Best NFL Teams at Drafting Quarterbacks

• Johnny Unitas - 1955
• Ben Roethlisberger - 2004
• Terry Bradshaw - 1970
• Len Dawson - 1957

This list doesn’t even include Hall of Famer Jim Finks, who played just six seasons after the Steelers took him in 1949. But Unitas, Dawson and Bradshaw are all Hall of Famers, with Unitas and Dawson earning their nods mostly in Baltimore and Kansas City.

Roethlisberger, despite six Pro Bowls, likely won’t make the Hall, but he’s the franchise’s career leader in practically every statistical category.

4. Miami Dolphins

• Dan Marino - 1983
• Bob Griese - 1967
• Joe Thiesmann - 1971
• Tua Tagovailoa - 2020

From a pure throwing-the-football perspective, Marino may be the greatest to ever do it. Both he and Griese are Hall of Famers. Theismann did all of his work in the NFL with Washington and he didn’t even really start playing until 1976, making two Pro Bowls in the '80s.

Tagovailoa’s injury concerns cast doubts on his future, but he’s already led the league in yards passing and completion percentage.

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3. Atlanta Falcons

• Brett Favre - 1991
• Matt Ryan - 2008
• Michael Vick - 2001
• Matt Schaub - 2004

The Falcons shipped Favre to Green Bay after one season in Atlanta in which he completed zero of his four passes. His first year with the Packers? Pro Bowl. Ryan, Vick, and Schaub all played regularly for the franchise, especially Ryan and Vick, and made a combined 10 Pro Bowls, with Ryan winning Most Valuable Player in 2016.

2. Indianapolis Colts

• Peyton Manning - 1998
• John Elway - 1983
• Andrew Luck - 2012
• Chris Chandler - 1988

Like Favre with the Falcons, Elway, obviously, didn’t play for the Indianapolis Colts. All he did with the Denver Broncos was win two Super Bowls, Super Bowl MVP, make nine Pro Bowls and finish his career as a member of the Hall of Fame.

Manning somehow one-upped Elway and is easily the best quarterback in franchise history. Luck might have been, had he not retired in 2018, and Chandler played 17 years in the NFL, not really becoming a starter until his 30s while taking the Falcons to the Super Bowl.

1. New England Patriots

• Tom Brady - 2000
• Drew Bledsoe - 1993
• Drake Maye - 2024
• Steve Grogan - 1975

Considering Brady is the greatest quarterback to ever play in the NFL means the Patriots were almost a lock for the No. 1 spot. Maye making the Super Bowl in his second season and turning the franchise around puts him on New England’s Mount Rushmore already, too.

Bledsoe was a four-time Pro Bowler who played 14 years, and Grogan’s Patriots teams of the late '70s all finished above .500 during his five seasons as the primary starter.