The best second-round QBs in NFL Draft history

King became a memorable name around the turn of the century. Trent Dilfer's broken collarbone brought in King as a rookie late in a promising 1999 Buccaneers season; the Tulane product kept Tampa Bay's car on the road. Neither King nor Kurt Warner played well in the 1999 NFC championship game, and after Ricky Proehl's game-winning grab, a booth review deemed a final-minute Bert Emanuel grab incomplete, stymying the visitors' last drive (and launching the "what is a catch?" era). The Bucs kept King at the controls in 2000, and he finished with an 18-13 TD-INT ratio. He also outdueled Warner in the teams' December rematch . Brad Johnson's 2001 arrival, however, returned King to the backup ranks.

Wildly talented, Douglass both was ahead of his time and came along at perhaps the worst possible point in modern Bears history. A 1969 draftee, the Kansas alum arrived as Gale Sayers' knee trouble worsened and played all of one game with Walter Payton. Bringing a rocket arm and elite athleticism to the table, Douglass was inaccurate while trapped on bad teams. His 1972 season featured 968 rushing yards in 14 games. It took until 2006 for this QB rushing record to fall, when Michael Vick surpassed it in a 16-game season. Douglass held a ghastly 43% career completion percentage, but he delivered enough highlights for recognition.

Livingston's run as a true starter occurred during an extended Chiefs down period; he also made critical contributions to the team's 1969 Super Bowl-winning season. Replacing an injured Len Dawson, Livingston -- a 1968 draftee out of SMU -- went 6-0 as a starter and managed, despite a 4-6 TD-INT ratio, to garner a Pro Bowl invite in the AFL's finale. Livingston played 12 seasons, entering the final four as Kansas City's starter. The Dawson successor was the team's centerpiece during some forgettable years, but he also closed a Chiefs-only career with 75 starts. 

Between Jim Everett's 1994 free agency defection and the 1996 Banks pick, the Rams went with veteran Chrises (Chandler, Miller). The latter started 23 games for the Rams from 1994-95 but retired at 30. This cleared the runway for Banks, who was in the lineup by Week 4 of his rookie year. Although not flashy nor alarmingly ineffective, the Michigan State product was booted after three seasons. The Rams traded Banks to the Ravens, and he went 6-4 as Baltimore's 1999 starter. Banks' 17-8 TD-INT ratio that year preceded Brian Billick benching him for Trent Dilfer in 2000. Banks still fared decently in Washington a year later and deserves mention as a decent second-round investment.

Before his extended run as Ben Roethlisberger's backup, Batch enjoyed a multiyear opportunity to start for the Lions. Effectively Detroit's bridge between Scott Mitchell and Joey Harrington, the 1998 second-rounder, held a winning record as a starter in 1999 and 2000. Though, he was there when the bottom fell out during the 2-14 2001 season. Batch landed with his hometown Steelers, first backing up Tommy Maddox, and lasted 11 seasons. He is best remembered for key fill-in starts in Pittsburgh; this includes a 2-0 mark in place of Roethlisberger during the Steelers' Super Bowl-winning 2005 season. A solid career for a second-rounder out of Eastern Michigan.

Smith is still authoring his rebound story in Seattle, but his 2022 Comeback Player of the Year season is enough for this list. Cast aside after Ryan Fitzpatrick turned around the Jets -- following the infamous I.K. Enemkpali sucker punch on Smith -- the 2013 second-rounder never reacquired his Jets job and did not again become a candidate to start until 2022. The former Eli Manning, Philip Rivers and Russell Wilson backup stayed ready, and while he benefited from an AFC-heavy QB landscape, Smith booked a Pro Bowl invite replacing Wilson. The surprise 2022 showing, which involved an NFL-leading 69.8% completion rate, garnered him a three-year, $75 million contract.

Carrying potential to rise much higher on this list, Hurts has been a starter for only three full seasons. The Eagles choosing the dual-threat QB 53rd overall months after extending Carson Wentz generated what turned out to be appropriate curiosity, as the ex-Oklahoma and Alabama passer replaced the team's five-year starter by season's end. Hurts probably claims the 2022 MVP award had he not missed two games due to a shoulder injury, and he outplayed Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LVII. The 2023 season brought a step back, but the Eagles extended their current QB (at $52 million per year), providing security for a player who did not enter the NFL as a surefire starter.

