Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert was selected with the sixth pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, but what other quarterbacks were drafted before him?
Who Was Drafted Before Justin Herbert in the 2020 NFL Draft?
There were five players total taken before Herbert in the draft — two quarterbacks, two defensive players, and an offensive tackle. The defensive players were defensive lineman Chase Young selected by Washington and cornerback Jeff Okudah, who went to the Detroit Lions. Offensive tackle Andrew Thomas went No. 4 overall to the New York Giants.
QBs Drafted Before Justin Herbert in the 2020 NFL Draft
Pick 1: Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals took Burrow with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft after a stellar college season at LSU, during which he and teammate Ja’Marr Chase won the national championship.
An argument can be made for Burrow, as opposed to Herbert, being the best player taken from this draft class. He may end up with the best career, but injuries have taken him away from a stretch run of two seasons.
Despite two not-so-stellar performances, Burrow is rated as the fifth-best quarterback in the league, per PFN’s QB+ metrics, earning a B+ grade with an 89.0 rating. If he continues to play at this pace, Burrow will end his career with the best completion percentage of all time (68.6%).
Burrow has also played in seven playoff games, with a career record of 5-2. In these seven games, he has thrown for nine touchdowns and four interceptions.
In 2022, he lost the only Super Bowl he played in to the Los Angeles Rams. Burrow was good in that game, throwing for 263 yards and a touchdown, but 20 points weren’t enough, as the final score was 23-20 in favor of Los Angeles.
This appearance by the Bengals was the only time in the five seasons prior to this year that the Kansas City Chiefs did not represent the AFC in the Super Bowl, and he had to go directly through them, winning the AFC Championship Game at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, 27-24.
Pick 5: Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
With the fifth pick, the Dolphins selected the Alabama quarterback after a stellar college career of his own. As a freshman, Tagovailoa replaced the team’s starter, Jalen Hurts, at halftime in the National Championship Game. Head coach Nick Saban was looking for a spark as the offense could not get going.
Tagovailoa lit it up, throwing for 166 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. His efforts were enough to lift Alabama to a 26-23 win in overtime to be crowned champions. He is still the NCAA Division I leader in QB rating (199.4), which earned him a shot to start right away at the next level.
Since coming to Miami, Tua has won games when he’s been on the field, with a career record of 38-24. When he was on the field this past season, specifically, he was largely very consistent.
Tagovailoa lacked any truly dominant performances, with a B+ performance in Week 11 against the Las Vegas Raiders being as good as it got this season. He only had two games that ranked inside the top 50 this season, though, and those were also the only two he had in the top 100.
He’s lacked the true big-game potential in the pros, which is the opposite of how he played in college. Hopefully, a healthy Tua for 2025-26 season will turn things around.