NFL Draft: Greatest pick from each franchise’s history: Washington Football Team, QB Sammy Baugh
Pick: 1937 NFL Draft, 1st round number 6 overall
Stats:
- 21,886 passing yards
- 187 passing touchdowns
- 56.5 completion percentage
Awards:
- 3 time NFL Champion
- 6 time Pro Bowler
Sammy Baugh hasn’t stepped onto a football field over 50 years, yet his plenty of his passing stats have withstood the test of time. It’s a combination of how good Baugh was but also how bad the Washington Football Team have been at drafting competent players.
A high scoring game was a rare occasion during the 1940s and 50s. Quarterbacks never truly aired things out and more so played it safe with a heavy running attack. Baugh, on the other hand, had other ideas. On four separate occasions he led the NFL in both pass attempts and passing yards. Twice more did he lead the league in passing touchdowns, including in 1940 when he threw only 12.
Baugh was essentially a gun slinger in his day. Twice was he named to the Pro Bowl and on four other occasions did he make the First Team All-Pro. Before the Super Bowl was called the Super Bowl, the biggest game of the year was called the NFL Championship. Baugh brought Washington three of those titles during his run with the team.
Even with offenses exploding in today’s game, Baugh’s 21,886 passing yards rank number three in franchise history and his 187 passing yards holds firm at number one. Baugh’s numbers have continued to top the Washington Football Team charts and because of that, he takes the number spot as the best player the franchise has ever drafted.