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