NFL draft: History of quarterbacks selected No. 1 overall, from Bryce Young to Angelo Bertelli

NFL draft: History of quarterbacks selected No. 1 overall, from Bryce Young to Angelo Bertelli

April 19, 2024


From Bryce Young in the 2023 NFL draft to Angelo Bertelli in 1944, take a look at every quarterback selected No. 1 overall.

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The 2024 NFL draft will begin Thursday, April 25 and ends Saturday, April 27. This year is the 89th edition of the NFL draft, and Detroit is the host city.

The Chicago Bears own the No. 1 overall pick and it’s widely expected that they will select USC quarterback Caleb Williams. Since 2000, 17 quarterbacks have been selected No. 1 overall, including Bryce Young to the Carolina Panthers in the 2023 NFL Draft.

A total of 35 quarterbacks have been selected No. 1 overall in the drafts history, the most of any position. USA TODAY Sports lists the quarterbacks who have heard their name called first in the draft.

List of quarterbacks selected No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft

Selecting a quarterback No. 1 overall is a significantly more common occurrence since 2000 than in previous decades. In all but five drafts since 2001 has a quarterback not gone with the top overall selection.

Between the merger and 2000, just 10 quarterbacks were selected with the No. 1 pick. Since 2000, 17 passers have been selected No. 1, must recently Bryce Young of the Panthers in 2023.

Here’s the complete list:

Year Player (College) Team
2023 Bryce Young (Alabama) Carolina Panthers
2021 Trevor Lawrence (Clemson) Jacksonville Jaguars
2020 Joe Burrow (LSU) Cincinnati Bengals
2019 Kyler Murray (Oklahoma) Arizona Cardinals
2018 Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma) Cleveland Browns
2016 Jared Goff (California) St. Louis Rams
2015 Jameis Winston (Florida State) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2012 Andrew Luck (Stanford) Indianapolis Colts
2011 Cam Newton (Auburn) Carolina Panhers
2010 Sam Bradford (Oklahoma) St. Louis Rams
2009 Matthew Stafford (Georgia) Detroit Lions
2007 JaMarcus Russell (LSU) Oakland Raiders
2005 Alex Smith (Utah) San Francisco 49ers
2004 Eli Manning (Ole Miss) San Diego Chargers
2003 Carson Palmer (USC) Cincinnati Bengals
2002 David Carr (Fresno State) Houston Texans
2001 Michael Vick (Virginia Tech) Atlanta Falcons
1999 Tim Couch (Kentucky) Cleveland Browns
1998 Peyton Manning (Tennessee) Indianapolis Colts
1993 Drew Bledsoe (Washington State) New England Patriots
1990 Jeff George (Illinois) Indianapolis Colts
1989 Troy Aikman (UCLA) Dallas Cowboys
1987 Vinny Testaverde (Miami) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1983 John Elway (Stanford) Baltimore Colts
1975 Steve Bartkowski (California) Atlanta Falcons
1971 Jim Plunkett (Stanford) New England Patriots
1970 Terry Bradshaw (Louisiana Tech) Pittsburgh Steelers
1963 Terry Baker (Oregon State) Los Angeles Rams
1959 Randy Duncan (Iowa) Green Bay Packers
1958 King Hill (Rice) Chicago Cardinals
1955 George Shaw (Oregon) Baltimore Colts
1954 Bobby Garrett (Stanford) Cleveland Browns
1952 Bill Wade (Vanderbilt) Los Angeles Rams
1946 Frank Dancewicz (Notre Dame) Boston Yanks
1944 Angelo Bertelli (Notre Dame) Boston Yanks