25 NFL drafts ago, no quarterback went in Round 1 -- Why it might never happen again

It seems almost unthinkable now. The stuff of football legend, a Sasquatch story folks with gray around the temples tell once in a while and they simply swear it is true no matter what you've heard before.

In 1996, no quarterback was selected in the first round of the NFL draft. It was only the fifth time it has happened since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger and it has not happened since.

«I don't see that happening again — ever,» Broncos general manager George Paton said. «I really do not. The game's changed, the spread offense, 7-on-7 tournaments in middle school, high school, there are just too many quarterbacks who are too sophisticated in that regard compared to a couple of decades ago. And, most importantly maybe, the position has become more important than ever.»

These days it's not a question of if a quarterback will be selected in the first round, but rather how many will be selected in the first 10 picks. In 2021, quarterbacks were selected with the first three picks of the draft, and five went in the first round.

In 2020, Joe Burrow was the first selection of the draft and four quarterbacks were picked in the first round. Three quarterbacks went in the first round in 2019, five in 2018, three in 2017 and on and on.

«The position is so important and with a rookie wage scale, the financial penalty for failure is far less costly than it used to be [for a rookie quarterback],» former Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts general manager Bill Polian. «As a result, a first-round gamble on a talented, but undeveloped prospect is worth the risk.»

In the 25 drafts since 1996 a quarterback hasn't been the No. 1 selection just six times. But in that 1996 draft, no signal-caller was taken until Tony Banks was