NFL draft: Ranking every quarterback cla s of this millennium Published: Apr 21, 2019 at 03:46 AM Around The NFL Podcast Co-Host NOTE: Pro Bowlers are denoted by bold/italics. 19) 2007 Round 1: JaMarcus Ru sell (No. 1 overall), Brady Quinn (No. 22)Round 2: Kevin Kolb (No. 36), John Beck (No. 40), (No. 43)Round 3: Trent Edwards (No. 92)Round 4: Isaiah Stanback (No. 103)Round 5: Jeff Rowe (No. 151), Troy Smith (No. 174)Round 6: Jordan Palmer (No. 205)Round 7: Tyler Thigpen (No. 217)Undrafted: Matt Moore We begin our journey in grim territory. The 2007 was "headlined" by JaMarcus Ru sell, arguably the most severe quarterback bust of all time and a first-overall whiff who set the back years. The 6-foot-6, 265-pound LSU star produced a grotesque 7-18 mark as a starter and finished 2009 -- his final year in the league -- as the worst pa ser in football. Ru sell netted $31.5 million in guaranteed loot, while the , in return, were handed a raging headache. Same goes for the , who reached for Brady Quinn at No. 22, only to turn around three years later and trade him to the for fullback Peyton Hillis -- who at least managed to sneak onto the cover of "Madden." Only eternal backup remains from a flatlining cla s that handed us John Beck, Trent Edwards and the overhyped Kevin Kolb. High-level busts and zero reliable starters make this the worst crop of them all. 18) 2013 Round 1: (No. 16)Round 2: (No. 39)Round 3: (No. 73)Round 4: (No. 98), Ryan Na sib (No. 110), Tyler Wilson (No. 112), (No. 115)Round 7: Brad Sorensen (No. 221), Zac Dysert (No. 234), B.J. Daniels (No. 237), Sean Renfree (No. 249)Undrafted: Teams were surprised when the reached for with the 16th overall selection. Seen by most as a project with potential, the Florida State product was a turnover-prone flop in Buffalo -- a player Doug Marrone replaced with Kyle Orton before Rex Ryan signed to avoid leaning on Manuel. This cla s lacked a true first-round prospect, while the only second-rounder, , has been an on-field wild card best known for catching a fist to the jaw from his own teammate and backing fringy "flat Earth" theories. Joining Manuel and Smith in the ranks of backup journeymen is , now onto his fourth team in as many years as a backup. 17) 2002 Round 1: David Carr (No. 1), Joey Harrington (No. 3), Patrick Ramsey (No. 32)Round 3: (No. 81)Round 4: , Rohan Davey (No. 117)Round 5: Randy Fasani (No. 137), Kurt Kittner (No. 158), Brandon Doman (No. 163), Craig Nall (No. 164)Round 6: J.T. O'Sullivan (No. 186), Steve Bellisari (No. 205)Round 7: Seth Burford (No. 216), Jeff Kelly (No. 232), Ronald Curry (No. 235), Wes Pate (No. 236)Undrafted: Chad Hutchinson, Shaun Hill The 2002 rep with the most long-term value? , a Andrew Whitworth Jersey quality veteran and sometimes-starter currently pondering his playing future at age 39. While David Carr never lived up to the status of being the No. 1 overall pick, his situation reminds me of what happened to Tim Couch in Cleveland: a young quarterback to sed into the fire on a wanting expansion team struggling to find its way. David Garrard produced some flashy moments with the , while Shaun Hill -- an undrafted arm -- spent more than a decade in the league. This cla s was also yanked to Earth by two first-round nightmares, Detroit's Joey Harrington and Washington's Patrick Ramsey, who combined for a 28-51 record with the teams that mistakenly chose them. For diehards, this cla s also gifted us with undrafted mystery Chad Hutchinson. 16) 2010 Round 1: (No. 1), Tim Tebow (No. 25)Round 2: Jimmy Clausen (No. 48)Round 3: (No. 85)Round 4: Mike Kafka (No. 122)Round 5: John Skelton (No. 155), Jonathan Crompton (No. 168)Round 6: Rusty Smith (No. 176), Dan LeFevour (No. 181), (No. 199), Tony Pike (No. 204)Round 7: Levi Brown (No. 209), Sean Canfield (No. 239), Zac Robinson (No. 250) You could argue that was a major factor in the current collective bargaining agreement rolling out a much-needed rookie pay scale. Bradford's six-year, $78 million rookie contract came packed with an outrageous $50 million in guarantees. As an unconvincing Offensive Rookie of the Year winner, the snakebitten