Drew Brees has surpassed many milestones in nearly 25 years as a high school, college and professional quarterback. One he hasn't surpassed, however, is 100,000 career passing yards from his prep days to his professional career. That could happen soon, however, as he's about 4,300 yards away from the mark. With 95,678 combined yards, the former Westlake (Austin, Texas) standout tops MaxPreps' list of Top 50 quarterbacks with the most all-time combined passing yardage.
Brees, who threw for 5,464 yards at Westlake, 11,792 yards at Purdue and 78,422 yards through last week's games at the professional level, is over 5,000 yards ahead of No. 2 Peyton Manning, who had 90,331 yards combined at Newman (New Orleans), the University of Tennessee and in the NFL with the Colts and Broncos during his career. Tom Brady is No. 3 with 83,980 yards.
For the most part, the list order follows the NFL's all-time yardage list order since many of the quarterbacks had the huge majority of their yardage at the professional level. But that wasn't always the case.
Case Keenum is the greatest outlier. Ranked No. 158 on the NFL's all-time passing list, Keenum sits at No. 46 on this list, thanks largely to his 19,217 yards in college. Other outliers include Derek Carr (No. 89 in NFL history, No. 36 on this list), Andrew Luck (86 and 47) and Daunte Culpepper (80 and 50).
Others, like Brett Favre, Fran Tarkenton and Johnny Unitas, three quarterbacks who held the all-time yardage lead in the NFL for most of the past 70 years, barely threw the ball in high school which hurt their standing on this list. Favre's totals are hard to find, but one source reported that he had 1,200 yards passing in high school. Favre held the all-time NFL yardage mark from 2007 to 2015.
Tarkenton, one of the NFL's all-time leading rushing quarterbacks, was more of a rusher in high school as well. His official totals were not located, but he reportedly had two games over 100 yards passing and several games with zero yards passing. He held the NFL career passing yardage mark from 1976 to 1995.
Unitas, who was the NFL's career yardage leader from 1966 to 1976, was twice named All-Catholic League in Pittsburgh, Pa., but his team scored about 125 points in his two years on the varsity and only won five games. He also played during an era, the 1940s-50s, when teams ran the ball much more than they threw it.
High school quarterbacks of the past 10 years have already closed in on a spot in the top 50. Current quarterbacks who could soon enter the top 50 include: Jared Goff, 35,164; DeShaun Watson, 34,053; Dak Prescott, 31,876; Patrick Mahomes, 30,256; Baker Mayfield, 29,317 and Kyler Murray, 20,476.
There were some guidelines to compiling the list. First, professional yardage from the USFL, World Football League, AFL and AAFC (All-American Football Conference) are included. Canadian Football League, indoor leagues and developmental leagues were not considered. Recent professional leagues, such as the Alliance of American Football, were considered, but there were no qualifiers. Playoff yardage and preseason yardage was not included since it is not included on career yardage totals in the NFL.
All college yardage was allowed, including junior college. Four players on the list played at the community college level, including Aaron Rodgers, Warren Moon, Steve DeBerg and Cam Newton. College yardage included any bowl games.
All high school yardage was allowed, including playoffs. Sometimes when a quarterback was a backup on the varsity, yardage gained was not available. Some quarterbacks also did not have complete high school yardage available online. These included Fran Tarkenton, Cam Newton, Johnny Unitas, Jon Kitna, Phil Simms, Vinny Testaverde and Boomer Esiason. Close estimations were included in place of actual documented yardage.
Sources included Pro-football reference, college football reference, state association websites, MaxPreps leaderboards and newspapers.com. Any additions or corrections can be sent to kevinaskeland65@gmail.com.
Jon Kitna totaled nearly 45,000 passing yards and lands at No. 33 on the list of career passing leaders from preps to the pros.
