Joe Burrow of LSU is the prohibitive favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. He lit up the SEC in 2019, which sparked thought on how have quarterbacks chosen in the draft done since the Super Bowl era. The biggest names will be featured next to the year they were chosen.
1967: Steve Spurrier
Steve Spurrier was the third overall selection after winning the Heisman Trophy at Florida. Spurrier was a far better college player than pro. He appeared in 92 games as a Niner, starting 26 and going 13-12-1. His best season was a 6-2-1 mark in 1972. Spurrier finished his career as a Buc, losing all 12 starts in 1976.
1968: Ken Stabler
Ken Stabler was a second-round pick of the Oakland Raiders and went on to win a Super Bowl and become a Pro Football Hall of Famer. Also taken was Dewey Warren of Tennessee, who was a seventh-round pick of the Bengals. Warren made four starts as a rookie in his lone season. He lost them all and threw four picks against one TD pass.
1971: Archie Manning
Archie Manning was taken by the New Orleans Saints from Ole Miss, second overall behind Jim Plunkett, who went to the Patriots. Scott Hunter was taken in the sixth round from Alabama by the Green Bay Packers. Hunter was 10-4 with Green Bay in 1972. He also spent time with Buffalo, Atlanta and Detroit. Buddy Lee was a seventh-round pick of the Bears and later traded to the Los Angeles Rams. Joe Reed of Mississippi State went in the 11th round to the Niners. He stuck with San Francisco for five seasons, finishing his career with three in Detroit. Reed threw 18 TD passes against 31 picks in the NFL. Bobby Scott was a 14th-round choice out of Tennessee by the Saints. He was with New Orleans until ’81, going 4-10 as a starter. Scott He then played for the New Jersey Generals and Chicago Blitz of the USFL in 1983. He was second on the Saints depth chart behind Archie Manning. In 1976, Manning had surgery on his throwing shoulder and Scott had the opportunity to start. During a televised game, he tripped over a television cable and blew out a knee, which ended his season
1972: John Reaves, Pat Sullivan
John Reaves set all sorts of records at Florida and was taken 14th overall by the Philadelphia Eagles. He wound up a journeyman playing for four teams and seeing some time in the USFL. Pat Sullivan won the Heisman at Auburn and was drafted by the Falcons in the second round. He lost all four NFL starts in a career that wound down after 1975.
1973: Bert Jones
A great from LSU going as the first quarterback taken in the draft? Sound familiar? Bert Jones went second to the Baltimore Colts after his years in Baton Rouge. Jones spent nine seasons with Baltimore before closing out his career with the LA Rams in 1982.
1974: Norris Weese
Norris Weese went from Ole Miss to the LA Rams, 99th overall. Weese played the 1974 season for The Hawaiians in the World Football League. He then spent four seasons playing for the Denver Broncos (1976-1979), mostly as a backup quarterback. Weese was named starting QB in 1979, but a knee injury that year ended his NFL career.
1976: Richard Todd
The Jets dipped into the SEC for Alabama’s Richard Todd in the first round. He became embroiled in a QB controversy with Georgia’s Matt Robinson, who as drafted by Gang Green the following season. Todd played eight seasons with the Jets and ended his NFL career with a pair as a Saint.
1977: Matt Robinson
The other half of the Jets’ quarterback controversy was Georgia’s Matt Robinson, who was taken in the ninth round. He played for three teams over six seasons. Robinson was 6-7 as a starter.
1978: Pat Ryan
Pat Ryan made it an SEC trifecta for the Jets. They chose the Tennessee quarterback in the 11th round. He spent 12 years with New York and a final one with the Philadelphia Eagles. Ryan made 19 starts and appeared in 145 NFL games, throwing 31 TD passes and 35 picks.
1979: Jeff Rutledge
1980: David Woodley
David Woodley went from LSU to the Miami Dolphins with an eighth-round pick. Woodley is best known as the bridge between the eras of Bob Griese and Dan Marino. In the strike-shortened season of 1982, Woodley handled the lion’s share of the time at quarterback en route to Miami winning the AFC title. The Dolphins went on to face the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVII. At the time, he was the youngest Super Bowl starting quarterback in NFL history at age 241⁄4. Despite starting the game well with a 76-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Cefalo, Woodley and the entire offense then struggled, with no completions in eight attempts in the second half. The Redskins won the game 27–17.
