Peyton Manning as QB of the Tennessee Volunteers
(Image courtesy of www.saturdaydownsouth.com.)

NFL’s Top Ten QBs and Their Draft Position
QB	Passing Yards	Years Played	College	Draft Pick	Drafted By
Peyton Manning	71,940	1998-2015	Tennessee Volunteers	1	Colts
Brett Favre	71,838	1991-2010	Southern Miss	33	Falcons
Drew Brees	66,111	2001-active	Purdue	32	Chargers
Tom Brady	61,582	2001-active	Michigan	199	Patriots
Dan Marino	61,361	1983-1999	Pitt	27	Dolphins
John Elway	51,475	1983-1998	Stanford	1	Broncos via Colts
Warren Moon	49,325	1984-2000	Washington Huskies	Not Drafted	Edmonton Huskies (CFL)
Eli Manning	48,218	2004-2016	Ole Miss	1	Giants via Chargers
Fran Tarkenton	47,003	1961-1978	Georgia	29	Vikings
Ben Roethlisberge	46,814	2004-active	Miami (OH)	11	Steelers

Three of these quarterbacks were the first picks in their respective drafts and went on to have Hall of Fame careers. Four were middle of the first round. Brett Favre was a second round pick, Fran Tarkenton a third pick (the leagues had not merged yet and there were less teams period), Tom Brady was a sixth round pick, and Warren Moon was undrafted. In fact Warren Moon played in the CFL for five season before coming to the NFL.

What does all this mean? It means the experts get it wrong a lot, although anyone would have been hard pressed to justify picking Tom Brady high up. It also means hard work and persistence is more important in the NFL, then getting drafted early. Tom Brady being a great example of this.