Trevor Lawrence vs. history

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – When (If? No, when)the Jaguars make Trevor Lawrence the first pick in the draft, he’ll be the 26th quarterback to go number 1 overall since the merger in 1970. Of those quarterbacks, six won Super Bowls as a starting quarterback.

Here’s the list: Terry Bradshaw (first pick in 1970 draft), Jim Plunkett (1971), John Elway (1983), Troy Aikman (1989), Peyton Manning (1998), Eli Manning (2004).

13 of the 25 have losing records in their careers as a starting quarterback. Some of that can be attributed to being drafted by losing teams.

The Jaguars hope Lawrence becomes the next on this list that includes four No. 1 overall pick quarterbacks to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame, joining Bradshaw, Elway, Aikman and Manning.

Some of these numbers must be put into context. From 1970 through 1997, a span of 28 drafts, eight quarterbacks were selected with the top pick. Since 1998, a span of 23 drafts, there have been 17 quarterbacks taken with the first pick. The only exceptions since 1998 are Courtney Brown (2000), Mario Williams (2006), Jake Long (2008), Eric Fisher (2013), Jadeveon Clowney (2014), and Myles Garrett (2017). The rest of the picks were all quarterbacks, seven of whom are still playing in the NFL.

It won’t take much for Lawrence to become one of the best top picks in recent history. While some quarterbacks like Andrew Luck (2012) and Matthew Stafford (2009) have enjoyed long careers, others have flamed out fairly quickly (JaMarcus Russell comes to mind).