NFL draft: History of quarterbacks drafted No. 1, include Caleb Williams, Peyton Manning

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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:

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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.

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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)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL draft history: Which QBs were the No. 1 overall pick?

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