Factoid
Everyone’s always saying that the NFL is a quarterback-driven sport. That’s supposedly the position that you have to fill, therefore, with an early pick in the first round.
And if you have the chance to select a player like Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady or Brett Favre with the No. 1 pick of a draft, that’s certainly a nice way to go.
The problem, of course, is that a lot of those first-round quarterbacks don’t pan out. And even good players can’t do it by themselves; they need a solid supporting cast.
In the last 20 years, in fact, only four Super Bowls have featured matchups between two quarterbacks selected in the first round.
1992 Troy Aikman (Dall.) vs. Jim Kelly (Buff.)
1993 Troy Aikman (Dall.) vs. Jim Kelly (Buff.)
2000 Trent Dilfer (Balt.) vs. Kerry Collins (NYG)
2006 Peyton Manning (Ind.) vs. Rex Grossman (Chic.)
This year’s game comes close. Manning was the No. 1 overall pick in 1998. Drew Brees was the first pick of the 2nd round in 2001 – that was the year that San Diego traded down with the Falcons, who selected Michael Vick.
Also note that for the 2000 game, both quarterbacks were originally selected by other teams. The Buccaneers drafted Dilfer, and the Panthers picked Collins.
—Ian Allan
- Comments [0]
Readers' Comments
Add a Comment
Already a registered user? Please sign in to add comments.
To add comments, you must become a registered user of our site. To register, please click here.