signal-caller mi sed 25 games over his final two seasons in St. Louis due to a string of disastrous injuries. Bradford's career might be over due to longterm knee i sues, but he sits atop a cla s sprinkled with career backups -- and out-of-the-league Jimmy Clausen -- and one memorable first-round reach in Tim Tebow, who operated as a worldwide sensation during a magical run with the in 2011 before flaming out entirely and winding up as a minor leaguer with the Mets. 15) 2009 Round 1: , (No. 5), Josh Freeman (No. 17)Round 2: Pat White (No. 44)Round 4: Stephen McGee (No. 101)Round 5: Rhett Bomar (No. 151), (No. 171)Round 6: Tom Brandstater (No. 174), Mike Teel (No. 178), Keith Null (No. 196), Curis Painter (No. 201)Undrafted: , I'm tempted to rank this cla s above the 2006 crop that handed us Jay Cutler and Vince Young, simply because of . There's just nothing else happening here, though, unle s you're swayed by the early-career succe s of . He generated a handful of special moments during back-to-back trips to the AFC title game with the , but was fully exposed as a starter by 2011, when Gang Green tried to lean on his arm. Josh Freeman was a wayward first-round flameout, while the whiffed by using the 44th pick on Pat White, who never started a game for Miami -- or anyone -- under center. After struggling in a rash of starting roles, 's nine lives as a hot-and-cold journeyman have brought him back to where he started in New England. 14) 2006 Round 1: , Matt Leinart (No. 10), Round 2: Kellen Clemens (No. 49), Tarvaris Jackson (No. 64)Round 3: Charlie Whitehurst (No. 81), Brodie Croyle (No. 85)Round 4: Brad Smith (No. 103)Round 5: Ingle Martin (No. 148), Omar Jacobs (No. 164)Round 6: Reggie McNeal (No. 193), Bruce Gradkowski (No. 194)Round 7: D.J. Shockley (No. 223) This cla s boils down to what you think about Jay Cutler. While the strong-armed pa ser logged 153 starts, his 51-51 regular-season record with the is apt. He unfurled plenty of big plays -- some of his throws are pure beauty -- but we'd struggle to come up with Cutler's top-five list of inspiring come-from-behind victories. He never came close to morphing into a transcendent player at the position, but he soldiered on long after fellow first-rounders Vince Young and Matt Leinart were history. Tarvaris Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst were nothing special, but the latter gets points in this space for his flowing mane and ability to snag the songstre s Jewel as a paramour. 13) 2015 Round 1: , (No. 2)Round 3: (No. 75), (No. 89)Round 4: (No. 103)Round 5: (No. 147)Round 7: (No. 250) The fate of this cla s boils down to the top two picks in the 2015 draft. of the Bucs and Tenne see's enter hyper-critical campaigns with the clubs who drafted them. Winston is coming off a suspension-addled, spotty fourth season, but appears to have the backing of pa s-happy new coach Bruce Arians. The injury-prone Mariota threw a paltry 11 touchdowns last autumn and now has ex-Dolphin breathing down his neck. An unlikely scenario 700 days ago, it's po sible both Winston and Mariota are looking for new homes come January. Former starter , now tucked away with the , has quickly become a nonentity. 12) 2000 Round 1: Chad Pennington (No. 18)Round 3: Giovanni Carmazzi (No. 65), Chris Redman (No. 75)Round 5: Tee Martin (No. 163)Round 6: , Spergon Robert Rochell Jersey Wynn (No. 183), , Todd Husak (No. 202), JaJuan Seider (No. 205)Round 7: Tim Rattay (No. 212), Jarious Jackson (No. 214), Joe Hamilton (No. 234)Undrafted: Doug Johnson, Billy Volek You could argue this group should rank higher ... or much lower. While it's littered with nonsensical names who barely made a blip on the radar, the 2000 cla s also boasts the greatest quarterback of the 21st century -- and, for me, all time -- in six-time winner . Chad Pennington is lost in Tommy's shadow, but the group's only first-rounder was a rare find for the and produced nicely for most of his 11-year career. An anonymous sixth-rounder, Marc Bulger went on to start 95 games for the post-Kurt Warner over eight seasons. It's incredible that the made Giovanni Carmazzi the second quarterback off the board with Brady -- a Bay Area resident -- still available, but the blame falls on every single team in the NFL who failed to recognize what the future star would become. Pennington, Carmazzi, Chris Redman, Tee Martin, Bulger and Spergon Wynn all found homes before fate intervened to pair TB12 with Bill Belichick. 