Why the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft could be a historic one for QBs

Quarterbacks could come off the board early and often in the 2024 NFL Draft.

The Chicago Bears are expected to kick off this month's draft in Detroit by taking Caleb Williams No. 1 overall. The next two teams in the order after Chicago -- the Washington Commanders and New England Patriots -- are widely projected to take signal-callers as well, with UNC's Drake Maye and LSU's Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels being the top candidates.

WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE

Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are.

While the Arizona Cardinals aren't in the market for a quarterback at No. 4, that's been popularly theorized as a potential trade-up spot for a team eyeing a signal-caller like Michigan's J.J. McCarthy. Washington's Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon's Bo Nix boast real first-round potential as well.

In case you haven't been counting, that's six quarterbacks who could be picked in the first round alone, including with possibly the first three-plus selections.

So, with a potentially quarterback-heavy Round 1, this year's draft may challenge a couple of QB-related records.

What's the record for quarterbacks picked to start an NFL draft?

The most quarterback selections to start an NFL draft is three and it's happened three times in the common draft era (since 1967).

The top three picks were all quarterbacks in 1971 (Jim Plunkett, Archie Manning, Dan Pastorini), 1999 (Tim Couch, Donovan McNabb, Akili Smith) and 2021 (Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance).

Apr 10

Ranking the best and worst quarterback draft classes in NFL history

Apr 9

These are the NFL teams with the most and fewest draft picks this year

Which NFL draft had the most quarterbacks picked in the first round?

The 1983 draft saw the most quarterbacks picked in a single first round in the common draft era. A total of six signal-callers were picked in Round 1 that year, including three who went to make to the Hall of Fame: John Elway at No. 1 overall, Todd Blackledge at No. 7, Jim Kelly at No. 14, Tony Eason at No. 15, Ken O'Brien at No. 24 and Dan Marino at No. 27.

There were five first-round quarterbacks in the 1999, 2018 and 2021 drafts.