Making the call on best quarterback selected in each round of the NFL Draft
Quarterbacks have dominated the discussion leading up to this week's NFL Draft, as Cal's Jared Goff and North Dakota State's Carson Wentz are expected to be the first two names off the board in Thursday's first round.
However, history has shown that early first-round credentials aren't necessary to be a productive, or legendary signal-caller in the NFL. For every Peyton Manning or John Elway drafted in the top two, there's also a Ryan Leaf or a JaMarcus Russell to remind us that there are no sure things, and by the same token, it's not uncommon to find a gem among the duds in the draft's later rounds.
So with that in mind, we took a look at the best quarterbacks taken in each round of the draft since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. Some rounds proved tougher than others, but in the end, these players stood out as the best of the best. And if you disagree, please feel free to let us know on Twitter or in the comments below:
Round 1: Terry Bradshaw (No. 1, 1970)
Just because some first-rounders are lemons doesn't mean they're all defective, and certainly the first round had the longest list of viable candidates for the top spot. Ultimately the crown goes to Bradshaw, who was taken first overall by the Steelers in 1970. Bradshaw may not boast the record-setting numbers that others in the discussion do -- we can talk all day about his TD-to-INT ratio -- but he made three Pro Bowls, won an MVP and, most importantly, won each of the four Super Bowls he played in during his 14-year career in Pittsburgh. And at least as far as this list is concerned, those rings reign supreme.
Honorable mention: Peyton Manning (No. 1, 1998), Troy Aikman (No. 1, 1989), John Elway (No. 1, 1983), Jim Kelly (No. 14, 1983), Dan Marino (No. 27, 1983)
Brett Favre was chosen by the Atlanta Falcons.
Round 2: Brett Favre (No. 33, 1991)
A first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee this year, Favre was the face of the Green Bay Packers for the majority of his 20-year NFL run, but his career actually started with the Atlanta Falcons, who took Favre with the sixth pick of the second round in 1991. The quarterbacks taken ahead of Favre that year, Dan McGwire and Todd Marinovich, combined to start 13 career games, while Favre started 298 in the regular season alone. A three-time Associated Press MVP, Favre led the Packers to two NFC titles and a win in Super Bowl XXXI. He's also thrown and completed more passes than anyone in league history, and was the NFL's all-time leader in passing yards until this past November.
Honorable mention: Drew Brees (No. 32, 2001), Randall Cunningham (No. 37, 1985), Boomer Esiason (No. 38, 1984)
Round 3: Joe Montana (No. 82, 1979)
Montana is one of two Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks to be picked in the third round since the merger, but there was little debate who was the king of the third-round QBs. A two-time MVP, eight-time Pro Bowl pick, three-time Super Bowl MVP and four-time Super Bowl champ, Montana made 49ers brass look like geniuses in the 1980s, both before and after the team added Jerry Rice.
Honorable mention: Dan Fouts (No. 64, 1973)
Round 4: Joe Theismann (No. 99, 1971)
Joe Theismann headed to the CFL before starring in Washington.
It's easy to forget that Theismann could have, and maybe should have been a Miami Dolphin. The Dolphins picked the Notre Dame record-setter late in the fourth round of the 1971 draft, but Theismann started his career in the CFL after he and the Dolphins couldn't reach a deal. After three seasons in Canada, Theismann made his NFL debut in 1974 -- by which time his rights had been traded to the Washington Redskins. And the rest, as they say, is history. By 1978, Theismann had supplanted Billy Kilmer as the team's starting QB, and in 1982 he led the franchise to a Super Bowl championship. The following year, Theismann won the league MVP award and a second consecutive NFC title, but a career-ending injury in 1985 took him off the field for good.
Honorable mention: Rich Gannon (No. 98, 1987)
Round 5: Mark Brunell (No. 118, 1993)
The pickings were a little slimmer in Round 5, with only two fifth-round quarterbacks who went on to be a starter for more than two NFL seasons. But of them, Brunell was both the most memorable and most successful. Originally chosen by the Packers as a backup to Favre, Brunell was dealt to Jacksonville prior to the Jaguars' inaugural season in 1995, and by his second season with the team, Brunell had the upstart Jags in the AFC Championship Game. For eight seasons, Brunell was the face of the Jaguars franchise, then later went on to play for the Redskins and Saints, eventually winning a Super Bowl in his final season, as a backup to Drew Brees in 2009.
Honorable mention: Steve Grogan (No. 116, 1975)
Round 6: Tom Brady (No. 199, 2000)
Not only is Brady the best quarterback picked in the sixth round, he might be the biggest steal in NFL Draft history, period. Even if you don't like the guy, it's hard to argue with what he's done on the field: 11 Pro Bowls, two MVPs, six AFC championships, four Super Bowls, three Super Bowl MVPs, and the list goes on. At 38, Brady is still one of the league's top quarterbacks, and he'll be a sure-fire Hall of Famer whenever that time comes. Meanwhile, there are dozens of other teams who may still regret passing on Brady -- particularly the Jets, who took Chad Pennington in the first round, and Brady's hometown 49ers, who went with Giovanni Carmazzi (who never played an NFL snap) in the third.
Honorable mention: None
Ray Fitzpatrick has done well for himself.
Round 7: Ryan Fitzpatrick (No. 250, 2005)
Maybe this one comes as a bit of a surprise, but Fitzpatrick has gone on to have a respectable career since the Rams made him one of the last picks in the '05 draft. The Harvard product needed a few years to develop into an NFL starter, eventually getting his first shot with the Bengals in 2008, and after several subsequent seasons spent making the most of bad situations in Buffalo, Tennessee and Houston, Fitzpatrick had his best year yet with the New York Jets in 2015. That effort currently has Fitzpatrick holding out for a big payday, and while he's never going to be a Hall of Famer, he's as good as seventh-rounders get.
Honorable mention: Gus Frerotte (No. 197, 1994), Matt Cassel (No. 230, 2005)
Other: Warren Moon (Undrafted, 1978)
The only undrafted quarterback to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame, Moon didn't attract much attention coming out of Washington in 1978, so he headed to the CFL instead. After five Grey Cup championships, Moon finally made the jump to the NFL, where he spent an additional 17 seasons, eventually retiring at age 44. During that time, Moon made nine Pro Bowls and one All-Pro team. To this day, he's seventh on the all-time passing yards list and ninth in passing TDs, and one can't help but wonder where those numbers would stand had he been in the NFL from the start.
Honorable mention: Kurt Warner (Undrafted, 1994), Dave Krieg (Undrafted, 1980), Tony Romo (Undrafted, 2003), Doug Flutie (11th round, 1985), Steve DeBerg (10th round, 1977)
You can follow Sam Gardner on Twitter or email him at samgardnerfox@gmail.com.