11) 2014 Round 1: (No. 3), Johnny Manziel (No. 22), Round 2: , (No. 62)Round 4: (No. 120), (No. 135)Round 5: Aaron Murray (No. 163), (No. 164)Round 6: Zach Mettenberger (No. 178), (No. 183), Keith Wenning (No. 194), Tajh Boyd (No. 213), (No. 214) This cla s stretches all over the map with high-profile starters and unforgivable draft mistakes mixed into one chaotic soup. 's MVP play from 2016 feels pulled from a million years ago. With the openly eyeing rookie pa sers, can help Carr flip the script under coach Jon Gruden? set the Earth on fire in five starts for the Niners in 2017 -- also a million years ago -- but now finds himself returning from a serious knee injury. The finally deep-sixed their Experiment, with the turnover-prone pa ser now operating as 's backup in La La Land. Johnny Manziel remains a haunting, awful quarterback selection by the . Now in Detroit, is onto his fifth team, while is no longer seen as a starter. 's career was sideswiped by a devastating knee injury, but his comeback continues as a backup to in New Orleans. Just 26, Bridgewater has the talent to become a weekly NFL starter. 10) 2011 Round 1: , Jake Locker (No. 8), (No. 10), Christian Ponder (No. 12)Round 2: , Colin Kaepernick (No. 36)Round 3: Ryan Mallett (No. 74)Round 5: Ricky Stanzi (No. 135), T.J. Yates (No. 152), Nathan Enderle (No. 160)Round 6: Round 7: Greg McElroy (No. 208)Supplemental draft: (Round 3) Another cla s littered with starting talent and devastating, franchise-altering busts. Back in 2011, the wisely ignored their selection of Jimmy Clausen the previous April, going all in on with the No. 1 pick in the draft. With an MVP award and appearance under his belt, Newton has lived up to the pedigree while making Carolina a relevant franchise. His Brandon Powell Jersey succe s is offset by a trio of first-round whiffs -- Jake Locker, and Christian Ponder -- that would be enough to shuttle this cla s down the list if it weren't for the supporting cast. is imperfect, but he's led the to the playoffs five times, while sixth-rounder offers starting experience. Colin Kaepernick's career has morphed into a radioactive talking point, but he brought the Niners within one completed pa s of a title and was seen by many as the most exciting quarterback in football for a two-season stretch. 9) 2016 Round 1: , , (No. 26)Round 2: (No. 51)Round 3: (No. 91), (No. 93)Round 4: (No. 100), , (No. 139)Round 5: (No. 162)Round 6: (No. 187), (No. 191), (No. 201), (No. 207)Round 7: Brandon Doughty (No. 223) This boils down to how you feel about and . Goff is coming off a troubling, deer-in-headlights start. Wentz has battled injuries in back-to-back seasons, but the are his team, with landing in Jacksonville. In finer moments, both quarterbacks have doubled as MVP candidates during their young careers. I still believe in Wentz as a po sible top-five presence. has tangibly exceeded his fourth-round pedigree and sits in line for a hefty second contract. was a chilling whiff for Denver, while is embedded as a milquetoast backup in Jacksonville. 8) 2018 Round 1: (No. 1), (No. 3), (No. 7), (No. 10), (No. 32)Round 3: (No. 76)Round 4: (No. 108)Round 5: (No. 171)Round 6: (No. 199), (No. 203)Round 7: (No. 219), (No. 220), (No. 249) Could this group wind up atop the heap? Too early to tell. The future in Cleveland appears bright with , who took over the QB1 job in Week 3 and gave the something they lacked for two-plus decades: a whirlwind under center. Mayfield set a league-wide rookie record with 27 touchdowns through the air, while giving Cleveland a confident, aura-shifting leader at the most important position. I'm putting this cla s above the 2016 crop because I'd have no problem taking Mayfield over Goff or Wentz. In Florham Park, feels primed for a breakout year under new coach Adam Gase after authoring a string of starry late-season starts as a tough-minded rookie. used his dynamic ground artistry to lead the transformed to the playoffs, while the draft's two Joshes -- and -- own bright futures in the NFL. The , meanwhile, are in love with backup , adding to a cla s with more potential than any we've seen in years. 