Quarterback Evolution: A Look at First-Round Picks from Peyton Manning to Bryce Young

In the previous year’s NFL draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers made a notable selection by choosing Kenny Pickett as their sole first-round quarterback at the 20th overall pick.

However, the most recent draft brought about a change in the quarterback landscape, as three signal-callers were chosen in the first round. Bryce Young became the top overall pick, joining the Carolina Panthers. Additionally, C.J. Stroud from Ohio State was selected by the Houston Texans, while Anthony Richardson from Florida found his new home with the Indianapolis Colts.

Let’s take a look back at the quarterbacks chosen in the first round of the NFL draft, starting from the 1998 class, which included the legendary Peyton Manning. Please note that the quarterbacks marked with an asterisk (*) achieved Pro Bowl recognition at some point in their careers.

1998:
– Peyton Manning (No. 1, Indianapolis Colts)
– Ryan Leaf (No. 2, San Diego Chargers)

1999:
– Tim Couch (No. 1, Cleveland Browns)
– Donovan McNabb (No. 2, Philadelphia Eagles)
– Akili Smith (No. 3, Cincinnati Bengals)
– Daunte Culpepper (No. 11, Minnesota Vikings)
– Cade McNown (No. 12, Chicago Bears)

2000:
– Chad Pennington (No. 18, New York Jets)

2001:
– Michael Vick* (No. 1, Atlanta Falcons)

2002:
– David Carr (No. 1, Houston Texans)
– Joey Harrington (No. 3, Detroit Lions)
– Patrick Ramsey (No. 32, Washington Commanders)

2003:
– Carson Palmer* (No. 1, Cincinnati Bengals)
– Byron Leftwich (No. 7, Jacksonville Jaguars)
– Kyle Boller (No. 19, Baltimore Ravens)
– Rex Grossman (No. 22, Chicago Bears)

2004:
– Eli Manning* (No. 1, New York Giants)
– Philip Rivers* (No. 4, San Diego Chargers)
– Ben Roethlisberger* (No. 11, Pittsburgh Steelers)
– J.P. Losman (No. 22, Buffalo Bills)

2005:
– Alex Smith* (No. 1, San Francisco 49ers)
– Aaron Rodgers* (No. 24, Green Bay Packers)
– Jason Campbell (No. 25, Washington Commanders)

2006:
– Vince Young* (No. 3, Tennessee Titans)
– Matt Leinart (No. 10, Arizona Cardinals)
– Jay Cutler* (No. 11, Denver Broncos)

2007:
– JaMarcus Russell (No. 1, Oakland Raiders)
– Brady Quinn (No. 22, Cleveland Browns)

2008:
– Matt Ryan* (No. 3, Atlanta Falcons)
– Joe Flacco (No. 18, Baltimore Ravens)

2009:
– Matthew Stafford* (No. 1, Detroit Lions)
– Mark Sanchez (No. 5, New York Jets)
– Josh Freeman (No. 17, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

2010:
– Sam Bradford (No. 1, St. Louis Rams)
– Tim Tebow (No. 25, Denver Broncos)

2011:
– Cam Newton* (No. 1, Carolina Panthers)
– Jake Locker (No. 8, Tennessee Titans)
– Blaine Gabbert (No. 10, Jacksonville Jaguars)
– Christian Ponder (No. 12, Minnesota Vikings)

2012:
– Andrew Luck* (No. 1, Indianapolis Colts)
– Robert Griffin III* (No. 2, Washington Commanders)
– Ryan Tannehill* (No. 8, Miami Dolphins)
– Brandon Weeden (No. 22, Cleveland Browns)

2013:
– EJ Manuel (No. 16, Buffalo Bills)

2014:
– Blake Bortles (No. 3, Jacksonville Jaguars)
– Johnny Manziel (No. 22, Cleveland Browns)
– Teddy Bridgewater* (No. 32, Minnesota Vikings)

2015:
– Jameis Winston* (No. 1, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
– Marcus Mariota (No. 2, Tennessee Titans)

2016:
– Jared Goff* (No. 1, Los Angeles Rams)
– Carson Wentz* (No. 2, Philadelphia Eagles)
– Paxton Lynch (No. 26, Denver Broncos)

2017:
– Mitchell Trubisky* (No. 2, Chicago Bears)
– Patrick Mahomes* (No. 10, Kansas City Chiefs)
– Deshaun Watson* (No. 12, Houston Texans)

2018:
– Baker Mayfield (No. 1, Cleveland Browns)
– Sam Darnold (No. 3, New York Jets)
– Josh Allen* (No. 7, Buffalo Bills)
– Josh Rosen (No. 10, Arizona Cardinals)
– Lamar Jackson* (No. 32, Baltimore Ravens)

2019:
– Kyler Murray* (No. 1, Arizona Cardinals)
– Daniel Jones (No. 6, New York Giants)
– Dwayne Haskins (No. 15, Washington Commanders)

2020:
– Joe Burrow* (No. 1, Cincinnati Bengals)
– Tua Tagovailoa (No. 5, Miami Dolphins)
– Justin Herbert* (No. 6, Los Angeles Chargers)
– Jordan Love (No. 26, Green Bay Packers)

2021:
– Trevor Lawrence* (No. 1, Jacksonville Jaguars)
– Zach Wilson (No. 2, New York Jets)
– Trey Lance (No. 3, San Francisco 49ers)
– Justin Fields (No. 11, Chicago Bears)
– Mac Jones* (No. 15, New England Patriots)

2022:
– Kenny Pickett (No. 20, Pittsburgh Steelers)

2023:
– Bryce Young (No. 1, Carolina Panthers)
– C.J. Stroud (No. 2, Houston Texans)
– Anthony Richardson (No. 4, Indianapolis Colts)