Memo to the teams in the first round of the NFL draft: Beware of quarterbacks.
With three quarterbacks certain to go in the first round and a number of other first-round possibilities, we decided to look back at the 19 quarterbacks selected in the first round from 1992-2001 -- it's too early to call any of the quarterbacks selected last year successes or busts
There have been some very good first-round quarterbacks since 1992 -- Drew Bledsoe, Peyton Manning, Donovan McNabb and Steve McNair -- and a host of other soild signal callers. However, the number of busts is astounding. Dave Klinger, Jim Druckenmiller, Heath Shuler, Ryan Leaf, Akili Smith and Cade McNown have combined for just 67 career touchdown passes while throwing 126 interceptions.
So is it worth drafting a quarterback in the first round? Manning, McNabb and company show that it clearly can be. However, the number of busts indicates that any team in the market for a quarterback should use their first-round pick with caution.
1992 draft
1993 draft
1994 draft
1995 draft
1997 draft
1998 draft
1999 draft
2000 draft
2001 draft
Peter Lawrence-Riddell is the NFL editor for ESPN.com.