If past were prologue, the Broncos would be sitting on a goldmine.
Of course, that’s not how history works and it’s not how football works, but what’s the harm in a little historical coincidence?
Denver on Thursday night drafted Bo Nix with the No. 12 overall pick, making him the sixth quarterback selected and marking the first time six had been taken in the first round since 1983.
It just so happens that the 1983 class, led by John Elway at No. 1, is considered perhaps the greatest quarterback class of all time.
The sixth quarterback taken that year? Dan Marino, No. 27 to the Miami Dolphins. That worked out pretty well.
Elway, Marino and Jim Kelly (No. 14 to Buffalo) are all NFL Hall of Famers.
Of course, that year is an outlier in NFL history, though there are a handful of other success stories from QB6 in other draft classes.
In 2012, Seattle grabbed Russell Wilson at No. 75. Maybe you’ve heard of him.
In 2011, San Francisco picked Colin Kaepernick at No. 36.
Gus Frerotte went No. 197 overall to Washington in 1994 and threw for more than 21,000 yards in his career.
In between, there’s a whole lot of names. Jake Haener just finished his first year in the league with New Orleans without seeing game action, but before him there are 10 QB6’s who never appeared in an NFL game. Many more only saw spot duty. There’s John Dutton — not the Yellowstone character, we’re pretty sure — and John David Booty and John Skelton.
The average QB6 in the last 41: 28.5 games played and 4,687 passing yards.
Before 1983, the most notable No. 6 quarterback in a class was Dan Fouts, who went No. 64 overall in 1973 to San Diego and put together a Hall of Fame career over 15 seasons for the Chargers. Ken Anderson was also the sixth quarterback taken in 1971, played 15 years and threw for more than 32,800 yards.
Here’s the entire list back to 1983:
Sixth QB taken in each NFL Draft (1983-2024)
| Year | Name | School | Round | Pick | By | Games | Yards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Bo Nix | Oregon | 1 | 12 | Denver | – | – |
| 2023 | Jake Haener | Fresno State | 4 | 127 | New Orleans | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | Sam Howell | North Carolina | 5 | 144 | Washington | 18 | 4,115 |
| 2021 | Kyle Trask | Florida | 2 | 64 | Tampa Bay | 3 | 23 |
| 2020 | Jacob Eason | Washington | 4 | 122 | Indianapolis | 2 | 84 |
| 2019 | Ryan Finley | NC State | 4 | 104 | Cincinnati | 8 | 638 |
| 2018 | Mason Rudolph | Oklahoma St. | 3 | 76 | Pittsburgh | 21 | 3,085 |
| 2017 | C.J. Beathard | Iowa | 3 | 104 | San Francisco | 32 | 3,886 |
| 2016 | Cody Kessler | USC | 3 | 93 | Cleveland | 17 | 2,215 |
| 2015 | Brett Hundley | UCLA | 5 | 147 | Green Bay | 18 | 1,902 |
| 2014 | Logan Thomas | Virginia Tech | 4 | 120 | Arizona | 94 | 124 |
| 2013 | Tyler Wilson | Arkansas | 4 | 112 | Oakland | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | Russell Wilson | Wisconsin | 3 | 75 | Seattle | 188 | 43,653 |
| 2011 | Colin Kaepernick | Nevada | 2 | 36 | San Francisco | 69 | 12,271 |
| 2010 | John Skelton | Fordham | 5 | 155 | Arizona | 20 | 3,707 |
| 2009 | Rhett Bomar | Sam Houston St. | 5 | 151 | N.Y. Giants | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | John David Booty | USC | 5 | 137 | Minnesota | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | Trent Edwards | Stanford | 3 | 92 | Buffalo | 38 | 6,033 |
| 2006 | Charlie Whitehurst | Clemson | 3 | 81 | San Diego | 25 | 2,463 |
| 2005 | David Greene | Georgia | 3 | 85 | Seattle | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | Luke McCown | Louisiana Tech | 4 | 106 | Cleveland | 62 | 2,370 |
| 2003 | Chris Simms | Texas | 3 | 97 | Tampa Bay | 23 | 3,117 |
| 2002 | Rohan Davey | LSU | 4 | 117 | New England | 7 | 88 |
| 2001 | Sage Rosenfels | Iowa State | 4 | 109 | Washington | 44 | 4,156 |
| 2000 | Spergon Wynn | Texas State | 6 | 183 | Cleveland | 10 | 585 |
| 1999 | Shaun King | Tulane | 2 | 50 | Tampa Bay | 34 | 4,566 |
| 1998 | John Dutton | Nevada | 6 | 172 | Miami | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | Chuck Clements | Houston | 6 | 191 | N.Y. Jets | 1 | 0 |
| 1996 | Mike Cawley | James Madison | 6 | 205 | Indianapolis | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | Eric Zeier | Georgia | 3 | 84 | Cleveland | 28 | 3,520 |
| 1994 | Gus Frerotte | Tulsa | 7 | 197 | Washington | 147 | 21,291 |
| 1993 | Alex Van Pelt | Pittsburgh | 8 | 216 | Pittsburgh | 31 | 2,895 |
| 1992 | Casey Weldron | Florida State | 4 | 102 | Philadelphia | 26 | 713 |
| 1991 | Donald Hollas | Rice | 4 | 99 | Cincinnati | 32 | 2,399 |
| 1990 | Troy Taylor | California | 4 | 84 | N.Y. Jets | 7 | 125 |
| 1989 | Jeff Graham | Long Beach St. | 4 | 87 | Green Bay | 0 | 0 |
| 1988 | Mike Perez | San Jose St. | 7 | 175 | N.Y. Giants | 0 | 0 |
| 1987 | Mark Vlasic | Iowa | 4 | 88 | San Diego | 15 | 762 |
| 1986 | Robbie Bosco | BYU | 3 | 72 | Green Bay | 0 | 0 |
| 1985 | Steve Calabria | Colgate | 9 | 232 | Tampa Bay | 0 | 0 |
| 1984 | Dean May | Louisville | 5 | 138 | Miami | 5 | 33 |
| 1983 | Dan Marino | Pittsburgh | 1 | 27 | Miami | 145 | 61,361 |
* Pro Football Reference data
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