LA Chargers: The history of quarterbacks taken with the sixth overall pick

Hall of Famers:

Even the Hall of Famers are not that exciting as they do not represent elite quarterbacks so much as they do pioneers for the game of football. In recent history, there have not been any great quarterbacks taken sixth overall.

Y.A. Tittle

Y.A. Tittle was selected in the 1948 NFL Draft by the Detriot Lions, opted not to play for the Lions and instead went to play for the Baltimore Colts for three seasons, and then was drafted with the third overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1951 NFL Draft.

That is where Tittle’s NFL career began as he was the starting quarterback of the 49ers for 10 seasons and then finished his career with four seasons as the starter for the New York Giants.

Tittle was a seven-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro in his career, even winning the MVP in 1963 with the Giants. He threw for 3,145 yards and 33 touchdowns that season with the Giants.

At the time of his retirement, Tittle was first in the NFL’s all-time leaderboard in practically every category.

Sammy Baugh:

Sammy Baugh is one of the earliest pioneers in NFL history as he was selected in the 1937 NFL Draft, which was the second NFL Draft in league history.

While his numbers do not hold up today, he was the best passer in the league for his generation, often leading in completion percentage, passing yards, touchdowns and yards per game. He has seven All-Pros under his belt and was named the NFL Player of the Year twice in his career.

Baugh was the starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins for 16 seasons and even though the seasons were only 11 games, he has the second-most games played by any quarterback in franchise history, trailing only Joe Theismann.