3 title games QBs share similar draft history

Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen have something in common besides being three of the four starting quarterbacks remaining in the NFL playoffs.

The three were picked in the first round by teams coming off a playoff berth in moves that Green Bay, Kansas City and Buffalo surely don’t regret.

The Packers took Aaron Rodgers 24th overall in 2005 despite having Brett Favre on the roster. Favre had led Green Bay to a 10-win season and playoff berth in 2004 and remained starter for Rodgers’ first three seasons. The Packers then made Rodgers the starter in 2008 and have made the playoffs 10 times since then with one Super Bowl title.

The Chiefs made their move for a quarterback in 2017 after back-to-back playoff appearances the previous two years with Alex Smith as starter. Kansas City traded up 17 spots to take Mahomes and gave him the starting role in 2018. All Mahomes has done in that time is win MVP in 2018, get named Super Bowl MVP last season and now has the Chiefs in position to get back there again this season.

The pick Kansas City got to take Mahomes came from Buffalo, who ended up with star cornerback Tre’Davious White that season along with extra first and third-rounders. The Bills then traded up five spots the next year to draft Allen, who has emerged as a star this season.

Since 2000, a playoff team has used a first-round pick on a quarterback seven times overall.

The Broncos did it twice, taking Jay Cutler in 2006 after making it to the AFC title game with Jake Plummer the previous season, and then Paxton Lynch in 2016 after winning the Super Bowl in Peyton Manning’s final season before retirement.

The Texans did it in 2017, trading up for Deshaun Watson after making it to the playoffs the previous year with Brock Osweiler, and the Packers...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/3-title-games-QBs-share-similar-draft-history-15883714.php