Well, I am afraid I must print a retraction. I was wrong. It's worse than I originally thought. I collected the data afresh, and reconsidered the information I found there. After serious consideration, and a fresh recount, the score is as follows. Quarterbacks were selected between 1979 and 2007. Of those 67, 20 were ultimately successful, 39 were busts, 8 were fair-to-middlin' journeymen in the league. This means the following:
- 29.85% of the quarterbacks selected in the 1st round were successful
- 58.21% were all-out busts
- 11.94% were middle-of-the-road journeymen
This is bad, very bad. I don't wish to labor the point anymore. Instead, I want to publish the raw table of information, so you yourself can consider the merits of my assessment.
| # | Name | School | Year | Team | Overall | Rating |
| 1 | Jack Thompason | Washington State | 1979 | Bengals | 3 | Bust |
| 2 | Phil Simms | Morehead State | 1979 | Giants | 7 | Success |
| 3 | Steve Fuller | Clemson | 1979 | Chiefs | 23 | Bust |
| 4 | Marc Wilson | BYU | 1980 | Raiders | 15 | Bust |
| 5 | Mark Malone | Arizona State | 1980 | Steelers | 28 | Bust |
| 6 | Rich Campbell | California | 1981 | Packers | 6 | Bust |
| 7 | Dave Wilson | Illinois | 1981 | Saints | Supplemental | Bust |
| 8 | Art Schlichter | Ohio State | 1982 | Colts | 4 | Bust |
| 9 | Jim McMahon | BYU | 1982 | Bears | 5 | Success |
| 10 | John Elway | Stanford | 1983 | Colts | 1 | Success |
| 11 | Todd Blackledge | Penn State | 1983 | Chiefs | 7 | Bust |
| 12 | Jim Kelly | Miami | 1983 | Bills | 14 | Success |
| 13 | Tony Eason | Illinois | 1983 | Patriots | 15 | Bust |
| 14 | Ken O'Brien | UC Davis | 1983 | Jets | 24 | Success |
| 15 | Dan Marino | Pittsburg | 1983 | Dolphins | 27 | Success |
| 16 | Bernie Kosar | Miami | 1985 | Browns | Supplemental | Success |
| 17 | Jim Everett | Purdue | 1986 | Oilers | 3 | Success |
| 18 | Chuck Long | Iowa | 1986 | Lions | 12 | Bust |
| 19 | Vinny Testaverde | Miami | 1987 | Buccaneers | 1 | Middle |
| 20 | Kelly Stouffer | Colorado State | 1987 | Cardinals | 6 | Bust |
| 21 | Chris Miller | Oregon | 1987 | Falcons | 13 | Success |
| 22 | Jim Harbaugh | Michigan | 1987 | Bears | 26 | Middle |
| 23 | Troy Aikman | UCLA | 1989 | Cowboys | 1 | Success |
| 24 | Steve Walsh | Miami | 1989 | Cowboys | Supplemental | Bust |
| 25 | Timm Rosenbach | Washington State | 1989 | Cardinals | Supplemental | Bust |
| 26 | Jeff George | Illinois | 1990 | Colts | 1 | Bust |
| 27 | Andre Ware | Houston | 1990 | Lions | 7 | Bust |
| 28 | Dan McGwire | San Diego State | 1991 | Seahawks | 16 | Bust |
| 29 | Todd Marinovich | USC | 1991 | Raiders | 24 | Bust |
| 30 | David Klingler | Houston | 1992 | Bengals | 6 | Bust |
| 31 | Tommy Maddox | UCLA | 1992 | Broncos | 25 | Bust |
| 32 | Dave Brown | Duke | 1992 | Giants | Supplemental | Bust |
| 33 | Drew Bledsoe | Washington State | 1993 | Patriots | 1 | Success |
| 34 | Rick Mirer | Notre Dame | 1993 | Seahawks | 2 | Bust |
| 35 | Heath Shuler | Tennessee | 1994 | Redskins | 3 | Bust |
| 36 | Trent Dilfer | Fresno State | 1994 | Buccaneers | 6 | Middle |
| 37 | Steve McNair | Alcorn State | 1995 | Oilers | 3 | Success |
| 38 | Kerry Colins | Penn State | 1995 | Panthers | 5 | Middle |
| 39 | Jim Druckenmiller | Virgina Tech | 1997 | 49ers | 26 | Bust |
| 40 | Peyton Manning | Tennessee | 1998 | Colts | 1 | Success |
| 41 | Ryan Leaf | Washington State | 1998 | Chargers | 2 | Bust |
| 42 | Tim Couch | Kentucky | 1999 | Browns | 1 | Bust |
| 43 | Donovan McNabb | Syracuse | 1999 | Eagles | 2 | Success |
| 44 | Akili Smith | Oregon | 1999 | Bengals | 3 | Bust |
| 45 | Daunte Culpepper | Central Florida | 1999 | Vikings | 11 | Bust |
| 46 | Cade McNown | UCLA | 1999 | Bears | 12 | Bust |
| 47 | Chad Pennington | Marshall | 2000 | Jets | 18 | Middle |
| 48 | Michael Vick | Virgina Tech | 2001 | Falcons | 1 | Middle |
| 49 | David Carr | Fresno State | 2002 | Texans | 1 | Bust |
| 50 | Joey Harrington | Oregon | 2002 | Lions | 3 | Bust |
| 51 | Patrick Ramsey | Tulane | 2002 | Redskins | 32 | Bust |
| 52 | Carson Palmer | USC | 2003 | Bengals | 1 | Middle |
| 53 | Byron Leftwich | Marshall | 2003 | Jaguars | 7 | Bust |
| 54 | Kyle Boller | California | 2003 | Ravens | 19 | Bust |
| 55 | Rex Grossman | Florida | 2003 | Bears | 22 | Bust |
| 56 | Eli Manning | Ole Miss | 2004 | Chargers | 1 | Success |
| 57 | Philip Rivers | North Carolina State | 2004 | Giants | 4 | Success |
| 58 | Ben Roethlisberger | Miami of Ohio | 2004 | Steelers | 11 | Success |
| 59 | J.P. Losman | Tulane | 2004 | Bills | 22 | Bust |
| 60 | Alex Smith | Utah | 2005 | 49ers | 1 | Bust |
| 61 | Aaron Rodgers | California | 2005 | Packers | 24 | Success |
| 62 | Jason Campbell | Alburn | 2005 | Redskins | 25 | Bust |
| 63 | Vince Young | Texas | 2006 | Titans | 3 | Success |
| 64 | Matt Leinart | USC | 2006 | Cardinals | 10 | Middle |
| 65 | Jay Cutler | Vanderbilt | 2006 | Broncos | 11 | Success |
| 66 | JaMarcus Russell | LSU | 2007 | Raiders | 1 | Bust |
| 67 | Brady Quinn | Notre Dame | 2007 | Browns | 22 | Bust |
Honestly, I see only one disputable case on this list. I rank Carson Palmer as a middle guy. Bengals fans would complain. The fact is that he sat for year to start his career. Things looked good for a short time. Then the knee injury struck. Things have not been the same since. The Bengals' passing attack fell precipitously last year. Many are asking questions.