1986: Kent Austin
Kent Austin was a 12th-round pick by the St. Louis Cardinals from Ole Miss. He shows one stat, a rush for no yards. In 1987, the Cardinals chose not to re-sign Austin, and he jumped to the CFL and joined the Saskatchewan Roughriders, initially as their back-up quarterback. On Nov. 26, 1989 in Toronto, Austin was at the helm of the Roughriders when they won the Grey Cup versus the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, winning the MVP trophy for his 474 yards passing in the game. One of the Top 10 quarterbacks in CFL history, with 36,030 career passing yards on 4,700 pass attempts, having completed 2709 passes (57.6%), Austin is a Roughriders legend.
1987: Mike Shula
Mike Shula was a 12th-round pick of the Tampa Bay Bucs. He saw little playing time in 1987, his only season in the NFL. The Jets drafted Bill Ransdell from Kentucky in the 12th round, too. He went on to a two-year career in the NFL. He spent time with the Indianapolis Colts.
1988: Kerwin Bell
Kerwin Bell was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round (180th pick overall) and spent the 1988 season on the Dolphins’ practice squad. He spent part of 1989 as the Buccaneers’ third-team quarterback, but a serious knee injury ended his season and prevented him from playing at all in 1990. In 1991, Bell finally got a chance to start with the Orlando Thunder of the World League of American Football. Bell began a seven-year Canadian Football League career in 1993, with the Sacramento Gold Miners.
1989: Jeff Francis
Jeff Francis was drafted by the Los Angeles Raiders in the sixth round out of Tennessee and spent his rookie season on the Raiders’ development roster. He wound up on the Cleveland Browns and threw two passes for them, completing both. Wayne Johnson played four years at Georgia before being drafted by the Colts in the 11th round and had no NFL stats.
1990: Reggie Slack
The Houston Oilers drafted Auburn’s Reggie Slack in the 12th round. Slack also played in the WLAF for the New York/New Jersey Knights and then played in the CFL with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Saskatchewan Roughriders, whom he led to a Grey Cup appearance in 1997.
1994: Heath Shuler
Heath Shuler was the third overall pick from Tennessee by Washington. Shuler’s poor play contributed to a quarterback controversy with fellow 1994 draft pick, seventh-rounder Gus Frerotte. After the 1996 season, Shuler was traded to the New Orleans Saints for a fifth-round pick in the 1997 draft and a third-round pick in 1998. As a professional, his career passer rating was 54.3.
1995: Eric Zeier, Jay Barker
Eric Zeier was drafted in the third round out of Georgia by the Cleveland Browns. He played for Cleveland, Baltimore and Tampa Bay. Zeier started 12 games, losing eight. Jay Barker was a fifth-round choice by the Packers out of Alabama. He never played in the NFL. In 1998, the Toronto Argonauts signed Barker. He played there for three years.
1997: Danny Wuerffel
Danny Wuerffel won the Heisman at Florida and was a fourth-round pick of the Saints. He lasted three years in New Orleans and then saw spot time with the Packers, Bears and Washington.
1998: Peyton Manning
An all-time great QB, Peyton Manning was the first overall pick out of Tennessee by the Colts. He went on to a record-setting career that saw him win Super Bowls for Indy and Denver.
1999: Tim Couch
Tim Couch was a first overall selection out of Kentucky. He was brutalized as quarterback of the expansion Browns.
2000: Tee Martin
Tee Martin was a fifth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers out of Tennessee. He did not see action for Pittsburgh in 2001 and wound up with the Oakland Raiders. Martin was 6-for-16 for 69 yards in two games in 2003.
2001: Quincy Carter
Quincy Carter came to the Cowboys as a second-round pick out of Georgia. He was 16-15 as a starter in three years with Dallas before turning up with the New York Jets in 2004 and making three starts. Jesse Palmer is better known for his TV work than his quarterbacking, though he was a fourth-round pick of the Giants out of Florida. Josh Booty was a sixth-rounder by Seattle out of LSU. He also spent time with the Browns and Raiders.
2002: Rohan Davey
Rohan Davey (No. 6) starred at LSU and was taken by the Patriots in the fourth round. He stuck with New England for three seasons, throwing 19 passes and completing 8.
2003: Rex Grossman
Rex Grossman played at Florida and was taken in the first round, 22nd overall, by the Chicago Bears. Grossman played for three teams and got looks from two others in a long career that included 47 starts with a 25-22 mark. He did lead the Bears to Super Bowl XLI, In the Super Bowl, Grossman completed 20-of-28 passes, including a one-yard touchdown pass. However, he threw two interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown, and fumbled twice due to miscues between him and center Olin Kreutz.
