A month ago, the 2020 quarterback class was a mixed bag. Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert had become stars in 2021, while Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts were entering breakthrough years. Now, the former Alabama teammates have become the first MVP candidates for the NFL’s only undefeated teams – the Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles. And suddenly, the number of franchise quarterbacks in the 2020 NFL Draft may have doubled.
Sure, their stock can go down as fast as it went up, but what if it doesn’t? They could actually challenge some classes immortalized for the best season by an all-time draft class. No, we’re not talking about the best classes of all time in their entire career, but the best seasons per class are in play right now.
In case you need a reminder of the 2020 star potential:
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Burrow made the Super Bowl last year while becoming the youngest quarterback (25) to lead the NFL in both completion percentage and yards per attempt in the same season.
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Herbert is the only quarterback with 30 touchdown passes in each of his first two seasons.
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Tagovailoa tied Dan Marino and Bob Griese’s franchise record with six passing touchdowns in Week 2.
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Hurts is the only quarterback to produce 300 passing yards per game and 50 rushing yards per game for three games a season.
Joe Burrow, CIN (Drafted #1 overall) |
Tua Tagovailoa, MIA (Drafted No. 5 overall) |
Justin Herbert, BAC (Drafted No. 6 overall) |
Jalen Hurts, PHI (Drafted No. 53 overall) |
As a group, they are taking the league by storm:
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They are four of the eight best quarterbacks in Fantasy this season.
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They are four of the top eight quarterbacks in MVP ratings.
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They are four of the top 10 quarterbacks in passing yards.
If they continue, they will be in rare air. There may not be a perfect number to compare classes to, so here are some categories to break down the best seasons by QB classes of all time, with a focus on depth.
Statistics
Our first category is statistics. To keep things simple and look at just one number, I used Fantasy Points, which reward volume, as well as passing and rushing production. Burrow, Tagovailoa, Herbert and Hurts all rank in the top eight for Fantasy points among quarterbacks this season.
Results: The famous 1983 and 2004 classes are the only ones in NFL history to feature four of the top 10 QB Fantasy points in the same season. The 1983 class did it three times, and the 2004 class did it once. The best season by a single class might be the 1983 group in 1986. Five first-round players — John Elway, Jim Kelly, Tony Eason, Ken O’Brien and Dan Marino — all ranked in the NFL’s top 10 in points Fantasy, passing yards, touchdowns and passer rating this season.
Draft class With four of the top 10 QBs in Fantasy points (same season)
Class of 2004 (2009 season)
Class of 1983 (1991 season)
- 1. Jim Kelly
- 2. Dan Marine
- 4. John Elway
- 7. Ken O’Brien
Class of 1983 (1987 season)
- 3. John Elway
- 5. Dan Marine
- 6. Jim Kelly
- 9. Ken O’Brien
Class of 1983 (1986 season)
- 1. Dan Marine
- 3. John Elway
- 5. Jim Kelly
- 6. Ken O’Brien
- 8. Tony Reason
REWARDS
Of course, the impact goes beyond just filling out the stat sheet. Fantastic numbers can sometimes be empty numbers. Just look at Blake Bortles in 2015. He had 35 touchdown passes, ranked fourth among quarterbacks in Fantasy points, but was hardly the fourth-best quarterback in the league.
So my second category is accolades. Are these quarterbacks generally considered among the best in the league? So far, the perception of the Class of 2020 indicates that it has the potential to be. They have four of the top eight players in MVP ratings this season. I used Pro Bowls for this measuring stick because NFL MVP votes can be anywhere. For example, Russell Wilson never got an MVP vote.
Results: Only one all-time season has featured four Pro Bowl quarterbacks in the same draft class. It was the group of 83 in 1991.
Four Pro Bowl QBs in the same draft class in one season
Class of 1983 (1991 season)
- John Elway
- Jim Kelly
- Dan Marin
- 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. I hope you’re starting to see a trend here. 1983 and 2004 were good.
team success
Stats and accolades don’t tell the whole story either, as quarterbacks are often judged by their earnings. Since it wouldn’t be surprising to see any (or all) of these 2020 quarterbacks make the playoffs, I watched the playoff starts.
Results: There have only been three playoffs with four starting quarterbacks in the same draft class. The 1971 class, listed below, is one of the first major QB classes, producing multiple MVPs and Super Bowl winners.
Four QBs in the same all-time unique playoff draft class
Class of 2003 (post-season 2005)
- Carson Palmer
- Byron Leftwich
- Rex Grosman
- chris sims
Class of 1999 (post-season 2000)
- Donovan McNabb
- Daunte Culpepper
- Shaun King
- Aaron Brooks
Class of 1971 (post-season 1982)
- Jim Plunket
- Lynn Dicky
- Ken Anderson
- Joe Theisman
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 you’re talking about some of the deepest quarterback classes of all. time. Not just for a season, but for a career.
Professional success
I used Approximate Value, a metric from Pro-Football-Reference.com that assigns a single value to a player’s career (think WAR in baseball) to examine the highest combined career values of the four best quarterbacks in a single class. Unsurprisingly, 1983 and 2004 lead the way. But 2005, a class led by Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers, was not far behind.
Highest approximate value among top 4 QBs in a 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 |
That doesn’t quite cover all the major quarterback classes, so here are some more superlatives for you trivia folks!
The Class of 1983 is the only one to produce three Hall of Fame quarterbacks.
Most Hall of Fame QBs in a single draft class
1983 (3)
- John Elway
- Jim Kelly
- Dan Marin
Five different draft classes have produced multiple Super Bowl winning callers. The 1979 class is the only one with multiple Super Bowl MVP quarterbacks (Joe Montana, Phil Simms).
1956 |
2 |
Bart Starr, Earl Morrall |
1971 |
2 |
Jim Plunkett, Joe Theisman |
1979 |
2 |
Joe Montana, Phil Simms |
2004 |
2 |
Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger |
2012 |
2 |
Russell Wilson, Nick Foles |
Three different draft classes have produced multiple MVP quarterbacks.
1956 |
2 |
Bart Starr, Earl Morrall |
1971 |
2 |
Ken AndersonJoe Theismann |
1983 |
2 |
John Elway, Dan Marin |
Verdict: So. It’s only week 4, but if the 2020 quartet maintains this run, they could be in exclusive company with bands like 1983 or 2004 as one of the best quarterback draft class seasons of all. time. There’s still a long way to go, but the possibilities are exciting for this young group of quarterbacks. Only time will tell !