Here are the NFLs best and worst quarter

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Quarterback is the most important position in football and there isn't a close second. This isn't some groundbreaking truth -- everyone knows it -- but the fact that teams are perpetually searching for the next great pa ser reinforces just how hard they are to find. This explains the year-round scouting efforts and the national-security-clearance-type scrutiny these quarterbacks endure as they go from college standouts to face-of-the-franchise candidates. The proce s can be a grind and it doesn't end once the player is drafted. In fact, it's not uncommon for flaws flagged as concerns during the scouting proce s to metastasize at the next level, where defenders are faster, stronger and smarter. But the remains as much art as science, which means a good deal of luck is involved in unearthing the Next Big Thing. With that in mind, here's a look at the five best and five worst quarterback draft cla ses going back to the Bob Lanier Jersey  2004 cla s that included three future Hall of Famers -- , and -- who are still among the league's best pa sers. For our purposes here, we'll look at quarterbacks taken in the top three rounds, since that's when franchise pa sers are generally found, though for completene s we'll make mention of notable names drafted after the third round. Let's get to it. Five best quarterback cla ses since 20041. 20041st round: Eli Manning (No. 1), Philip Rivers (No. 4), Ben Roethlisberger (No. 11), J.P. Losman (No. 22)3rd round: (No. 90)Other notable names: (4th round)Manning and Roethlisberger have two Matthew Dellavedova Jersey  rings each, with Big Ben winning his first in his second season. Meanwhile, two years later, Manning and an upstart outfit took down the 18-0 . Rivers has been prolific but unlucky during his career. He's led the to five postseason appearances -- none since 2013 -- including one AFC Championship Game following the 2007 season. The Chargers lost to the aforementioned undefeated Patriots. The traded up for J.P. Losman and he started 16 games just once during his seven-year career -- the team went 7-9 in 2006. Matt Schaub went 46-42 during seven years with the , including a 12-4 record in 2012.  2. 20051st round: (No. 1), (No. 24), Jason Campbell (No. 25)3rd round: (No. 67), Andrew Walter (No. 69), (No. 85)Other notable names: Kyle Orton (4th round), (5th round), (6th round), Consider this: Alex Smith was 19-32 during his first five seasons in San Francisco. Then Jim Harbaugh arrived, and Smith and the promptly went 13-3. By the time he was benched a year later, midway through the 2012 season, Smith had ama sed a 38-36-1 record. That succe s continued when he was traded to City in the offseason and in the four years since, Smith has gone 41-20 with the . There's no one thing about Smith's game that would be described as exciting but he does exactly what he's asked to do and the results have been a lot of winning. Aaron Rodgers has clearly had the better career -- one that includes a Super Bowl following the 2010 season -- and he's still one of the NFL's top two or three quarterbacks. Jason Campbell's career might have turned out differently had there not been " " in . Third-rounders Charlie Frye, Andrew Walter and David Greene had brief stints in the league but Kyle Orton, Dan Orlovsky, Derek Anderson and Matt Ca sel were all succe sful as starters and in backup roles.3. 2008 1st round: (No. 3), (No. 18)2nd round: (No. 56), (No. 57)3rd round: (No. 94)Other notable names: (7th round)Back in 2013, shortly after the beat the 49ers in the Super Bowl -- and as the weren't living up to their postseason potential -- there were conversations that Joe Flacco was a better quarterback than Matt Ryan. That talk subsided a short time later but both players are legit franchise talents and invaluable to their respective organization's succe s. Flacco has his Lombardi Trophy, and even though Ryan mi sed out on his in February, he had an  Cameron Reynolds Jersey MVP season completing 70 percent of his pa ses for 4,944 yards, 38 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. Chad Henne never made it as a starter but he was a reliable backup, and Matt Flynn e sentially parlayed one good game with the into a a three-year, $26 million deal with the .4. 20121st round: (No. 1), (No. 2), (No. 8), (No. 22)2nd round: (No. 57)3rd round: (No. 75), (No. 88)Other notable names: (4th round)No group of rookie first-rounders got off to hotter starts than Luck and RG3. The went from a two- Milwaukee Bucks Hoodie win circus in 2011 to an 11-5 playoff team during Luck's first year in the league. And the , an outfit that featured Rex Gro sman and John Beck during a five-win 2011 season, improved to 10-6. That included seven straight wins to end the regular season to win the division and qualify for the playoffs with Griffin under center. And while Luck continued to play like the league's next young bright star -- the Colts would go 11-5 over the next two seasons -- Griffin never again rediscovered his 2012 form. Injuries and inconsistency were his downfall and after a disappointing 2016 season in Cleveland he remains a free agent. Ryan Tannehill had his best season in 2016 under new coach Adam Gase while Brandon Weeden was set up to fail the moment the drafted him. Brock Osweiler looked like a decent prospect until he left Denver for following the 2015 season. Ru sell Wilson could turn out to be the best quarterback in this cla s and Nick Foles is a capable backup and occasional starter. Kirk Cousins replaced RG3 in Washington and will probably be the league's highest-paid player at some point in the coming months.  5. 2011 1st round: (No. 1), (No. 8), (No. 10), (No. 12)2nd round: (No. 35), (No. 36)3rd round: (No. 74)Other notable names: (6th round), (3rd round, supplemental draft)Cam Newton and Andy Dalton are the jewels of this cla s -- and it's worth remembering that both players were thrust into the starting lineups as rookies, even though that summer's NFL lockout meant they couldn't take part in official offseason workouts with their respective teams. Still, both players excelled in Year 1. Newton started 16 games, completed 60 percent of his pa ses with 21 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Dalton also started 16 games and completed 58 percent of his pa ses with 20 touchdowns against 13 interceptions. In terms of career records, Newton is 51-40-1 and Dalton is 56-35-2. Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder are all cautionary tales about why it's so incredibly difficult to evaluate college quarterbacks and project how they will play in the NFL Milwaukee Bucks Jeresy . Colin Kaepernick's NFL succe s seems tied to Jim Harbaugh's arrival -- and departure -- in San Francisco. Tyrod Taylor spent the early part of his career sitting behind Joe Flacco in Baltimore, but has thrown 37 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions while starting 28 games for the Bills the last two seasons.Five worst quarterback cla ses since 20041. 2007 1st round: JaMarcus Ru sell (No. 1 overal