2004: Eli Manning
Eli Manning came to the Giants via San Diego out of Ole Miss as the first overall pick. He won two Super Bowls in a long career with Big Blue. Matt Mauck came out of LSU to the Broncos as a seventh-round pick. Mauck made the roster, but did not appear in any games in 2004. In 2005, he signed with the Tennessee Titans. He appeared in two games during the season, including one start in the final regular season game of the year, a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
2005: Jason Campbell
Jason Campbell was a first-round pick out of Auburn 25th overall by Washington. He had a journeyman career. David Greene played college ball at Georgia and was drafted in the third round by Seattle. He failed to make much of an impression in Seattle and was cut. Greene then bounced around from practice squads with three teams.
2006: Jay Cutler
Jay Cutler was a first-round pick, 11th overall, by the Broncos out of Vanderbilt. He became controversial for a perceived attitude with Denver and Chicago. He then retired and was prepared to take a broadcasting job with FOX but opted for one more season with Miami. Brodie Croyle was taken in the third round out of Alabama by the Chiefs. He was winless with them in 10 starts in a career that ended after 2010. D.J. Shockley went to Georgia and was drafted by the Falcons in the seventh round. He wound up having no stats in the NFL.
2007: JaMarcus Russell
The first overall pick out of LSU by the Oakland Raiders, JaMarcus Russell never got it going in the NFL and is considered one of the bigger busts from any NFL Draft.
2008: Matt Flynn
Matt Flynn played at LSU and was taken in the seventh round by the Green Bay Packers. He had one amazing game at the end of a regular season and it led to a huge free-agent contract with Seattle. However, Flynn was beaten out by rookie Russell Wilson and that sent him on to a number of other teams. Erik Ainge was a fifth-rounder by the Jets from Tennessee. Ainge ran into abuse issues and never played for Gang Green. Andre Woodson came to the New York Giants from Kentucky in the sixth round. He wound up without an NFL stats.
2009: Matthew Stafford
Matthew Stafford has been the Detroit Lions’ long-time quarterback after they chose him first overall following a great career at Georgia.
2010: Tim Tebow
Tim Tebow was drafted out of Florida in the first round by Denver after a storied career as a Gator. He did not pan out with the Broncos or the Jets and is now trying to play baseball. Jonathan Crompton was a fifth-round pick of San Diego out of Tennessee. He moved around the NFL with four teams before playing in the CFL.
2011: Cam Newton
Cam Newton was the first overall pick by the Carolina Panthers out of Auburn. He has had some spectacular moments but recently has been injury-plagued. Greg McElroy was a seventh-rounder by the New York Jets out of Alabama. He has seen greater success in the broadcast booth with ESPN.
2012: Ryan Tannehill
Ryan Tannehill came to the Miami Dolphins in the first round out of Texas A&M. The hopes were high for Tannehill in Miami but it never did pan out. He is coming off a dazzling run with the Tennessee Titans after replacing Marcus Mariota as the starting QB in 2019.
2013: Tyler Wilson
The Raiders plucked Tyler Wilson out of Arkansas in the fourth round. Wilson was the highest drafted member of the 2013 NFL class to not make his team’s opening-day roster.
2014: Johnny Manziel
Johnny Manziel was exciting and thrilling at Texas A&M. He then became troubled and struggled after being drafted by the Browns in the first round. He’s out of football but still in the headlines. Aaron Muray came to the Chiefs from Georgia. He’s currently in the XFL. AJ McCarron starred at Alabama and has bounced around a few NFL teams after being taken in the fifth round by Cincy. Zach Mettenberger played at LSU and was a sixth-round pick of the Tennessee Titans.
2016: Dak Prescott
Dak Prescott went from Mississippi State to the Dallas Cowboys in the first round. He stepped in as a starter and has maintained his spot. Brandon Allen was drafted by the Jags in the sixth round out of Arkansas. He is with the Broncos having also seen time with the Rams.
2017: Joshua Dobbs
Joshua Dobbs was a fourth-rounder out of Tennessee by the Steelers. He threw 12 passes in 2018, completing 5. Chad Kelly was Mr. Irrelevant, drafted last overall by the Denver Broncos. He was cut from the team after a bizarre incident at a Halloween party. The Indianapolis Colts picked up Kelly, who played college ball at Ole Miss after transferring from Clemson.
2018: Danny Etling
Danny Etling played at LSU and was drafted by the New England Patriots in the seventh round. There was an experiement with him at WR that did not pan out. He was signed to a reserve/future contract by the Atlanta Falcons in December.
2019: Drew Lock
Drew Lock was chosen by the Denver Broncos in the second round out of Missouri. He made a favorable impression when pressed into the starting role in the second half of the season. Jarrett Stidham started college at Baylor, transferred to Auburn and was drafted by New England in the fourth round. He saw spot duty behind Tom Brady as a rookie.
