Top Quarterback Draft Classes
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There is hype about this upcoming class of Quarterbacks coming out. I heard one source say there could be as many as 6 QBs taken in round one. Well...we shall see about that. So, what I am doing here is to document which draft classes have been the best in the past. Going back to 1966, here are the QBs taken each year that I think have had a reasonably productive careers. (I did reference the PFR CA....some..but not all) Hall of Fame in Bold See which class may in fact be the best:
1966 None
1967 Bob Griese
1968 Ken Stabler, Greg Landry
1969 None
1970 Terry Bradshaw
1971 Jim Plunkett, Archie Manning, Dan Pastorini, Lynn Dickey, Ken Anderson, Joe Theisman
1972 Brian Sipe
1973 Bert Jones, Ron Jaworski, Joe Ferguson, Dan Fouts
1974 Danny White
1975 Steve Grogan, Steve Bartkowski
1976 Richard Todd
1977 Tommy Kramer, Steve DeBerg
1978 Doug Williams, Bill Kenney
1979 Joe Montana, Phil Simms
1980 None
1981 Neil Lomax, Wade Wilson
1982 Jim McMahon
1983 John Elway, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, Ken O'Brien
1984 Boomer Esiason, Jeff Hostetler, Jay Schroeder
1985 Randal Cunningham
1986 Jim Everett, Mark Rypien
1987 Vinny Testaverde, Chris Miller, Jim Harbaugh, Rich Gannon, Steve Beurerlein
1988 Chris Chandler, Stan Humphries
1989 Troy Aikman, Rodney Peete
1990 Jeff George, Neil O'Donnell, Scott Mitchell
1991 Brett Favre
1992 Jeff Blake, Brad Johnson
1993 Drew Bledsoe, Mark Brunell, Elvis Grbac, Trent Green
1994 Trent Dilfer, Gus Frerotte
1995 Steve McNair, Kerry Collins, Kordell Stewart
1996 Tony Banks
1997 Jake Plummer
1998 Peyton Manning, Brian Griese, Matt Hasselback
1999 Donovan McNabb, Daunte Culpepper, Aaron Brooks
2000 Chad Pennington, Marc Bulger, Tom Brady
2001 Michael Vick, Drew Brees
2002 David Garrard
2003 Carson Palmer
2004 Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Phillip Rivers, Matt Schaub
2005 Alex Smith, Aaron Rodgers, Jason Campbell, Ryan Fitzpatrick
2006 Jay Cutler
2007 None
2008 Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco
2009 Matt Stafford
2010 Sam Bradford???
2011 Cam Newton, Andy Dalton, Colin Kaepernick
2012 Andrew Luck, Ryan Tannehill, Russell Wilson, Kirk Cousins
Since 2012 it is a bit to early to tell really
So which...in your opinion, are the best QB years
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1983 has the reputation as the best QB class since the merger. Rightfully so. It is the only class since the 1966 common draft to currently have more than one Hall of Famer.
Obviously 2004 has to be considered. It has the potential to match the 3 HOFers of the '83 draft.
1971 with 6, and 1987 with 5 produced the most QBs that I have termed "reasonably productive"..but neither year has had a HOF QB...though a few in those years could be arguably borderline HOF.
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1983 has the reputation as the best QB class since the merger. Rightfully so. It is the only class since the 1966 common draft to currently have more than one Hall of Famer.
Obviously 2004 has to be considered. It has the potential to match the 3 HOFers of the '83 draft.
1971 with 6, and 1987 with 5 produced the most QBs that I have termed "reasonably productive"..but neither year has had a HOF QB...though a few in those years could be arguably borderline HOF.
Obviously 2004 has to be considered. It has the potential to match the 3 HOFers of the '83 draft.
Do you think that Rivers still has a shot at the SB? Because if he's not getting a ring I don't see him inducted like Eli Manning or Ben Roethlisberger. And funny enough, I would say that Eli is not better than Phillip Rivers.
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correct me if am wrong Gip..But is Jim Pluckett the only 2 time SB winner to not get into the HOF? Eli has 2 also..
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correct me if am wrong Gip..But is Jim Pluckett the only 2 time SB winner to not get into the HOF? Eli has 2 also..
correct me if am wrong Gip..But is Jim Pluckett the only 2 time SB winner to not get into the HOF? Eli has 2 also..
That is correct. Or should we say the only eligible 2 time winner. But he is not the only 2 time Champion to not be in HOF:
Ed Danowski won twice with the Giants 1934/1938
Tommy Thompson won twice with the Eagles 1948/49
Tobin Rote won twice: 1957 Lions, 1963 Chargers (only Peyton duplicated this..winning with 2 teams, when he won with Colts/Broncos)
Jack Kemp won twice: 1964/65 Bills
Jim Plunkett won twice: 1980/83 Raiders
And we have Peyton...see above 2006 Colts, 2015 Broncos
Eli: 2007 and 2011 Giants
And Ben Roethlisberger with the 2005 and 2008 Steelers.
