bare-bones survivor to become a significant rival to the NFL. With a television contract with NBC and major stadiums constructed or being built, the AFL could afford to compete on equal terms for players with the NFL. Not all AFL owners sought a merger — Jets owner Sonny Werblin, for example, felt that with brand-new Shea Stadium and the young star Joe Namath at quarterback, his team could compete on equal terms with the crosstown NFL Giants, then playing at Yankee Stadium in the South Bronx.

However, most AFL owners wanted to be a part of the older, better-established NFL, whose owners feared continued escalation of player salaries. While the AFL owners liked the league's first commissioner, Joe Foss, they had little confidence in his abilities at a time for struggle between the two leagues, and Foss resigned on April 7, 1966.[33] Davis, 36, was voted in as commissioner the following day, and took the job with Valley's agreement, hired as a fighter who would win the war with the NFL.

The owners, led by Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt, felt that Davis could put pressure on the NFL and force a favorable settlement. His biographer, Glenn Dickey, notes that Davis was deceived by the owners, "He thought he had been hired to win the war with the NFL. In fact, the owners only wanted to force a peace. They were quietly negotiating a merger while Davis was fighting a war."

According to sportswriter Ken Rappoport in his history of the AFL, "Davis had a plan, and, considering the football genius the man would become, no one should have been surprised that it would work—brilliantly." Davis's target in the war was the NFL's quarterbacks, arranging for AFL teams to sign star players, such as Roman Gabriel of the Rams, who would be free agents after 1966 although that season had not yet begun. Gabriel, with his AFL contract to begin in 1967, received an immediate $100,000 bonus.

The signing of 49ers quarterback John Brodie was announced by Davis and the AFL. These transactions increased the financial pressure on the NFL's weaker franchises, which faced the prospect of losing their best players in a year, or greatly increasing their labor costs. A merger agreement was announced on June 8th and Davis was greatly displeased with the agreement on two fronts. It required the Jets and Raiders to pay indemnities to the Giants and 49ers for establishing teams within their exclusive territories, and it also put him out of a job: the merger agreement immediately abolished the post of AFL commissioner.

Pete Rozelle would continue in his post as NFL commissioner under the merger agreement. Davis had hoped to be named commissioner if any merger was reached; the result increased what already had become a dislike of Rozelle. Davis resigned as commissioner on July 25, 1966. AFL owners wanted Davis to continue serving as AFL President. AFL owners had explicitly agreed that the office of AFL President would be subservient to that of the NFL Commissioner, and Davis flatly refused to consider serving as a subordinate to Rozelle.

HOW THOSE 161 FIRST ROUND QUARTERBACKS FARED

Just because a player is selected in the first round, it does not bring instant success. In fact, three first round quarterbacks never played in the National Football League - the last in 1962, when the AFL's New York Titans tried to convince Sandy Stephens to suit up for them. He was the first African-American to play quarterback at the University of Minnesota and also earn All-American major college honors.

In 1961, Stephens received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Most Valuable Player of the Big Ten Conference. He remains the only quarterback to take the Gophers to the Rose Bowl (1961 and 1962). After college, he was a second-round NFL draft choice of the Cleveland Browns and the fifth overall selection in the AFL draft by the New York Titans. Both teams said that they wouldn’t use him as a quarterback and he never played a down in either league. The Canadian Football League welcomed him as a quarterback, as the Montreal Alouettes offered a reported $25,000 signing bonus and a three-year contract at $30,000 per year.

After playing for the Alouettes in 1962 and 1963, he was claimed on waivers by the Toronto Argonauts in 1964. Upon leaving the CFL, Stephens tried out as a walk-on with the Minnesota Vikings. In his CFL career, he threw 22 touchdowns with 38 interceptions on 2,823 yards, while rushing for 487 yards on 88 carries and 8 touchdowns. He also caught 12 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown.

On September 20, 1964, he was involved in a near fatal accident. The car is which he was riding with Ted Dean, a Minnesota Vikings player, struck a tree in South Minneapolis. Two years after the accident Stephens signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as a fullback. He was willing to play any of the back positions and continued to dream of playing as a quarterback in the NFL, but to no avail. He ended his active football career in 1968.

