The first round of the 2024 NFL Draft class was supposed to be all about the quarterbacks — and it did not disappoint.
Thursday night delivered one of the more QB-heavy Day 1s in draft history, as a total of six quarterbacks were selected within the first 32 picks announced in Detroit.
As anticipated, the first three players off the board were QBs. After that, there was a trade-up and an all-time draft stunner in the top 10 that saw two more QBs get taken. With another going at No. 12, all of the top-end talent at the position was gone.
With plenty of activity involving passers occurring during the first round, fans were reminded of another similar incident where a first round was littered with quarterbacks. The 1983 draft also had a plethora of quarterbacks go early, including three future Hall of Famers.
Will the 2024 draft class stack up to the one from 1983? Only time will tell. In the meantime, here are a closer look at what quarterbacks were selected in 1883 and 2024.
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1983 NFL Draft picks
The 1983 NFL Draft was one of the deepest quarterback classes in history. In total, there were six quarterbacks selected in the first round — John Elway, Todd Blackledge, Jim Kelly, Tony Eason, Ken O'Brien, Dan Marino — which set the record for most at that position in the initial round.
Most of the teams that took those quarterbacks hit on their pick. Four of the quarterbacks made a Super Bowl during their NFL career (Elway, Kelly, Eason and Marino), four were selected to at least one Pro Bowl (Elway, Kelly, Eason and Marino), and Elway, Kelly and Marino are Hall of Famers.
Elway was the top pick in the draft that year. While most remember him for his time on the Broncos, he actually was drafted by the Baltimore Colts. He previously said that he would refuse to sign with them, yet the organization drafted him anyway. In order to get his release, Elway threatened to go play baseball for the Yankees. Instead, he was dealt to Denver.
Here is the full first round results from the 2024 NFL Draft.
| Round | Pick | Team | Pick |
| 1 | 1 | Baltimore Colts | John Elway, QB, Stanford |
| 1 | 2 | Los Angeles Rams | Eric Dickerson, RB, Stanford |
| 1 | 3 | Seattle Seahawks | Curt Warner, RB, SMU |
| 1 | 4 | Denver Broncos | Chris Hinton, OG, Northwestern |
| 1 | 5 | San Diego Chargers | Billy Ray Smith Jr., LB, Arkansas |
| 1 | 6 | Chicago Bears | Jim Covert, OT, Pittsburgh |
| 1 | 7 | Kansas City Chiefs | Todd Blackledge, QB, Penn State |
| 1 | 8 | Philadelphia Eagles | Michael Haddix, RB, Mississippi State |
| 1 | 9 | Houston Oilers | Bruce Matthews, OT, USC |
| 1 | 10 | New York Giants | Terry Kinard, DB, Clemson |
| 1 | 11 | Green Bay Packers | Tim Lewis, DB, Pittsburgh |
| 1 | 12 | Buffalo Bills | Tony Hunter, TE, Notre Dame |
| 1 | 13 | Detroit Lions | James Jones, RB, Florida |
| 1 | 14 | Buffalo Bills | Jim Kelly, QB. Miami |
| 1 | 15 | New England Patriots | Tony Eason, QB, Illinois |
| 1 | 16 | Atlanta Falcons | Mike Pitts, DE, Alabama |
| 1 | 17 | St. Louis Rams | Leonard Smith, DB, McNeese State |
| 1 | 18 | Chicago Bears | Willie Gault, WR, Tennessee |
| 1 | 19 | Minnesota Vikings | Joey Browner, DB, USC |
| 1 | 20 | San Diego Chargers | Gary Anderson, WR/RB, Arkansas |
| 1 | 21 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Gabriel Rivera, DT, Texas Tech |
| 1 | 22 | San Diego Chargers | Gill Byrd, DB, Southern Mississippi |
| 1 | 23 | Dallas Cowboys | Jim Jeffcoat, DE, Arizona State |
| 1 | 24 | New York Jets | Ken O'Brien, QB, Cal-Davis |
| 1 | 25 | Cincinnati Bengals | Dave Remington, C, Nebraska |
| 1 | 26 | Los Angeles Raiders | Don Mosebar, OT, USC |
| 1 | 27 | Miami Dolphins | Dan Marino, QB, Pittsburgh |
| 1 | 28 | Washington Redskins | Darrell Green, DB, Texas A&I |
2024 NFL Draft picks
It took 28 picks for six quarterbacks to go off the board at the 1983 draft. The one in 2024 needed less than half of that.
By the time the Raiders were on the clock at No. 13, all six of the prospective first-round quarterbacks were gone, taken within the first 12 picks of the draft. The first three off the board were expected, as Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye went in that order.
However, it was the Falcons' decision at No. 8 that was the stunner. Just months after signing Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $140 million deal, Atlanta used its first-round pick on Michael Penix Jr. After that, J.J. McCarthy went to the Vikings and Bo Nix was selected by the Broncos.
The rush on quarterbacks stopped there, as no other signal caller heard their name on Day 1.
| Round | Pick | Team | Pick |
| 1 | 1 | Chicago Bears (from Carolina) | Caleb Williams, QB, USC |
| 1 | 2 | Washington Commanders | Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU |
| 1 | 3 | New England Patriots | Drake Maye, QB, UNC |
| 1 | 4 | Arizona Cardinals | Marvin Harrison, WR, Ohio State |
| 1 | 5 | Los Angeles Chargers | Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame |
| 1 | 6 | New York Giants | Malik Nabers, WR, LSU |
| 1 | 7 | Tennessee Titans | JC Latham, OT, Alabama |
| 1 | 8 | Atlanta Falcons | Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington |
| 1 | 9 | Chicago Bears | Rome Odunze, WR, Washington |
| 1 | 10 | Minnesota Vikings (from N.Y. Jets) | J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan |
| 1 | 11 | New York Jets (from Minnesota) | Olu Fashanu, OT, Penn State |
| 1 | 12 | Denver Broncos | Bo Nix, QB, Oregon |
| 1 | 13 | Las Vegas Raiders | Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia |
| 1 | 14 | New Orleans Saints | Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State |
| 1 | 15 | Indianapolis Colts | Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA |
| 1 | 16 | Seattle Seahawks | Byron Murphy II, DT, Texas |
| 1 | 17 | Minnesota Vikings (from Jacksonville) | Dallas Turner, EDGE, Alabama |
| 1 | 18 | Cincinnati Bengals | Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia |
| 1 | 19 | Los Angeles Rams | Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida State |
| 1 | 20 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Troy Fautanu, OG, Washington |
| 1 | 21 | Miami Dolphins | Chop Robinson, EDGE, Penn State |
| 1 | 22 | Philadelphia Eagles | Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo |
| 1 | 23 | Jacksonville Jaguars (from Minnesota through Cleveland and Houston | Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU |
| 1 | 24 | Detroit Lions (from Dallas) | Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama |
| 1 | 25 | Green Bay Packers | Jordan Morgan, OT, Arizona |
| 1 | 26 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Graham Barton, C, Duke |
| 1 | 27 | Arizona Cardinals (from Houston) | Darius Robinson, EDGE, Missouri |
| 1 | 28 | Kansas City (from Buffalo) | Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas |
| 1 | 29 | Dallas Cowboys (from Detroit) | Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma |
| 1 | 30 | Baltimore Ravens | Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson |
| 1 | 31 | San Francisco 49ers | Ricky Pearsall, WR, Florida |
| 1 | 32 | Carolina Panthers (from Buffalo) | Xavier Legette, WR, South Carolina |