Brock Purdy's career could affect Garoppolo's, given how poorly the latter fared when separated from Kyle Shanahan in 2023. But the 49ers machine functioned well when Garoppolo was at the controls from 2017-21. The team's effort to upgrade (via Trey Lance) backfired spectacularly, but the 49ers' decision to trade a second-rounder for Garoppolo at the 2017 deadline provided dividends. Bill Belichick did not want to trade his would-be Tom Brady heir apparent, escalating his cold war with Robert Kraft, and Garoppolo had the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV and then another NFC championship game two years later. Solid but rarely spectacular, the Eastern Illinois alum has enjoyed a memorable career.

This might be a tad high for a player with less than three seasons of quality play, but the polarizing talent's electric start was a still-debated non-whistle from winning a Super Bowl. The 2011 49ers draftee still powered a frantic comeback to scare the Ravens and thrived under Jim Harbaugh to elevate the 2013 49ers to two playoff road wins before a narrow NFC championship game loss. Kaepernick's form worsened post-Harbaugh, and as the 49ers' roster quality diminished, making it difficult to judge what would have been had his racial inequality-themed protests not led to teams banishing him in 2017. Whichever way you lean, the Nevada alum made a notable NFL mark.

Bookended by two AFC championship game journeys, Stewart's run as Pittsburgh's starter did not last that long. The team groomed the 1995 second-rounder for two seasons, giving the athletic talent "Slash" packages until unleashing him in 1997. Stewart produced in spurts, but consistency eluded the Colorado product. Totaling 528 receiving yards over his first two seasons, Stewart is in rare QB territory in that stat category. He never buckled to nudges to move to wideout full-time, and the Steelers missed the playoffs from 1998-2000. After making the 2001 Pro Bowl, Stewart found himself benched. He traveled as a late-career backup into the mid-2000s.

Plummer elevated his career by aligning with Mike Shanahan as a 2003 free agent. After being surrounded by an underwhelming Cardinals cast for six seasons, the Arizona State alum headed north. Taking advantage of the bootleg savant's strengths, the Broncos made a Plummer-centric formula work -- with some hiccups due to the erratic QB's accuracy issues -- for three-plus seasons. Plummer trailed only Tom Brady and Peyton Manning in QB win percentage while in Denver and was at the helm when the Broncos stopped the Patriots' threepeat bid in the 2005 divisional round . A Shanahan trade-up for Jay Cutler in the 2006 draft disrupted Denver's path, and Plummer retired soon after.

Perpetually operating as a second-tier QB during his starter days in Cincinnati, Dalton still provided strong value for a team looking for a midlevel Carson Palmer replacement. Entrenched in a staredown with their previous starter, the Bengals plucked Dalton at No. 35 and watched him pilot quality but not elite rosters to five straight playoff berths. Dalton had the Bengals poised to threaten the Broncos-Patriots AFC duopoly in 2015 by having the team at 10-2 in games he finished. A broken thumb sidetracked the Bengals, and Dalton has not been on a playoff team since. The Red Rifle has started 163 games, remaining a capable QB as a mid-30s journeyman.

Carrying his punching-bag status from Oakland to Las Vegas to New Orleans, Carr has settled in as an average starting quarterback. The oft-criticized passer, however, lasted longer in the Raiders' QB1 role than anyone in team history. The nine-year Raider starter turned in a breakthrough 2016 season, finishing third in the MVP voting. He struggled over the next two years, as the team retooled, but steadily improved under Jon Gruden. This included a Las Vegas playoff run, which has aged better given what happened under Josh McDaniels. Carr is entrenched as the Saints' starter, but time is running out for a reputation update.

