NFL draft: History of quarterbacks drafted No. 1, include Caleb Williams, Peyton Manning
Quarterback is the most important position in football, so it's no wonder that historically it's the position most frequently addressed with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft.
Since the first-ever NFL draft in 1936, 39 quarterbacks have been taken with the first overall pick. The position ranked second-most in No. 1 picks is running back, with 23 such selections – though none since 1995.
Meanwhile, a quarterback has been selected with the top draft pick in eight of the last 10 NFL drafts. At the time of writing, that trend appears set to continue in 2025 – the quarterback-needy Tennessee Titans are on the clock with the No. 1 overall pick.
Here's a full list of all of the quarterbacks selected with the top pick in every NFL draft so far:
Quarterbacks selected with the No. 1 overall pick
There have been 39 quarterbacks taken first overall in the history of the NFL draft. Here's who they are:
- 1944 NFL draft: Angelo Bertelli, Notre Dame – Boston Yanks
- 1946: Frank Dancewicz, Notre Dame – Boston Yanks
- 1952: Bill Wade, Vanderbilt – Los Angeles Rams
- 1954: Bobby Garrett, Stanford – Cleveland Browns
- 1955: George Shaw, Oregon – Baltimore Colts
- 1958: King Hill, Rice – Chicago Cardinals
- 1959: Randy Duncan, Iowa – Green Bay Packers
- 1963: Terry Baker, Oregon State – Los Angeles Rams
- 1970: Terry Bradshaw, Louisiana Tech – Pittsburgh Steelers*
- 1971: Jim Plunkett, Stanford – New England Patriots
- 1975: Steve Bartkowski, California – Atlanta Falcons
- 1983: John Elway, Stanford – Baltimore Colts*
- 1987: Vinny Testaverde, Miami (FL) – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- 1989: Troy Aikman, UCLA – Dallas Cowboys*
- 1990: Jeff George, Illinois – Indianapolis Colts
- 1993: Drew Bledsoe, Washington State – New England Patriots
- 1998: Peyton Manning, Tennessee – Indianapolis Colts*
- 1999: Tim Couch, Kentucky – Cleveland Browns
- 2001: Michael Vick, Virginia Tech – Atlanta Falcons
- 2002: David Carr, Fresno State – Houston Texans
- 2003: Carson Palmer, USC – Cincinnati Bengals
- 2004: Eli Manning, Mississippi – San Diego Chargers
- 2005: Alex Smith, Utah – San Francisco 49ers
- 2007: JaMarcus Russell, LSU – Oakland Raiders
- 2009: Matthew Stafford, Georgia – Detroit Lions
- 2010: Sam Bradford, Oklahoma – St. Louis Rams
- 2011: Cam Newton, Auburn – Carolina Panthers
- 2012: Andrew Luck, Stanford – Indianapolis Colts
- 2015: Jameis Winston, Florida State – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- 2016: Jared Goff, California – Los Angeles Rams
- 2018: Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma – Cleveland Browns
- 2019: Kyler Murray, Oklahoma – Arizona Cardinals
- 2020: Joe Burrow, LSU – Cincinnati Bengals
- 2021: Trevor Lawrence, Clemson – Jacksonville Jaguars
- 2023: Bryce Young, Alabama – Carolina Panthers
- 2024: Caleb Williams, USC – Chicago Bears
An asterisk (*) denotes players inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
2025 NFL draft: No. 1 overall pick odds
DraftKings Sportsbook's latest odds have Miami (FL) quarterback Cam Ward as the heavy favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL draft. The odds can change in the coming week.
Here's which players are favored to be the first overall pick in the draft:
- Cameron Ward, QB, Miami (FL): (-10000)
- Abdul Carter, EDGE, Penn State: (+1600)
- Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado: (+4000)
- Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado: (+7000)
- Jaxson Dart, QB, Mississippi: (+10000)