The 12th overall pick in the 1952 draft was Boston University's two-sport standout, but he informed Cleveland that football was no longer in his future. Born Aristotle George "Harry" Agganis and nicknamed "The Golden Greek", he was a former American first baseman and college football star who played two seasons with the Boston Red Sox of the American League (1954–1955), after passing up a potential professional football career.

Agganis became the first person in Boston University history to be named All-American. He passed on a professional career with the Cleveland Browns in order to play his favorite sport, baseball, close to his hometown. He was signed to a bonus baby contract, and after one season playing minor league baseball, Agganis became the starter at first base for the Red Sox.

In 1955, Agganis became gravely ill early in the season and was hospitalized for two weeks for pneumonia. He rejoined the Red Sox for one week before being hospitalized with a viral infection. After showing some signs of recovery, Agganis died of a pulmonary embolism on June 27th. His sudden death is considered one of the greatest tragedies to hit Boston's sporting community.

In 1959 Don Allard, out of Boston College, was taken by the Redskins with the fourth overall choice, but he also shunned Washington's overtures to sign him. It was not that he did not want to play the game - just not in the nation's capital. He joined the Canadian Football League, playing for the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1959 to 1960 and the Montreal Alouettes from 1961 to 1962.

In 1961, Allard had a "cup of coffee" in the American Football League with the New York Titans and was in camp with the Boston Patriots in 1962. He later appeared in the Atlantic Coast Football League with the Boston Sweepers in 1964 and the New Bedford Sweepers in 1965. He was the highest-drafted Boston College Eagles football player in school history until Matt Ryan in 2008 (third overall).

Two other first round quarterbacks never started a game in the NFL. Bobby Garrett was the top pick by Cleveland in 1954, but his career lasted just nine games that year before entering the work force. The Stanford product completed half of his thirty passes for 143 yards. Green Bay used the sixth choice in the 1981 draft to take California's Rich Campbell, but he would only play in seven games as a reserve through four seasons, throwing for 386 yards and two scores on 31-of-68 tries.

In 1963, Heisman Trophy winner Terry Baker was the top pick in the draft by the Los Angeles Rams, but he would earn just one starting assignment through eighteen appearances. What made that pick puzzling was that the Rams used the second overall selection in the 1962 draft to take North Carolina State's Roman Gabriel.

Baker's NFL resume reads 12 completions, 21 attempts, 154 yards, no touchdowns and four interceptions during three seasons. Gabriel would go on to start 157-of-183 games before retiring after 1977, collecting 29,444 yards and 201 touchdowns on 2,366-of-4,498 passes, displaying great elusiveness, as he also scored thirty times on the ground.

San Francisco grabbed Jim Druckenmiller with the 26th pick in the 1997 draft. It would go down as the biggest draft blunder of the Bill Walsh era. The Virginia Tech product appeared in six games, starting once before the 49ers cast him adrift. He would close out his brief career hitting on 40.38% of his passes (21-of-52) for 239 yards, four interceptions and one touchdown.

THE BEST OF THE BEST FROM NFL FIRST ROUND QUARTERBACKS

Of the 161 first round choices used at the quarterback position, twelve are currently members of the NFL Hall of Fame. Here is a look at who is the current leader among those first round passers in the following categories;
Category Leader Accomplishment
Games Played Peyton Manning 266 (1998-2015)
Games Started Peyton Manning 265 (1998-2015)
Most Wins Peyton Manning 186 (1998-2015)
Most Losses Vinny Testaverde 123 (1987-2007)
Pass Completions Peyton Manning 6,125 (1998-2015)
Pass Attempts Peyton Manning 9,380 (1998-2015)
Yards Passing Peyton Manning 71,940 (1998-2015)
Most Touchdowns Peyton Manning 539 (1998-2015)
Most Interceptions John Hadl 268 (1962-1977)
Rushing Yards Michael Vick 6,109 (2001-2015)
Rush Touchdowns Cam Newton 54 (2011-present)

