Since the inaugural NFL Draft in 1936, roughly 40% of #1 overall picks have been quarterbacks; this should not be surprising as for a basement-dwelling team, a franchise quarterback is perhaps the most important piece to turning around the team’s fortunes. Thus, for the New England Patriots in the early 1990s and the Cincinnati Bengals a decade later, they took signal-callers Drew Bledsoe and Carson Palmer, respectively, with the top picks in the draft. Though neither turned out to be a Hall of Famer like Terry Bradshaw, John Elway, or Peyton Manning (fellow #1 overall pick quarterbacks), both were prototypical big-bodied, strong-armed pocket passers who had long and productive NFL careers – given their similar draft status, playing style, and career accomplishments, it is a natural comparison to ask:
Who was better – Drew Bledsoe or Carson Palmer?
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