File photo by Vince Miller
1. Drew Brees — 95,678
Prep: Westlake (Austin, Texas), 5,464
College: Purdue, 11,792
Pro: Chargers, Saints, 78,422
2. Peyton Manning — 90,331
Prep: Newman (New Orleans), 7,190
College: Tennessee, 11,201
Pro: Colts, Broncos, 71,940
3. Tom Brady — 83,980
Prep: Serra (San Mateo, Calif.), 3,514
College: Michigan, 4,773
Pro: Patriots, Buccaneers, 75,639
4. Brett Favre — 80,733
Prep: Hancock Central (Sparta, Ga.), 1,200
College: Southern Miss., 7,695
Pro: Falcons, Packers, Jets, Vikings, 71,838
5. Philip Rivers — 77,412
Prep: Athens (Ala.), 3,403
College: North Carolina State, 13,484
Pro: Chargers, Colts, 60,255
6. Eli Manning — 74,410
Prep: Newman (New Orleans), 7,268
College: Mississippi, 10,119
Pro: Giants, 57,023
7. Dan Marino — 72,634
Prep: Central Catholic (Pittsburgh, Pa.), 2,676
College: Pittsburgh, 8,597
Pro: Dolphins, 61,361
8. Ben Roethlisberger — 72,192
Prep: Findlay (Ohio), 4,041
College: Miami (Ohio), 10,829
Pro: Steelers, 57,322
9. John Elway — 66,535
Prep: Granada Hills Charter (Calif.), 5,711
College: Stanford, 9,349
Pro: Broncos, 51,475
10. Matt Ryan — 64,729
Prep: William Penn Charter (Philadelphia), 2,984
College: Boston College, 9,313
Pro: Falcons, 52,432
11. Carson Palmer — 62,851
Prep: Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.), 4,786
College: Southern California, 11,818
Pro: Bengals, Raiders, Cardinals, 46,247
12. Aaron Rodgers — 60,456
Prep: Pleasant Valley (Chico, Calif.), 4,419
College: Butte College, California-Berkeley, 7,877
Pro: Packers, 48,160
13. Matthew Stafford — 58,731
Prep: Highland Park (Dallas), 7,731
College: Georgia, 8,958
Pro: Lions, 42,042
14. Warren Moon — 56,178
Prep: Hamilton (Los Angeles), 983
College: West Los Angeles CC, Washington, 5,870
Pro: Oilers, Vikings, 49,325
15. Drew Bledsoe — 56,044
Prep: Walla Walla (Wash.), 4060
College: Washington State, 7,373
Pro: Patriots, Bills, Cowboys, 44,611
16. Vinny Testaverde — 55,091
Prep: Sewanhaka (Floral Park, N.Y.), 2,800 (estimation)
College: Miami, 6,058
Pro: Seven teams, 46,233
17. Jim Kelly — 54,452
Prep: East Brady (Pa.), 3,915
College: Miami, 5,228
Pro: Gamblers (USFL), Bills, 45,309
18. Joe Flacco — 52,677
Prep: Audubon (N.J.), 5,137
College: Pittsburgh, Delaware, 7,457
Pro: Ravens, Jets, 40,083
19. Dan Fouts — 51,954
Prep: Marin Catholic (Kentfield, Calif.),
St. Ignatius (San Francisco), 2,919
College: Oregon, 5,995
Pro: Chargers, 43,040
20. Fran Tarkenton — 49,903
Prep: Athens (Ga.), 800 (estimation)
College: Georgia, 2,100
Pro: Vikings, Giants, Vikings, 47,003
21. Steve McNair — 49,516
Prep: Mount Olive (Miss.), 3,202
College: Alcorn State, 15,010
Pro: Titans, Ravens, 31,304
22. Russell Wilson — 49,035
Prep: Collegiate (Richmond, Va.), 6,296
College: Wisconsin, 11,720
Pro: Seahawks, 31,019
23. Kerry Collins — 48,279
Prep: Wilson (West Lawn, Pa.), 2,053
College: Penn State, 5,304
Pro: Six teams, 40,922
24. Jay Cutler — 48,176
Prep: Heritage Hills (Lincoln City, Ind.), 4,346
College: Vanderbilt, 8,697
Pro: Broncos, Bears, Dolphins, 35,133
25. Boomer Esiason — 47,979
Prep: East Islip (Islip Terrace, N.Y.), 3,800 (estimate)
College: Maryland, 6,259
