Alaina Getzenberg explains how John Elway, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino became rivals and close friends while helping evolve the NFL. (1:08)
IT HAS BEEN four decades since the future at the most important position in sports arrived in the NFL.
Forty years since an NFL-record six quarterbacks were selected in Round 1: John Elway (No 1 overall), Todd Blackledge (7), Jim Kelly (14) , Tony Eason (15), Ken O'Brien (24) and Dan Marino (27). It was a transformational class led by three -- Elway with the Denver Broncos, Marino with the Miami Dolphins and Kelly with the Buffalo Bills -- who were first-ballot Hall of Famers and were at the forefront of the league's evolution toward high-flying passing offenses.