25 most sought after NFL quarterback draft prospects of all time

Perhaps the most accomplished quarterback who has yet to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Earl Morrall started his career as a highly sought draft prospect at Michigan State.

He joined the Spartans right as they were transitioning from independence to membership in the Big Ten and from Biggie Munn to Duffy Daughtery at head coach. In 1955, Morrall tore up the league in his one full season as a starter.

The quarterback led the nation in yards per play and ranked second in the NCAA in punting average, pulling double duty for a team that went 9-1 and took down UCLA in the 1956 Rose Bowl.

Only an early loss to rival Michigan prevented the Spartans from achieving a perfect season. With the No. 2 pick in the draft, the San Francisco 49ers stepped up and nabbed the talent — even though they already had Y.A. Tittle at the position.

He basically became a bargaining chip, leaving San Francisco after one season in a 1957 trade that sent Morrall to the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was a nomadic beginning to what many consider the most successful journeyman career in NFL history.

Midway through his second season in Pittsburgh, Morrall was traded a second time, this time with a couple of high draft picks in a quarterback exchange for Detroit’s Bobby Layne. He remained a backup with the Lions, getting his one chance to start in the 1963 NFL season, as he threw for 24 touchdowns and more than 2600 yards.

After suffering a shoulder injury the following year, though, Morrall was sent to the New York Giants in a three-team trade that included the Cleveland Browns. After three years in the Big Apple, Morrall shuttled down the Atlantic coast to serve as the backup to Johnny Unitas at Baltimore.

When Unitas was injured in the preseason 1968, Morrall seized the opportunity and went 13-1 in the regular season. Guiding the Colts all the way to Super Bowl III, he threw a key interception that helped the New York Jets upset Baltimore. Two years later, Morrall was on the winning end, as he helped the Colts win Super Bowl V.

Then in 1972, Morrall was a backup for Miami when starter Bob Griese went down with an ankle injury. Morrall quarterbacked nine of the 17 Dolphins’ wins en route to the NFL’s only perfect season.

Morrall proved himself for Michigan State, and proved himself when he got the chance to lead high-quality rosters at Baltimore and Miami. An inability to get consistent playing time marred his ability to build up a bigger body of work, but over 21 years he still won three Super Bowls and the 1972 MVP award.