7) 2017 Round 1: (No. 2), (No. 10), (No. 12)Round 2: (No. 52)Round 3: (No. 87), (No. 104)Round 4: (No. 135))Round 5: (No. 171)Round 6: (No. 215)Round 7: (No. 253)Undrafted: , A rising cla s that could wind up near the top of this list before long. is a raging star as the league's reigning MVP, while just earned his first bid. These are the faces of pro football's future, while showed moments of promise under coach Matt Nagy. All three tugged their teams into January and should be expected to do the same in 2019. Of the rest, has shown the most potential, while and loom as developing projects. 6) 2008 Round 1: , (No. 18)Round 2: Brian Brohm (No. 56), (No. 57)Round 3: Kevin O'Connell (No. 94)Round 5: John David Booty (No. 137), Dennis Dixon (No. 156), (No. 160), Erik Ainge (No. 162)Round 6: Colt Brennan (No. 186), Andre' Woodson (No. 198)Round 7: Matt Flynn (No. 209), Alex Brink (No. 223)Undrafted: Caleb Hanie The 2008 group gave us -- two years removed from an MVP campaign -- and , who led the to a win in XLVII with an insane month of pristine postseason play. Flacco is onto his second team in Denver, but both quarterbacks have been durable starters who give their clubs a solution at the most important position in sports. The names lack sizzle from there, with underwhelming as a starter and Brian Brohm serving as a second-round disappointment. Matt Flynn offered hopeful moments but failed to become a QB1. 5) 2003 Round 1: , Byron Leftwich (No. 7), Kyle Boller (No. 19), Rex Gro sman (No. 22)Round 3: David Ragone (No. 88), Chris Simms (No. 97)Round 4: Seneca Wallace (No. 110)Round 5: Brian St. Pierre (No. 163)Round 6: Drew Henson (No. 192), Brooks Bollinger (No. 200), Kliff Kingsbury (No. 201)Round 7: Gibran Hamdan (No. 232), Ken Dorsey (No. 241)Undrafted: The best pa ser in this cla s wasn't even drafted. Tony Romo was brought to Dallas when former a sistant Sean Payton pitched him to Bill Parcells. The rest is history, with Romo taking the starting job from Drew Bledsoe in 2006 and never looking back. Heavily critiqued early in his career for the occasional high-profile gaffe, Romo ultimately left the game as one of the NFL's most reliable quarterbacks. Two years later, he's quickly become television's Allen Robinson Jersey premier color analyst. No. 1 overall pick Carson Palmer, meanwhile, proved to be well worth the selection, with some of the best work of his 14-year career coming later on with Arizona. Byron Leftwich gave the 44 up-and-down starts, while Kyle Boller and Rex Gro sman were largely a ponderous annoyance. That said, Gro sman the only pa ser from this cla s to start on the game's biggest stage, helping guide Chicago to XLI, where the were blown to pieces by Peyton Manning's . 4) 2001 Round 1: Round 2: , Quincy Carter (No. 53), Marques Tuiasosopo (No. 59)Round 4: Chris Weinke (No. 106), Sage Rosenfels (No. 109), Je se Palmer (No. 125)Round 5: Mike McMahon (No. 149), A.J. Feeley (No. 155)Round 6: Josh Booty (No. 172), Josh Heupel (No. 177) Both Michael Vick and changed perceptions of how the position could -- and should -- be played. Vick's rare scampering ability and off-the-charts athleticism refocused the league on the potential of running quarterbacks. It's impo sible not to wonder how Vick's career would've progre sed without his dog-fighting scandal and subsequent prison stint -- though he did make one more with Philly in 2010. Brees, meanwhile, serves as a constant reminder that shorter quarterbacks aren't always a minus. In his case, Brees has operated as a top-three superstar ever since he landed with the in 2006, winning a storybook for New Orleans and making that offense a treat to watch every fall. He's an easy selection and an icon under center. The cla s had its i sues, too, with second-rounders Quincy Carter and Marques Tuiasosopo fading fast. Chris Weinke doesn't help, finishing with a 2-18 record as a starter, while A.J. Feely is remembered as a mere patch in Miami. 