In the Archie Manning club as a player who would have seen free agency escape routes form in another era, Lomax played his entire career with the Cardinals. The then-NFC East-stationed franchise's extended down period encompassed most of Lomax's career, but the 1981 No. 33 pick made two pro bowls and was at the helm for the St. Louis-era Cards' highest non-Don Coryell-associated peaks. The ex-Portland State Run and Shoot triggerman posted a monster 1984 slate (4,614 yards) and had the Cardinals in a do-or-die Week 16 game in Washington. A narrow loss kept the team out of the playoffs. Lomax made a second Pro Bowl in 1987, but a 1988 hip injury ended his promising career at 30.

Becoming more known by many for his success as a film-based analyst, Jaworski was the Eagles' full-time starter for nine seasons. The 1973 Rams draftee's career did not take off until he was traded to the Eagles in 1977. The Rams made what turned out to be the wrong decision by sticking with Pat Haden and trading Jaworski, as they would remain deficient at QB throughout the latter's Eagles stay. "Jaws" piloted Philly to Super Bowl XV, toppling the Cowboys for NFC supremacy. Jaworski finished third in MVP voting in 1980, throwing 27 TD passes and 12 INTs, and held each major franchise passing mark until Donovan McNabb came along decades later.

Part of the reason six QBs went in the 1983 first round: 1984's mediocre class. But Esiason -- the top passer chosen that year, at No. 38 overall -- rewarded the Bengals, who had recently whiffed on Jack Thompson as a Ken Anderson heir apparent . Esiason's first Bengals stint featured three Pro Bowls, an MVP award and a Super Bowl berth. Joe Montana's 92-yard drive kept the Bengals titleless, and the team later benched Esiason for eventual bust David Klingler. A 1993 Jets trade revived the New Jersey native, who landed a fourth Pro Bowl nod during his three-year Jets stay. Not on the Hall of Fame tier, but certainly a valuable starter.

A clear argument exists Stabler belongs one spot higher, but it is also relevant to point out the Hall of Famer -- thanks to a Raiders blueprint that featured him on the bench behind Daryle Lamonica for six seasons -- did not enjoy a long prime. The 1967 No. 52 selection was ready when called upon, and he took the Raiders to a higher level with top-shelf work in the mid-1970s. This crested with a 1974 MVP honor and, at long last, a Super Bowl win two years later. The Raiders cooled off in the late '70s, and a 1980 trade to Houston keyed a steady descent for the eventual Canton inductee. For a few years, however, "The Snake" was among the best. 

The Eagles identified an unorthodox Jaworski successor in 1985, nabbing a triple-threat QB (when punting is factored in) from UNLV. Cunningham's scrambling ability separated him from QBs in that era, and while aerial consistency was an issue, the superstar maximized his situation. Cunningham finished second in MVP voting twice as an Eagle, peaking with a near-3,500-1,000 1990 season. Cunningham suffered season-ending injuries in 1991 and '93; he could not recapture his form in Philly after the second setback. A Vikings comeback brought a resume update, as a third MVP2 finish -- for guiding Minnesota to a 15-1 season that produced an NFL points record -- took place largely for pocket-passing work.

The Chargers trading out of the Michael Vick draft slot and ending up with Brees and LaDainian Tomlinson represents a roster-building masterstroke, but the team was not pleased with Brees by Year 4. An awkward Philip Rivers partnership -- not exactly a roster-building coup, as Brees left in free agency -- ended with a shoulder injury that changed another franchise's arc. The Brees era moved the Saints from one playoff win to 10. An accuracy maven in Sean Payton's offense, Brees still owns three more 5,000-yard seasons (five) than anyone else. Late-career playoff misfortune stung Brees, but the Saints collected a title and formed an offensive machine around the greatest free agent signing in NFL history.

As for trade value, it is tough to beat the Packers' 1992 heist. The Pack pried Favre from a Falcons team not in alignment on a plan for the strong-armed Southern Miss product, sending Atlanta a first-round pick for the 1991 draftee. This led to a 1990s changing of the guard in the NFC, as Favre helped Green Bay take down two of the great rosters in NFL history. As Favre led in vanquishing the Cowboys and 49ers, he soared to an NFL-record three straight MVPs. Mastering the West Coast Offense, Favre became famous for durability and retirement waffling. The latter career feature keyed two relocations, the second of which producing a dominant age-40 season in Minnesota.