Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is the favorite to be selected No. 1 overall by the Carolina Panthers, but predicting the rest of Thursday’s first round of the NFL Draft feels far from a sure bet.
The latest mock draft from CBS Sports has Young going first overall, with four quarterbacks predicted to be taken with the first four picks. Kentucky’s Will Levis is the Texans’ projected No. 2 pick, followed by the Lions taking Florida’s Anthony Richardson and the Colts drafting Ohio State’s CJ Stroud with the fourth pick.
Over the past 20 years since the 2003 Draft, quarterbacks have been selected with the first-overall pick 13 times—including four in the past five years.
Since 2005, Aaron Rodgers has been the highest-earning player, raking in over $305 million. Matthew Stafford is second with over $300 million.
Front Office Sports has collected data from Spotrac to rank the most-profitable NFL offensive and defensive positions based on combined career earnings of first-round picks since 2005.
First-Round Positional Salary Rankings
| Rank | Position | Number Players Drafted | Combined Career Earnings |
| 1 | Quarterback | 53 players | $3.5 Billion |
| 2 | Cornerback | 70 players | $2.5 billion |
| 3 | Wide Receiver | 68 players | $2.3 billion |
| 4 | Defensive End | 59 players | $2.2 billion |
| 5 | Left Tackle | 29 players | $1.96 billion |
| 6 | Outside Linebacker | 42 players | $1.95 billion |
| 7 | Defensive Tackle | 49 players | $1.9 billion |
| 8 | Running Back | 37 players | $1.1 billion |
| 9 | Guard | 29 players | $995 million |
| 10 | Inside Linebacker | 24 players | $792 million |
| 11 | Tight End | 17 players | $553 million |
| 12 | Right Tackle | 14 players | $545 million |
| 13 | Free Safety | 10 players | $496 million |
| 14 | Center | 11 players | $469 million |
| 15 | Strong Safety | 11 players | $458 million |
| 16 | Tackle | 23 players | $416 million |
| 17 | Linebacker | 16 players | $372 million |
| 18 | Safety | 12 players | $251 million |
![[Subscription Customers Only] Jul 13, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Chelsea FC midfielder Cole Palmer (10) celebrates winning the final of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup at MetLife Stadium](https://frontofficesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/USATSI_26636703-scaled-e1770932227605.jpg?quality=100&w=1024)
