Top 15 draft picks in Cincinnati Bengals history

3. Boomer Esiason

Drafted 38th overall in 1984

A lot of teams have struggled to find quarterbacks in the NFL Draft but that hasn’t really been an issue for Cincinnati. Sure, they had the whole Akili Smith situation but for the most part, they’ve hit the nail on the head whenever it’s come time for them to draft a signal-caller.

In 1984, the Bengals wisely took Boomer Esiason out of Maryland in the second round of the draft. Ken Anderson was in the waning years of his career so it made sense for Cincy to find his eventual successor.

Esiason played for the Bengals for a total of 10 years but they were broken up a bit. For the first nine years of his career, Esiason was Cincinnati’s quarterback, leading them to the Super Bowl in the 1988 season. That year saw Esiason win NFL MVP after throwing for 3,572 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions (the game was much different back then).

Esiason left the Bengals following the 1992 season and played for the Jets for three years and the Cardinals for one year before returning to Cincinnati for the final year of his career. He retired following the 1997 season and is third in passing yards all-time with 27,149.