THE 4,000-PASS COMPLETION CLUB
Player Drafted Team/First Round Slot/Year Years Played Accomplishment
Peyton Manning Indianapolis (1-1998) 1998-2015 6,125
Dan Marino Miami (27-1983) 1983-1999 4,967
Eli Manning San Diego/trade to NY Giants (1-2004) 2004-present 4,424
Philip Rivers NY Giants/Trade to San Diego (4-2004) 2004-present 4,171
Ben Roethlisberger Pittsburgh (11-2004) 2004-present 4,164
John Elway Baltimore/Trade to Denver (1-1983) 1983-1998 4,123






THE 7,000-PASS ATTEMPT CLUB
Player Drafted Team/First Round Slot/Year Years Played Accomplishment
Peyton Manning Indianapolis (1-1998) 1998-2015 9,380
Dan Marino Miami (27-1983) 1983-1999 8,358
Eli Manning San Diego/trade to NY Giants (1-2004) 2004-present 7,396
John Elway Baltimore/Trade to Denver (1-1983) 1983-1998 7,250

THE 50,000-YARD PASSING CLUB
Player Drafted Team/First Round Slot/Year Years Played Accomplishment
Peyton Manning Indianapolis (1-1998) 1998-2015 71,940
Dan Marino Miami (27-1983) 1983-1999 61,361
Eli Manning San Diego/trade to NY Giants (1-2004) 2004-present 51,682
Ben Roethlisberger Pittsburgh (11-2004) 2004-present 51,065
Philip Rivers NY Giants/Trade to San Diego (4-2004) 2004-present 50,348

THE 300-TOUCHDOWN PASSES CLUB
Player Drafted Team/First Round Slot/Year Years Played Accomplishment
Peyton Manning Indianapolis (1-1998) 1998-2015 539
Dan Marino Miami (27-1983) 1983-1999 420
Philip Rivers NY Giants/Trade to San Diego (4-2004) 2004-present 342
Eli Manning San Diego/trade to NY Giants (1-2004) 2004-present 339
Ben Roethlisberger Pittsburgh (11-2004) 2004-present 329
Aaron Rodgers Green Bay (24-2005) 2005-present 313
John Elway Baltimore/Trade to Denver (1-1983) 1983-1998 300

THE 250-INTERCEPTIONS THROWN CLUB
Player Drafted Team/First Round Slot/Year Years Played Accomplishment
John Hadl Detroit/San Diego (22-1962) 1962-1977 268
Vinny Testaverde Tampa Bay (1-1987) 1987-2007 267
Norm Snead Washington (2-1961) 1961-1976 257
Dan Marino Miami (27-1983) 1983-1999 252
Peyton Manning Indianapolis (1-1998) 1998-2015 251

THE 3,000-YARD RUSHING CLUB
Player Drafted Team/First Round Slot/Year Years Played Accomplishment
Michael Vick Atlanta (1-2001) 2001-2015 6,109
Cam Newton Caroklina (1-2011) 2011-present 4,320
Steve McNair Houston Oilers (3-1995) 1995-2007 3,590
Donovan McNabb Philadelphia (2-1999) 1999-2011 3,459
John Elway Baltimore/Trade to Denver (1-1983) 1983-1998 3,407

THE 30-RUSHING TOUCHDOWN CLUB
Player Drafted Team/First Round Slot/Year Years Played Accomplishment
Cam Newton Carolina (1-2011) 2011-present 54
Otto Graham Detroit/Cleveland-AAFC (4-1944) 1946-1955 44
Y.A. Tittle Detroit (6-1948) 1948-1964 39
Steve McNair Houston Oilers (3-1995) 1995-2007 37
Michael Vick Atlanta (1-2001) 2001-2015 36
Duante Culpepper Minnesota (11-1999) 1999-2009 34
John Elway Baltimore/Trade to Denver (1-1983) 1983-1998 33
Terry Bradshaw Pittsburgh (1-1970) 1970-1983 32
Roman Gabriel Los Angeles Rams (2-1962) 1962-1977 30


