The Lead
For more than 40 years, John Elway and Dan Marino have been tied together. As members of a legendary quarterback class in the 1983 NFL Draft, the two developed into Pro Football Hall of Fame players who rewrote record books on their way to earning gold jackets.
Recently, Marino was asked by Sports Illustrated to name his Mount Rushmore of NFL quarterbacks, and naturally, Elway was on the list — though Marino stopped short of naming the exact four he'd pick.
"I always loved Joe Namath, I always loved [Terry] Bradshaw," Marino began, "but, to me, [Joe] Montana and Elway, Jim Kelly, all those guys. That's three. … I feel like I could play with all those guys."
While this initial trio is made up of Marino's contemporaries — and he was unwilling to put himself on his own Mount Rushmore — he also made sure to touch on more recent greats, though he wouldn't pick a final member.
"And Patrick Mahomes, he's got to be considered one of the best ever, too," Marino said. "And you've got Tom Brady, you've got a lot of guys. So there's a lot to pick from."