3) 2005 Round 1: , , Jason Campbell (No. 25)Round 3: Charlie Frye (No. 67), Andrew Walter (No. 69), David Greene (No. 85)Round 4: Kyle Orton (No. 106), Stefan LeFors (No. 121)Round 5: Dan Orlovsky (No. 145), Adrian McPherson (No. 152)Round 6: Round 7: James Kilian (No. 229), , JuJu Hughes Jersey (No. 250) The first round produced a pair of long-range starters in and . We all know how Rodgers fumed while watching 21 teams (the and each picked twice in the top 23) pa s him by before the added him to a roster already equipped with Brett Favre under center. That chance to sit and learn helped Rodgers, who went on to win a and emerge as one of the most talented quarterbacks of all time. With what we know now, Rodgers should have gone ahead of Smith -- and all humans -- but Smith's commendable career record of 94-66-1 is something plenty of pa sers would die for. The question is whether Smith will ever play again following last autumn's ghastly leg injury. Beyond the big two, this cla s offered unusual longevity. is a stopgap and draws snickers, but good luck finding better value from quarterbacks picked in the seventh round. This group also gave us and the whirlwind known as Kyle Orton. It's crazy to think the were forced to settle for Jason Campbell one pick after Rodgers went to Green Bay. 2) 2012 Round 1: , , (No. 8), (No. 22)Round 2: (No. 57)Round 3: , Round 4: Round 6: Ryan Lindley (No. 185)Round 7: B.J. Coleman (No. 243), Chandler Harnish (No. 253)Undrafted: Had all gone right, this cla s had a chance to be remembered as an equal to the all-star cast from 2004 -- maybe even 1983. was a plug-and-play Pro Bowler who surged back to life last season after mi sing all of 2017 due to shoulder surgery. Luck still has a shot to finish as one of the game's true greats. A troubling case, was the most exciting quarterback in football during his rookie campaign. A knee injury changed his trajectory forever, but Griffin has caught on as a backup in Baltimore. The mi sed on , but ultimately found a starter in the same draft by nabbing in the fourth round. Who knew he'd become the prize of free agency in 2018 and Minnesota's hope under center? In Round 3, the altered their franchise by taking a chance on . Dinged by some for his diminutive stature, Wilson won the starting job in his first training camp and hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in Year 2. Few players in the league are relied on more than Seattle's do-everything starter -- . To s in and LII hero , and this emerges as a wildly productive cla s, even amid the wreckage of Griffin, ultra-bust and the underwhelming . 1) 2004 Round 1: , , , J.P. Losman (No. 22)Round 3: Round 4: Luke McCown (No. 106)Round 5: Craig Krenzel (No. 148)Round 6: Andy Hall (No. 185), (No. 187), Jim Sorgi (No. 193), Jeff Smoker (No. 201)Round 7: John Navarre (No. 202), Cody Pickett (No. 217), Casey Bramlet (No. 218), Matt Mauck (No. 225), B.J. Symons (No. 248), Bradlee Van Pelt (No. 250) The gold standard for quarterback cla ses of the 21st century. The 2004 collection of signal-callers boasts four wins, while the group's big three -- , and -- can all make cases for the . The trio's 652 regular-season starts also tell the tale of ironman pa sers who can be counted on to dre s game after game and year after year by their teams. The and will always be linked together because of the trade that sent Manning to New York and Rivers to San Diego. The swap worked out for both clubs, while Pittsburgh's -- a college quarterback from Miami of Ohio -- has tortured the for selecting tight end Kellen Winslow II sixth overall instead of him. The first round also included a titanic bust in J.P. Losman, but third-rounder is still active as a low-level backup for the . Shame to those of you who don't recall the feats of Matt Mauck. If this cla s came around every year, the league would have too many quality pa sers. This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an i sue.