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Originally published January 5, 2013 at 6:06 PM | Page modified January 5, 2013 at 6:39 PM
The class has potential to be among the best for QBs
The Luck-Griffin-Wilson trio going up against 1983 and 2004.
Seattle Times staff reporter
It's too soon to say whether the quarterback class this season will measure up to the two greatest quarterback crops over the past 30 years. Those are groups distinguished by Super Bowl rings and Hall of Fame inductions:
Year: 2012
| Draft position | Player (team) | College |
| First round (No. 1 overall) | Andrew Luck (Colts) | Stanford |
| First round (No. 2 overall) | Robert Griffin III (Washington) | Baylor |
| Third round (No. 75 overall) | Russell Wilson (Seahawks) | Wisconsin |
An NFL-record five rookies started at quarterback in Week 1, and eight different rookie quarterbacks won a regular-season start this season. Luck broke the rookie record for passing yards with 4,374, Wilson matched the rookie record for touchdown passes with 26 and Griffin set the rookie record for passer rating at 102.4.
Year: 1983
| First round (No. 1 overall) | John Elway (Broncos) | Stanford |
| First round (No. 14 overall) | Jim Kelly (Bills) | Miami-Fla. |
| First round (No. 27 overall) | Dan Marino (Dolphins) | Pittsburgh |
There are some caveats here. Elway was drafted by the Colts and forced a trade while Kelly played in the USFL before coming to the NFL. The bottom line is that this draft included three Hall of Fame quarterbacks in addition to Todd Blackledge, Ken O'Brien and Tony Eason, who were also first-round choices and NFL starters.
Year: 2004
| First round (No. 1 overall) | Eli Manning (Giants) | Ole Miss |
| First round (No. 4 overall) | Philip Rivers (Chargers) | N. Carolina St. |
| First round (No. 11 overall) | Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers) | Miami-Ohio |
There are three active QBs who've started multiple Super Bowl victories, and two of them were part of this draft. Throw in the prolific Rivers — who spent two years behind Drew Brees in San Diego — and this crop just might wind up matching 1983 for Hall of Fame QBs.
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