These latter 3 can probably be expected to be put in. The earlier 4 though..plus Plunkett....likely not as much.
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Note: While 1983, so far, has been the only draft year to produce more than one HOF QB since the common draft began, prior to that several years saw more than one HOF QB drafted in the same year:
1944 Otto Graham (by Lions) and Bob Waterfield
1948 Bobby Layne and Y.A. Tittle
1949 Norm Van Brocklin and George Blanda
1957 Len Dawson and Sonny Jurgenson
But none aside from 1983 had more than 2.
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1971, 1973, 1983 and 2004 really stand out.
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Obviously 2004 has to be considered. It has the potential to match the 3 HOFers of the '83 draft.
Do you think that Rivers still has a shot at the SB? Because if he's not getting a ring I don't see him inducted like Eli Manning or Ben Roethlisberger. And funny enough, I would say that Eli is not better than Phillip Rivers.
Do you think that Rivers still has a shot at the SB? Because if he's not getting a ring I don't see him inducted like Eli Manning or Ben Roethlisberger. And funny enough, I would say that Eli is not better than Phillip Rivers.
Is Eli Manning the worst QB to win multiple Super Bowls?
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Is Eli Manning the worst QB to win multiple Super Bowls?
I haven't seen that much football, but he has to be in the conversation for the most oportunistic.
Anyway, being clutch player in the playoffs is worth recognizing.
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Obviously 2004 has to be considered. It has the potential to match the 3 HOFers of the '83 draft.
Do you think that Rivers still has a shot at the SB? Because if he's not getting a ring I don't see him inducted like Eli Manning or Ben Roethlisberger. And funny enough, I would say that Eli is not better than Phillip Rivers.
Do you think that Rivers still has a shot at the SB? Because if he's not getting a ring I don't see him inducted like Eli Manning or Ben Roethlisberger. And funny enough, I would say that Eli is not better than Phillip Rivers.
Rivers has a shot. Especially if he continues for a good long while and gets into the top echelon in various statistics. But stats alone won't get you into the HOF. Look at the likes of Vinny Testaverde and Drew Bledsoe. They are both in the top 10 of several "longevity" stats....most completions, most yards. But neither was considered by any means to be in the top echelon of QBs when they played.
Rivers is kind of in between. He had his team in a couple of AFC title games...only to lose. No Super Bowls. But many still consider him to be one of the best QBs playing. Its just that the team around him has been pretty poor.
Eli has the longevity stats...plus he has the 2 rings. I personally think that is a clincher. He went head to head with Tom Brady twice and prevailed both times. That is a poker chip in the ante.
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Is Eli Manning the worst QB to win multiple Super Bowls?
Well....again....Plunkett is not in HOF....the only eligible QB with 2 SB wins to not be. So perhaps folks think he is "the worst". But, again that is not unprecedented...no Danowski/Thompson, Kemp, Rote.
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Is Eli Manning the worst QB to win multiple Super Bowls?
I haven't seen that much football, but he has to be in the conversation for the most oportunistic.
Anyway, being clutch player in the playoffs is worth recognizing.
I haven't seen that much football, but he has to be in the conversation for the most oportunistic.
Anyway, being clutch player in the playoffs is worth recognizing.
Sure. I mean, look at it this way: Ben R. came out of the same draft....why would he be any more of a sure thing than Eli? Compare the stats of the 3 QBs that came out in 2004 stats:
Games: Eli 209 BR 193 Rivers 188
W/L: Eli 109-98 BR 129-62 Rivers 100-84 (note....games played don't match records as they may have appeared in a few games they did not start)
Comp/Att. Eli 4259/7121 BR 3972/6207 Rivers 3984/6203
Comp % Eli 59.8% BR 64% Rivers 64.2%
Yards Eli 50,034 BR 48,876 Rivers 47,861
TDs Eli 332 BR 311 Rivers 327
TD% Eli 4.7% BR 5.0% Rivers 5.3%
Ints Eli 221 BR 169 Rivers 162
Int.% Eli 3.1% BR 2.7% Rivers 2.5%
Rating: Eli 83.8 BR 93.6 Rivers 94.4
Sacks Eli 347 BR 466 Rivers 372
Personal character. Eli.....unquestioned....plus he is always humble BR...there had been some serious questions....plus...he is a drama queen and plays up everything about himself. Rivers....has 8 kids...no time to get into trouble or to be dramatic about anything.
