What's better than one star quarterback? Two. That's probably what the NFL was thinking when they flexed the Dolphins and Chargers into "Sunday Night Football" in Week 14 over the Chiefs and Broncos. Passing on Patrick Mahomes in prime time isn't easy, unless you have Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert on deck, the fifth and sixth overall selections of the 2020 NFL Draft.
They are just two of the four star quarterbacks that have emerged from that draft class after Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts have quickly ascended from seemingly average passers to superstars in 2022. It's hard not to gush at what these four are doing.
- Joe Burrow was the quickest No. 1 overall pick QB to ever reach a Super Bowl (second season) and is in MVP contention this year.
- Tua Tagovailoa leads the NFL in passer rating and yards per attempt this season.
- Justin Herbert is the only QB in NFL history with 30 touchdown passes in each of his first two seasons.
- Jalen Hurts ranks second in MVP odds this season behind Patrick Mahomes
| Notable QBs in 2020 NFL Draft |
|---|
Joe Burrow, CIN (Drafted No. 1 overall) |
Tua Tagovailoa, MIA (Drafted No. 5 overall) |
Justin Herbert, LAC (Drafted No. 6 overall) |
Jalen Hurts, PHI (Drafted No. 53 overall) |
As a group, they are taking the league by storm:
They are four of the top 10 fantasy quarterbacks this season
They are three of the top five players in MVP odds
They are four of the top 10 players in touchdown passes this season
| Best MVP Odds (Caesars Sportsbook) | |
|---|---|
Patrick Mahomes | +115 |
Jalen Hurts | +160 |
Joe Burrow | +700 |
Josh Allen | +1200 |
Tua Tagoavailoa | +1200 |
With five weeks left in the season they are on the doorstep of doing things only a few draft classes have ever done, namely the iconic 1983 and 2004 classes. There may not be one perfect number to compare classes, so here's a few categories to break down the best seasons by QB classes all time, with a focus on depth.
Stats
Our first category is stats. Burrow, Tagovailoa, Herbert and Hurts all rank top 10 in fantasy points among quarterbacks this season.
Results: The famed 1983 and 2004 classes are the only ones in NFL history to feature four of the top 10 in QB fantasy points in the same season. The 1983 class did it three times, and the 2004 class, once. The best season by a single class might be the '83 group in 1986. Five first-rounders -- John Elway, Jim Kelly, Tony Eason, Ken O'Brien and Dan Marino -- all ranked top 10 in the NFL in fantasy points, passing yards, touchdown passes and passer rating that season.
Draft class with four of the top 10 QBs in fantasy points (same season)
2004 class (2009 season)
- 4. Matt Schaub
- 7. Philip Rivers
- 8. Ben Roethlisberger
- 10. Eli Manning
1983 class (1991 season)
- 1. Jim Kelly
- 2. Dan Marino
- 4. John Elway
- 7. Ken O'Brien
1983 class (1987 season)
- 3. John Elway
- 5. Dan Marino
- 6. Jim Kelly
- 9. Ken O'Brien
1983 class (1986 season)
- 1. Dan Marino
- 3. John Elway
- 5. Jim Kelly
- 6. Ken O'Brien
- 8. Tony Eason
Burrow, Tagovailoa, Herbert and Hurts all also rank top 10 in touchdown passes this season. The last two classes to have four of the top 10 in touchdown passes in a given year was 1983 (in 1986 season) and 2004 (in 2009 season).
Last two draft classes with four of the top 10 QBs in touchdown passes (same season)
2004 class (2009 season)
- 5. Matt Schaub
- 6. Philip Rivers
- 8. Eli Manning
- 10. Ben Roethlisberger
1983 class (1986 season)
- 1. Dan Marino
- 2. Ken O'Brien
- 5. Jim Kelly
- 9. John Elway
- 9. Tony Eason
ACCOLADES
Of course, impact goes beyond just filling up the stat sheet. My second category is accolades. Are these quarterbacks generally regarded among the best in the league? So far they make up three of the top five players in MVP votes this season, with the exception of Herbert. I used Pro Bowls for this measuring stick as NFL MVP voting system is flawed (and was recently changed). While Herbert has had an average season thanks to an injury-plagued supporting cast, it's possible the 2020 class produces four Pro Bowl QBs this season.
