Commanders deep dive: Washington's fickle history of first-round quarterbacks

Richie Lucas - 1960

Richie Lucas was an All-American and Maxwell Award winner at Penn State before being drafted by the now-Washington Commanders in 1960. He chose instead to sign with the Buffalo Bills of the AFL, where he played for two undistinguished seasons.

Lucas spent the next three and a half decades serving in the athletic department at his alma mater.

Norm Snead - 1961

Norm Snead proved to be a crucial draft pick for Washington. For one thing, the Wake Forest star chose to play for the team, which helped restore credibility after the Don Allard and Lucas debacles. And the signal-caller had undeniable talent.

Snead was thrown to the wolves immediately. As a starting quarterback on a downtrodden team, he struggled mightily. However, he still managed to inject some life into the offense.

When George Preston Marshall finally agreed to integrate his roster and acquired future Pro Football Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell, Snead had a weapon on the outside. He started every game for Washington during his three seasons with the club - 42 in all. Though his numbers pale by modern standards, his very respectable 7.6 yards-per-attempt is an indication of his talent.

Most importantly, he was the trade bait Washington used to land Sonny Jurgensen, the only quarterback to rival Sammy Baugh in franchise history. Snead went on to play 16 seasons in the NFL, starting 159 games for five different franchises.

Heath Shuler - 1994

The presence of Sonny Jurgensen, and veterans like Billy Kilmer and Joe Theismann, meant that Washington did not spend another first-round draft pick on a quarterback for more than three decades after the selection of Norm Snead. When they finally did, the choice was the Heisman Trophy runner-up out of Tennessee, Heath Shuler.

In college, Shuler looked like a can’t-miss prospect. He was athletic enough to run but had enough of an arm to make big throws. However, in the pros, he fizzled.

Shuler didn’t move well enough to make plays with his legs. He wasn’t accurate enough to make consistent throws. He made poor decisions which resulted in him throwing more than twice as many interceptions as touchdowns.

After giving him chances during his first two seasons, he was benched in favor of Gus Frerotte, the quarterback chosen 194 spots after him in the 1994 NFL Draft. Shuler played one final season in the NFL but had a longer career as a United States congressman than he did in the league.