Pro: Bengals, Jets, 37,920
26. Donovan McNabb — 47,393
Prep: Chicago Mt. Carmel (Chicago), 1,728
College: Syracuse, 8,389
Pro: Eagles, Redskins, Vikings, 37,276
27. Joe Montana — 47,039
Prep: Ringgold (Monongahela, Pa.), 2,367
College: Notre Dame, 4,121
Pro: 49ers, Chiefs, 40,551
28. Steve Young — 46,179
Prep: Greenwich (Conn.), 1,220
College: BYU, 7,733
Pro: Express (USFL), Buccaneers, 49ers, 37,226
29. Tony Romo — 46,115
Prep: Burlington (Wis.), 3,720
College: Eastern Illinois, 8,212
Pro: Cowboys, 34,183
30. Andy Dalton — 45,463
Prep: Katy (Texas), 3,555
College: TCU, 10,314
Pro: Bengals, Cowboys, 31,594
31. Dave Krieg — 44,515
Prep: D.C. Everest (Schofield, Wis.), 854
College: MIlton, 5,514
Pro: Six teams, 38,147
32. Johnny Unitas — 44,378
Prep: St. Justin's (Pittsburgh), 1,000 (estimation)
College: Louisville, 3,139
Pro: Colts, Chargers, 40,239
33. Jon Kitna — 44,098
Prep: Lincoln (Tacoma, Wash.), 2,000 (estimation)
College: Central Washington, 12,353
Pro: Four teams, 29,745
34. Jim Everett — 44,008
Prep: Eldorado (Albuquerque), 1,760
College: Purdue, 7,411
Pro: Rams, Saints, Chargers, 34,837
35. Jake Plummer — 43,976
Prep: Capital (Boise, Idaho), 6,097
College: Arizona State, 8,626
Pro: Cardinals, Broncos, Buccaneers, 29,253
36. Derek Carr — 43,666
Prep: Fort Bend Clements (Sugar Land, Texas),
Bakersfield Christian (Bakersfield, Calif.), 6,935
College: Fresno State, 12,843
Pro: Raiders, 23,888
37. Matt Hasselbeck — 43,333
Prep: Xaverian Brothers (Westwood, Mass.), 2,147
College: Boston College, 4,548
Pro: Four teams, 36,638
38. Alex Smith — 42,567
Prep: Helix (La Mesa, Calif.), 3,296
College: Utah, 5,203
Pro: 49ers, Chiefs, Redskins, 34,068
39. Ryan Fitzpatrick — 42,226
Prep: Highland (Gilbert, Ariz.), 3,112
College: Harvard, 5,234
Pro: Eight teams, 33,880
40. Jeff George — 41,940
Prep: Warren Central (Indianapolis), 8,126
College: Illinois, 6,212
Pro: Seven teams, 27,602
41. Troy Aikman — 41,744
Prep: Henryetta (Okla.), 3,021
College: Oklahoma, UCLA, 5,781
Pro: Cowboys, 32,942
42. Mark Brunell — 41,388
Prep: St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.), 5,893
College: Washington, 3,423
Pro: Five teams, 32,072
43. Joe Ferguson — 40,958
Prep: Woodlawn-Shreveport (La.), 6,710
College: Arkansas, 4,431
Pro: Four teams, 29,817
44. Phil Simms — 40,607
Prep: Southern (Louisville, Ky.), 1,600 (estimation)
College: Morehead State, 5,545
Pro: Giants, 33,462
45. Randall Cunningham — 40,600
Prep: Santa Barbara (Calif.), 2,331
College: UNLV, 8,290
Pro: Four teams, 29,979
46. Case Keenum — 40,368
Prep: Wylie (Abilene, Texas), 6,783
College: Houston, 19,217
Pro: Five teams, 14,368
47. Andrew Luck — 40,128
Prep: Stratford (Houston), 7,027
College: Stanford, 9,430
Pro: Colts, 23,671
48. Steve DeBerg — 39,857
Prep: Savanna (Anaheim, Calif.), 1,831
College: Fullerton College, San Jose State, 3,785
Pro: Eight teams, 34,241
49. Cam Newton — 39,696
Prep: Westlake (Atlanta), 4,200 (estimation)
College: Florida, Blinn College, Auburn, 5,741
Pro: Panthers, Patriots, 29,755
50. Daunte Culpepper — 39,601
Prep: Vanguard (Ocala, Fla.), 6,107
College: Central Florida, 9,341
Pro: Four teams, 24,153
