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.
Related Articles
Broncos coach Sean Payton on trade for QB Zach Wilson: “We saw talent”
Best available Day 2 prospects for Broncos: Without trade activity ramping up, Denver has long wait until No. 76 on Friday night
Grading Broncos’ Day 1 of the NFL Draft: The Post’s sports staff weigh in on the first round
Renck: With selection of Bo Nix, Broncos’ Sean Payton stakes potential Hall of Fame bid on Oregon quarterback
Winners and losers from the first round of the 2024 NFL draft
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
Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.