Record 12 QBs selected in first five rounds of 2023 NFL Draft

The NFL continues to be a quarterback-driven league, which was made even more apparent during the 2023 NFL Draft, when a record 12 quarterbacks were selected in the first five rounds.

That is the most signal-callers ever selected in the first five rounds during the common draft era (since 1967). The previous record of 11 was set in 1995.

The number of quarterbacks selected in the first five rounds surprised some, considering that there only three of them — No. 1 Bryce Young, No. 2 C.J. Stroud and No. 4 Anthony Richardson — were selected in the first round.

Only two quarterbacks were selected on Day 2. The Tennessee Titans traded up to No. 33 to get Will Levis, who ended up being the lone second-round quarterback pick. Then, after trading back twice and out of the second round, the Lions’ selection of Hendon Hooker at No. 68 was the only QB chosen in Round 3.

But on Day 3, quarterbacks flew off the board.

The New Orleans Saints traded up to take Fresno State‘s Jake Haener with the No. 127 overall pick in the middle of the fourth round. Right after that, the Los Angeles Rams scooped up a back-to-back national champion in Georgia‘s Stetson Bennett. Possibly sensing that QBs were about to disappear off the board, the Las Vegas Raiders traded up to the No. 135 overall pick to grab Purdue‘s Aidan O’Connell.

The Arizona Cardinals selected Houston‘s Clayton Tune at No. 139, followed by the Cleveland Browns nabbing UCLA‘s Dorian Thompson-Robinson one pick later at No. 140. The Green Bay Packers then took Penn State standout Sean Clifford with the No. 149 overall pick, tying the record.

The Minnesota Vikings‘ selection of BYU‘s Jaren Hall with the No. 164 overall pick set the record.

It didn’t stop there, however, as the Philadelphia Eagles took a break from drafting Georgia players to add a 13th quarterback to the list when they drafted Stanford‘s Tanner McKee early in Round 6.

There have certainly been quarterbacks late in the draft who have found success. Both Kirk Cousins and Dak Prescott were fourth-round selections, while Brock Purdy, the last player chosen in last year’s draft, made an immediate impact in the league last season. There’s also future Hall of Famer Tom Brady, who won seven Super Bowls after being selected in the sixth round as the No. 199 overall pick.

Teams making the decision to prioritize quarterbacks could be a reaction to what happened in the 2022-23 season, when a record 68 quarterbacks made a start, including seven of the nine QBs that were selected in the draft earlier that year.

Complete list of every QB pick from the 2023 NFL Draft:
Round 1, Pick 1: Bryce Young, Alabama
Round 1, Pick 2: C.J. Stroud, Ohio State
Round 1, Pick 4: Anthony Richardson, Florida
Round 2, Pick 33: Will Levis, Kentucky
Round 3, Pick 68: Hendon Hooker, Tennessee
Round 4, Pick 127: Jake Haener, Fresno State
Round 4, Pick 128: Stetson Bennett, Georgia
Round 4, Pick 135: Aidan O’Connell, Purdue
Round 5, Pick 139: Clayton Tune, Houston
Round 5, Pick 140: Dorian Thompson-Robinson, UCLA
Round 5, Pick 149: Sean Clifford, Penn State
Round 5, Pick 164: Jaren Hall, BYU
Round 6, Pick 188: Tanner McKee, Stanford

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