Everyone agrees you have to have a quarterback to win in the NFL, so there will be plenty selected in the early rounds of this year's NFL Draft. Unfortunately, more dart throws don't always produce viable quarterbacks, as the 21st century is proving.
Since 2000, the Jets and 49ers have each selected 10 quarterbacks in the NFL Draft. That's tops in the league, tied with Washington and the Broncos. Washington finally found a good one in Kirk Cousins, although of course they've got some fence-mending to do if they want to keep him. Denver has last year's first-rounder Paxton Lynch; too soon to say whether they have or haven't found their guy.
The Jets and 49ers, meanwhile, will start journeymen Josh McCown and Brian Hoyer. They're definitely still looking.
Numbers of quarterbacks drafted by NFL franchises over the last 16 years are shown below. That's drafted, only; doesn't include trades, free-agent signings or undrafted players who have also shuffled in and off the rosters of teams in that timeframe. No one will be surprised if the Jets and 49ers make it up to 11 later this month.
| # OF DRAFTED QUARTERBACKS, 2000-2016 | |
|---|---|
| Picks | NFL Team |
| 10 | Jets |
| 10 | 49ers |
| 10 | Washington |
| 10 | Broncos |
| 9 | Patriots |
| 9 | Ravens |
| 8 | Browns |
| 8 | Rams |
| 7 | Buccaneers |
| 7 | Chargers |
| 7 | Eagles |
| 7 | Packers |
| 7 | Panthers |
| 7 | Texans |
| 6 | Bears |
| 6 | Bengals |
| 6 | Cardinals |
| 6 | Dolphins |
| 6 | Falcons |
| 6 | Lions |
| 6 | Raiders |
| 6 | Seahawks |
| 6 | Steelers |
| 6 | Vikings |
| 5 | Bills |
| 5 | Kansas City |
| 5 | Giants |
| 5 | Jaguars |
| 5 | Saints |
| 5 | Titans |
| 4 | Colts |
| 3 | Cowboys |
--Andy Richardson