Many reports blame Garrett’s stutter. Though it had not seemed to hurt him at Stanford, it caused trouble with calling plays in the pros. Garrett’s son Bill told Stanford’s alumni magazine that conflict with Cleveland’s hard-nosed coach Paul Brown was more to blame.  In any case, Garrett wound up working at Sears.  The second pick, Lamar McHan, fashioned a decent career with mostly bad teams; the Chicago Cardinals were 2-10 in his first season. He later played for the Packers, the Colts and the 49ers, and finished with a career record of 24-47-2.  Patriots: Jim Plunkett, Stanford; Archie Manning, Mississippi.  It took 17 years for the N.F.L. to have the courage to take quarterbacks at Nos. 1 and 2 again, but this time it did better.  Jim Plunkett played five years for the Patriots, then two in San Francisco, before hitting his stride late in his career with the Raiders, leading them to two Super Bowl victories.  Archie Manning also had a long career, though nearly always with terrible teams, most notably the Saints from 1971 to 1981, during which time their best record was 8-8.  The 1971 draft was one of two years that the third pick was also a quarterback: Dan Pastorini helped turn a bad Oilers team into a playoff team. Oddly enough, it was Pastorini’s injury in 1980 with the Raiders that gave Plunkett his chance to become the team’s starter.  Patriots: Drew Bledsoe, Washington State; Seahawks: Rick Mirer, Notre Dame.  Another 22 years passed before two quarterbacks were back on top. Drew Bledsoe started performing well quickly for New England, leading the league in several categories and earning three Pro Bowl selections in his first five years, culminating in a Super Bowl trip in 1997.  Though he tailed off after that, he was good enough to keep earning starts in the league until 2006. He still ranks 10th in career passing yards.  It did not work out quite as well for Rick Mirer. After four mediocre seasons, Seattle gave up on him, and there was no late career renaissance at several other stops.  Colts: Peyton Manning, Tennessee; Chargers: Ryan Leaf, Washington State.  The headline in The Times on the day after the draft read: Colts Agonize to the End, Then Pick Manning. The team did not decide until draft day that Manning was its man.  So how did their choice work out?  Games started: 265 vs. 21  Yards passing: 71,940 vs. 3,666  Pro Bowl selections: 14 vs. 0  Super Bowl titles: 2 vs. 0  Browns: Tim Couch, Kentucky; Eagles: Donovan McNabb, Syracuse.  One year later, the newly reformed Cleveland Browns had to decide among several promising quarterbacks. Their choice was not as good.  Browns officials, according to The Times, “spoke of how much Tim Couch reminded them of Joe Montana” and said they expected him to lead their franchise for 10 years.  Couch made it halfway, starting for five years, but never played especially well. He eventually lost his job to Kelly Holcomb.  Donovan McNabb, though not universally loved by the tough Philly fans, did have a 13-year career including several seasons in which he was among the game’s best quarterbacks. He also led the Eagles to one of their two trips to the Super Bowl, a trip for which the Browns are still waiting.  Once again, quarterbacks were chosen in the top three spots. Going No. 3, to the Bengals, was Akili Smith of Oregon, “whose strong arm has reminded scouts of a young John Elway,” The Times said at the time. The selection made the Couch choice look good. Smith started just 17 games in a four-year career, finishing with a record of 3-14.  Colts: Andrew Luck, Stanford; Redskins: Robert Griffin III, Baylor.  Another close call for Nos. 1 and 2. “Luck is considered a bit more N.F.L.-ready because of the pro-style offense Stanford runs and the fact that he called many plays from the line of scrimmage. But both are considered as safe as draft picks can be,” The Times reported.  Andrew Luck starred from the beginning, leading the Colts to three consecutive 11-5 seasons before missing half of last year with an injury. While Robert Griffin III’s running has electrified fans, he tailed off after a good rookie season. The Redskins gave up on him after Year 3. The Browns swooped in to sign him as a free agent, so his story is not over yet.  Buccaneers: Jameis Winston, Florida State; Titans: Marcus Mariota, Oregon.  Another choice that was considered close on draft day, the final judgment on this one will have to wait.  In their rookie season, Jameis Winston earned a Pro Bowl selection and amassed more yards, but Marcus Mariota led in adjusted yards per pass attempt and quarterback rating.  Both have more touchdowns than Ryan Leaf.  An earlier version of this article misstated the surname of the quarterback picked by the Cardinals in 1954. As the article correctly noted elsewhere, he was Lamar McHan, not LeHan.
With quarterbacks expected to go 1-2 in this week’s N.F.L. draft, a look at some other times that happened.