25 most sought after NFL quarterback draft prospects of all time

Even before the passing game was king in the NFL, quarterbacks were hot commodities. Here are the 25 most sought after NFL Draft prospects of all time.

In the modern NFL, success is highly dependent on whether or not a team possesses a competent quarterback. Aerial attacks are increasingly complex and increasingly critical for franchises. Landing a signal-caller that can master the playbook and provide stability under center is the one ingredient that cannot be papered over in the 21st century.

But quarterback play has always been critical in the league, even at periods of the sport’s development when “three yards and a cloud of dust” rushing attacks were the standard mode of offense at all levels of the game.

Because the quarterback serves as the primary distributor of the football on every play, having a steady, confident individual taking the snaps has always been a valuable commodity.

Every year, a handful of top-tier college quarterbacks exhaust their intercollegiate eligibility or reach draft-eligibility age and opt out of their final years of college. Entering the NFL Draft, those college passers offer the hope of a bright future to every pro team that scouts them, interviews them, and considers possibly selecting them.

Some of these college quarterback prospects are certainly more hyped and more coveted than others. This list compiles the most coveted of the bunch, showing in its way that quarterback has always been a highly valued position even in eras when the forward pass was less of an emphasis. Read on to see which 25 quarterbacks were the most sought after in the history of the NFL Draft.