9. Ken O’Brien
The quarterback draft class in 1983 was robust in the first round, with legends (John Elway, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino) and some who were far less than legends (Todd Blackledge, Tony Eason, though Eason did play in a Super Bowl). Somewhere in the middle is O’Brien, the 24th overall pick in that draft by the New York Jets out of tiny California-Davis.
In the seven seasons (1985-1991) he started at least 12 games for the Jets, O’Brien threw for at least 3,300 yards four times with an interception rate of two percent or less three times. He was top-10 in the league in passing yards four times, pass attempts five times, passing touchdowns twice and passer rating twice (No. 1 in the league in passer rating in 1985).
O’Brien was also among the top-10 most sacked quarterbacks in the league in all seven of those seasons. He was sacked the most times in 1985 (62) and 1989 (50), with another season (1987) where he taken down 50 times.
O’Brien seemed to most relish his duels with Marino, as an easy motivational nod to the “who’s that?” reaction from fans when he was drafted and the idea the Jets should have taken a falling Marino instead. Two of three best yardage totals of O’Brien’s career (479 yards on Sept. 21, 1986 and 393 yards on Nov. 10, 1985) came against Miami, and he was 8-8 in 16 career games against the Dolphins as the Jets’ quarterback.
The accomplishments of his notable draft peers dwarf what O’Brien managed to accomplish in his career, and Jets’ draft lore will always consider him a big mistake. But those things just serve to make him underrated, and O’Brien takes a spot on this list.