In a lot of areas, Rivers actually has the slight statistical edge on the other two.....but he has -0- SB appearances, Eli has 2, BR has 3.
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Most pass completions
1 Brett Favre+ 6,300 1991-2010 4TM 2 Peyton Manning 6,125 1998-2015 2TM 3 Drew Brees 6,033 2001-2017 2TM 4 Tom Brady 5,450 2000-2017 nwe 5 Dan Marino+ 4,967 1983-1999 mia 6 Eli Manning 4,259 2004-2017 nyg 7 John Elway+ 4,123 1983-1998 den 8 Warren Moon+ 3,988 1984-2000 4TM 9 Philip Rivers 3,984 2004-2017 sdg 10 Ben Roethlisberger 3,972 2004-2017 pit -
Most Yards:
1 Peyton Manning 71,940 1998-2015 2TM 2 Brett Favre+ 71,838 1991-2010 4TM 3 Drew Brees 68,325 2001-2017 2TM 4 Tom Brady 64,123 2000-2017 nwe 5 Dan Marino+ 61,361 1983-1999 mia 6 John Elway+ 51,475 1983-1998 den 7 Eli Manning 50,034 2004-2017 nyg 8 Warren Moon+ 49,325 1984-2000 4TM 9 Ben Roethlisberger 48,876 2004-2017 pit 10 Philip Rivers 47,861 2004-2017 sd -
Most TD passes
1 Peyton Manning 539 1998-2015 2TM 2 Brett Favre+ 508 1991-2010 4TM 3 Drew Brees 478 2001-2017 2TM 4 Tom Brady 472 2000-2017 nwe 5 Dan Marino+ 420 1983-1999 mia 6 Fran Tarkenton+ 342 1961-1978 2TM 7 Eli Manning 332 2004-2017 nyg 8 Philip Rivers 327 2004-2017 sdg 9 Ben Roethlisberger 311 2004-2017 pit 10 Aaron Rodgers 310 2005-2017 gnb -
Great topic Gipper..Ben's 35 & the way he plays against his own body is closest to hanging them up imo..Brees is 38 with the earliest expiring contract in 18.Saints are good again, me thinks Brees retires a Saint. Rivers(35).Eli (36) Both with expiring contracts in 19 may want to look at a QB away teams like Jacksonville? Eli wins another SB in say like Miami or Jags? Eli's in HOF period..Rivers may need to get his 1st SB elsewhere also? LA was a Roger plan, not in Rivers plan..
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Great topic Gipper..Ben's 35 & the way he plays against his own body is closest to hanging them up imo..Brees is 38 with the earliest expiring contract in 18.Saints are good again, me thinks Brees retires a Saint. Rivers(35).Eli (36) Both with expiring contracts in 19 may want to look at a QB away teams like Jacksonville? Eli wins another SB in say like Miami or Jags? Eli's in HOF period..Rivers may need to get his 1st SB elsewhere also? LA was a Roger plan, not in Rivers plan..
Great topic Gipper..Ben's 35 & the way he plays against his own body is closest to hanging them up imo..Brees is 38 with the earliest expiring contract in 18.Saints are good again, me thinks Brees retires a Saint. Rivers(35).Eli (36) Both with expiring contracts in 19 may want to look at a QB away teams like Jacksonville? Eli wins another SB in say like Miami or Jags? Eli's in HOF period..Rivers may need to get his 1st SB elsewhere also? LA was a Roger plan, not in Rivers plan..
LA was Jerry Jones and Stan Kroenke's plan, not Roger's (assuming you mean Goodell). They were greedy for money and they thought LA was El Dorado...City made of Gold.
Where, in reality, it is a city made of apathy.
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1983 has the reputation as the best QB class since the merger. Rightfully so. It is the only class since the 1966 common draft to currently have more than one Hall of Famer.
Obviously 2004 has to be considered. It has the potential to match the 3 HOFers of the '83 draft.
1971 with 6, and 1987 with 5 produced the most QBs that I have termed "reasonably productive"..but neither year has had a HOF QB...though a few in those years could be arguably borderline HOF.
1983 has the reputation as the best QB class since the merger. Rightfully so. It is the only class since the 1966 common draft to currently have more than one Hall of Famer.
Obviously 2004 has to be considered. It has the potential to match the 3 HOFers of the '83 draft.
1971 with 6, and 1987 with 5 produced the most QBs that I have termed "reasonably productive"..but neither year has had a HOF QB...though a few in those years could be arguably borderline HOF.
Oh yes 1983 stands out, in 2004 Big Ben is in Eli might not be so heralded by everyone......maybe his "dull" personality well compared to Peyton.
It's pretty true what they say about once in a generation franchise quarterbacks.....as a general rule. Hard to land one PLUS they must be on the right team and stay injury free (Luck).
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