THE LAST TIME A TEAM DRAFTED A QUARTERBACK IN THE FIRST ROUND

This list shows the last time a current National Football League used a first round draft selection to take a quarterback and the production generated from that athlete during his professional career;
Year Pick Player Team From To G GS Cmp Att Yds TD Int Run Yds TD
2006
10 Matt Leinart
ARI
2006 2012 33 18 366 641 4065 15 21 47 89 2
2008
3 Matt Ryan
ATL
2008 2017 158 158 3630 5593 41796 260 126 351 1023 5
2008
18 Joe Flacco
BAL
2008 2017 154 154 3267 5291 35780 200 130 326 766 16
2013
16 EJ Manuel
BUF
2013 2017 30 18 343 590 3767 20 16 96 339 4
2011
1 Cam Newton
CAR
2011 2017 109 108 2001 3420 25074 158 94 828 4320 54
2017
2 Mitch Trubisky
CHI
2017 2017 12 12 196 330 2193 7 7 41 248 2
2003
1 Carson Palmer
CIN
2004 2017 182 181 3941 6307 46247 294 187 301 474 8
2014
22 Johnny Manziel
CLE
2014 2015 15 8 147 258 1675 7 7 46 259 1
2012
1 Andrew Luck
IND
2012 2016 70 70 1570 2651 19078 132 68 286 1442 14
1989
1 Troy Aikman HOF
DAL
1989 2000 165 165 2898 4715 32942 165 141 327 1016 9
2016
26 Paxton Lynch
DEN
2016 2017 5 4 79 128 792 4 4 16 55 0
2009
1 Matthew Stafford
DET
2009 2017 125 125 3005 4850 34749 216 118 271 949 14
2005
24 Aaron Rodgers
GNB
2005 2017 149 142 3188 4895 38502 313 78 525 2670 25
2017
12 Deshaun Watson
HOU
2017 2017 7 6 126 204 1699 19 8 36 269 2
2014
3 Blake Bortles
JAX
2014 2017 62 61 1318 2229 14928 90 64 223 1410 7
2017
10 Patrick Mahomes
KAN
2017 2017 1 1 22 35 284 0 1 7 10 0
2012
8 Ryan Tannehill
MIA
2012 2016 77 77 1653 2637 18455 106 66 216 1065 6
2014
32 Teddy Bridgewater
MIN
2014 2017 30 28 551 851 6150 28 22 94 398 4
1971
2 Archie Manning
NOR
1971 1984 151 139 2011 3642 23911 125 173 384 2197 18
1993
1 Drew Bledsoe
NWE
1993 2006 194 193 3839 6717 44611 251 206 385 764 10
2004
4 Philip Rivers/trade
NYG
2004 2017 196 192 4171 6492 50348 342 166 335 573 3
2009
5 Mark Sanchez
NYJ
2009 2016 77 72 1295 2285 15219 86 86 169 449 13
2015
2 Marcus Mariota
TEN
2015 2017 42 42 787 1274 9476 58 34 154 913 9
2016
2 Carson Wentz
PHI
2016 2017 29 29 644 1047 7078 49 21 110 449 2
2004
11 Ben Roethlisberger
PIT
2004 2017 200 198 4164 6493 51065 329 174 438 1252 16
2007
1 JaMarcus Russell
OAK
2007 2009 31 25 354 680 4083 18 23 40 175 1
2016
1 Jared Goff
LAR
2016 2017 22 22 408 682 4893 33 14 36 67 2
2004
1 Eli Manning/trade
SDG
2004 2017 216 214 4424 7396 51682 339 228 296 540 6
1993
2 Rick Mirer
SEA
1993 2003 80 68 1088 2043 11969 50 76 242 1130 9
2005
1 Alex Smith
SFO
2005 2017 156 151 2877 4613 31888 183 96 529 2433 14
2015
1 Jameis Winston
TAM
2015 2017 45 45 939 1544 11636 69 44 140 513 8
2012
2 Robert Griffin
WAS
2012 2016 42 40 766 1210 8983 42 26 275 1670 10
NOTE...In 2004, San Diego selected Eli Manning and the New York Giants chose Philip Rivers, announcing that the teams traded players soon after.