99 Stats Until Kickoff (#94) When was the last time your team drafted a QB in the first round?
From May 30 and every day until September 5… the start of the 2013 NFL season… Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ will publish “99 Stats Until Kickoff” a daily dose of NFL stats that will get you ready for the 2013 NFL season.)
The 2012 NFL draft included four quarterbacks selected in the first round: Andrew Luck (Indianapolis), Robert Griffin III (Washington), Ryan Tannehill (Miami) and Brandon Weeden (Cleveland). That was the 11th straight year that at least two QBs were taken in the first round. The 2013 NFL draft, however, featured only one QB taken in the first round, E.J. Manuel by the Buffalo Bills, thus breaking that 11-year streak.
For some teams, taking a quarterback in the first round has been a long time ago. Consider the New Orleans Saints. The Saints last took a QB in the first round back in 1971 when they selected Archie Manning. With Drew Brees at the helm, it probably won’t be anytime soon that they use their first round pick on a QB.
Following are the years each of the NFL teams last drafted a quarterback in the first round.
Last year drafted QB in first round, team(s)
1971: New Orleans (Archie Manning)
1983: Kansas City (Todd Blackledge)
1989: Dallas (Troy Aikman/a)
1993: New England (Drew Bledsoe); Seattle (Rick Mirer)
1999: Philadelphia (Donovan McNabb/b)
2002: Houston (David Carr)
2003: Chicago (Rex Grossman); Cincinnati (Carson Palmer)
2004: New York Giants (Philip Rivers); Pittsburgh (Ben Roethlisberger); San Diego (Eli Manning)
2005: Green Bay (Aaron Rodgers); San Francisco (Alex Smith)
2006: Arizona (Matt Leinart)
2007: Oakland (JaMarcus Russell)
2008: Atlanta (Matt Ryan); Baltimore (Joe Flacco)
2009: Detroit (Matt Stafford); New York Jets (Mark Sanchez); Tampa Bay (Josh Freeman)
2010: Denver (Tim Tebow); St. Louis (Sam Bradford)
2011: Carolina (Cam Newton); Jacksonville (Blaine Gabbert); Minnesota (Christian Ponder); Tennessee (Jake Locker)
2012: Cleveland (Brandon Weeden); Indianapolis (Andrew Luck); Miami (Ryan Tannehill); Washington (Robert Griffin III)
2013: Buffalo (E.J. Manuel)
(/a) The Cowboys drafted Quincy Carter with their first pick in 2001, but that pick was a second round selection
(/)b The Eagles drafted Kevin Kolb with their first pick in 2007, but that pick was a second round selection
Here’s a few more notes regarding quarterbacks taken in the first round:
- The last time only one QB was taken in the first round prior to the 2013 draft was 2001 when the Atlanta Falcons drafted Michael Vick.
- The last time no quarterbacks were chosen in the first round was 1996. The first QB taken that year was in the second round when Tony Banks was chosen by the St. Louis Rams.
- The last year where no QB was selected in the first two rounds was 1988.
Most quarterbacks taken in the first round was six in 1983. That draft class included Hall of Famers John Elway, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino. Also chosen in the first round that year was Todd Blackledge, Tony Eason and Ken O’Brien.
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SIX STATS you might not know about… Archie Manning
“SIX STATS…” is a bonus feature of Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ and is published every Friday.
Over the past several weeks, the Manning boys, Peyton and Eli, have garnered a little ink and publicity for on-the-field (in Eli’s case) and off-the-field (in Peyton’s case) activities. Here’s a change of pace for those of you who might be tired of all the talk about Peyton and Eli… a few stats about their dad, Archie, a pretty darn good QB in his day.
1. Archie made 139 starts as a quarterback in his 13-year NFL career. As a starter, he was 35-101-3. In his 10 years with the New Orleans Saints, the Saints had nine losing seasons and finished at .500 only once. Both Peyton and Eli won 42 games in their first five years in the league; Archie won only 15 in his first five seasons. Archie made eight starts with the Houston Oilers and two starts with the Minnesota Vikings in brief stints with those teams at the end of his career; he did not win any of those starts with the Oilers or Vikings.
2. Archie finished his career with a passer rating of 67.1. His best season passer rating was 81.8. Peyton’s career passer rating is 94.9; Eli’s is 82.1.
3. Of the three Manning QBs, Archie has the most rushing TDs with 18. Peyton has 17, Eli only four rushing touchdowns.
4. Archie led the league in most times sacked in three seasons. The most times Peyton has been sacked in a season is 29; the most Eli has had in a season is 30. Archie was sacked 35 or more times in six seasons.
5. Archie threw 32% of his TD passes in the fourth quarter. Eli has thrown 33.5% of his TD passes in the fourth quarter; Peyton has thrown 23.3% of his TD passes in the fourth quarter. Of Archie’s 125 TD passes, 21 (16.8%) were for 40 yards or more. Of Eli’s 185 TD passes, 14.6% were 40 yards or longer. Of Peyton’s 399 TD passes, 14.3% were 40 yards or more.
6. Archie was sacked 396 times in 151 games, an average of 2.6 per game. Peyton has been sacked an average of 1.1 times per game; Eli has been sacked an average of 1.6 times per game. Archie ranks 11th on the all-time sacked list.
6b. Both Peyton and Eli have played in two Super Bowls, with Peyton winning one and Eli winning a pair. Archie never played in an NFL postseason game.