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.)

Robert Griffin III (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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 11^th 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.

“99 Stats Before Kickoff” (Stats you need to know before the start of the 2013 NFL season) is available from e-book publisher Smashwords. Go to www.smashwords.com to download a copy, including a pdf version which can be viewed on your home computer. Cost is $2.99.