Results: Only one season all time has featured four Pro Bowl quarterbacks from the same draft class. That was the '83 group in 1991.
Four Pro Bowl QBs from same draft class in a season
1983 class (1991 season)
- John Elway
- Jim Kelly
- Dan Marino
- Ken O'Brien
Only two classes have seen four quarterbacks make multiple Pro Bowls at any point in their careers. The 1983 class with the aforementioned four players, and 2004 with Manning, Rivers, Roethlisberger and Schaub. Hopefully you're beginning to see a trend here. Both 1983 and 2004 were good.
Team success
Stats and accolades don't tell the entire story either as quarterbacks are often judged by how much they've won. With all four 2020 QBs in the playoff picture, I looked at postseason starts.
Results: There's only been three postseasons featuring four starting quarterbacks from the same draft class. The 1971 class, listed below, is one of the first great QB classes, producing multiple MVPs and Super Bowl winners.
Four QBs from same draft class in single postseason all time
2003 class (2005 postseason)
- Carson Palmer
- Byron Leftwich
- Rex Grossman
- Chris Simms
1999 class (2000 postseason)
- Donovan McNabb
- Daunte Culpepper
- Shaun King
- Aaron Brooks
1971 class (1982 postseason)
- Jim Plunkett
- Lynn Dickey
- Ken Anderson
- Joe Theismann
It's impossible to predict what they might do for a career, but if you're a draft nerd like me, you want to know the measuring sticks when talking about some of the deepest quarterback classes ever. Not just for a season, but a career.
Career success
I used Approximate Value, a metric by Pro-Football-Reference.com that places a single value on a player's career (think WAR in baseball) to look at the highest combined career values by the top four quarterbacks in a single class. Unsurprisingly, 1983 and 2004 lead the way. But 2005, a class headlined by Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers, was not far behind.
Highest Approximate Value Among Top 4 QBs in Single Draft Class
2004 - Rivers, Roethlisberger, Manning, Schaub | 469 |
1983 - Marino, Elway, Kelly, O'Brien | 461 |
2005 - Rodgers, Smith, Fitzpatrick, Campbell | 383 |
1971 - Anderson, Theismann, Plunkett, Manning | 370 |
This doesn't quite cover all the great quarterback classes, so here are some other superlatives for you trivia people out there!
The 1983 class is the only one to produce three Hall of Fame quarterbacks.
Most Hall of Fame QBs in single draft class
1983 (3)
- John Elway
- Jim Kelly
- Dan Marino
Five different draft classes have produced multiple Super Bowl-winning signal callers. The 1979 class is the only one with multiple Super Bowl MVP quarterbacks (Joe Montana, Phil Simms).
| Most Different Super Bowl-Winning QBs in a Draft Class | ||
|---|---|---|
1956 | 2 | Bart Starr, Earl Morrall |
1971 | 2 | Jim Plunkett, Joe Theismann |
1979 | 2 | Joe Montana, Phil Simms |
2004 | 2 | Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger |
2012 | 2 | Russell Wilson, Nick Foles |
Three different draft classes produced multiple MVP quarterbacks.
| Most Different MVP QBs in a Draft Class | ||
|---|---|---|
1956 | 2 | Bart Starr, Earl Morrall |
1971 | 2 | Ken Anderson, Joe Theismann |
1983 | 2 | John Elway, Dan Marino |
Verdict: There you have it. The 2020 QB class could soon be in exclusive company with 1983 and 2004, authoring one of the best quarterback draft class seasons of all time. And who knows, before you know it this class could be stacking up MVPs and Lombardi trophies too.