2023 NFL Draft: Bryce Young headlines fourth-ever draft class to include three QBs in first four picks

The Panthers took Bryce Young to start the 2023 NFL Draft, and the Texans and Colts followed suit with their own quarterback picks shortly afterward. None of that was necessarily unexpected. But the early run on signal-callers was still historic, marking just the fourth time since the draft’s 1936 inception that three different quarterbacks have been taken in the first four selections.

Young went No. 1 to the Panthers, C.J. Stroud went No. 2 to the Texans, and Anthony Richardson went No. 4 to the Colts on Thursday night. Here are the only other drafts in which three QBs came off the board in the first four picks:

2021

1999

1971

• No. 1: Jim Plunkett (Patriots)
• No. 2: Archie Manning (Saints)
• No. 3: Dan Pastorini (Oilers)

The oldest example of the three-QB run is easily the most accomplished. Lawrence broke out with the Jaguars in 2022, but the 2021 class is still mostly an unknown, with Wilson and Lance potentially both set to spend this year on the bench. McNabb was the only QB from the 1999 group to produce a long Pro Bowl career, guiding the Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance. The 1971 crop includes Plunkett, who went on to win two Super Bowls and an NFL MVP award; Pastorini, who won Super Bowl XV; and Manning, who earned two Pro Bowl nods.