After his second NFL season, Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young has entered the Alabama alumni top 10 for NFL passing yards at No. 8.
Young’s ascension put four current quarterbacks among the eight most prolific Alabama passers in NFL history. Tua Tagovailoa, Jalen Hurts, Mac Jones and Young form the bottom half of the top eight.
The top half of Ken Stabler, Joe Namath, Bart Starr and Richard Todd have been in those spots for 40 seasons. They’ll probably stay there for one more year. But when the 2026 season arrives, Tagovailoa and Hurts seem likely to be within range of overtaking Todd for the fourth spot.
Young’s entry into the top 10 pushed Jeff Rutledge off the list. Rutledge played his final game in 1992.
In addition to the four current quarterbacks in the top 10, one other Alabama alumnus threw a pass in the 2024 NFL regular season – Los Angeles Chargers punter JK Scott. Scott got his first NFL completion on a 3-yard throw from punt formation in a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Dec. 1.
Hurts led the Alabama quarterbacks in NFL passing yards in 2024 with 2,903. That’s his regular-season total. It doesn’t include his 726 passing yards in Philadelphia’s four postseason wins, capped by Super Bowl LIX.
The top 10 NFL passers among Alabama alumni (as measured by passing yards):
1. Ken Stabler: 27,938 passing yards
Oakland Raiders 1970-79, Houston Oilers 1980-81, New Orleans Saints 1982-84: The former Foley High School standout completed 2,270-of-3,793 passes with 194 touchdowns and 222 interceptions for a 75.3 passer rating. The Super Bowl-winning quarterback for the 1976 season, Stabler was the 1974 NFL MVP and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
2. Joe Namath: 27,663 passing yards
New York Jets 1965-76, Los Angeles Rams 1977: Namath completed 1,886-of-3,762 passes with 173 touchdowns and 220 interceptions for a 65.5 passer rating. Namath was the AFL Player of the Year in 1968 and the MVP of the Jets' Super Bowl III victory. He led the AFL in passing yards in 1966 and 1967 and the NFL in 1972. Namath joined the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.
3. Bart Starr: 24,718 passing yards
Green Bay Packers 1956-71: The former Sidney Lanier High School standout completed 1,808-of-3,149 passes with 152 touchdowns and 138 interceptions for an 80.5 passer rating. Starr played quarterback for five NFL championship teams, including the winners of the first two Super Bowls, and he won the MVP honor in both those games. The NFL MVP for the 1966 season, Starr entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977 in his first year of eligibility.
4. Richard Todd: 20,610 passing yards
New York Jets 1976-83, New Orleans Saints 1984-85: The former Davidson High School standout completed 1,610-of-2,967 passes with 124 touchdowns and 161 interceptions for a 67.6 passer rating. In addition to being Stabler’s teammate in the Snake’s final NFL season, Todd was a teammate of Namath’s in Broadway Joe’s final season with the Jets, and he followed Namath’s run as New York’s starting QB with eight seasons of his own under center.
5. Tua Tagovailoa: 15,506 passing yards
Miami Dolphins 2020-24: The fifth player picked in the 2020 NFL Draft has completed 1,387-of-2,037 passes with 100 touchdowns and 44 interceptions for a 97.9 passer rating.
6. Jalen Hurts: 11,764 passing yards
Philadelphia Eagles 2020-24: The 53rd player picked in the 2020 NFL Draft has completed 1,248-of-1,939 passes with 85 touchdowns and 39 interceptions for a 93.5 passer rating.
7. Mac Jones: 10,590 passing yards
New England Patriots 2021-23, Jacksonville Jaguars 2024: The 15th player picked in the 2021 NFL Draft has completed 1,035-of-1,570 passes with 54 touchdowns and 44 interceptions for an 84.9 passer rating.
8. Bryce Young: 5,280 passing yards
Carolina Panthers 2023-24: The first player picked in the 2023 NFL Draft has completed 549-of-911 passes with 26 touchdowns and 19 interceptions for a 77.3 passer rating.
9. Scott Hunter: 4,756 passing yards
Green Bay Packers 1971-73, Buffalo Bills 1974, Atlanta Falcons 1976-77, Detroit Lions 1979: The former Vigor High School standout completed 335-of-748 passes with 23 touchdowns and 38 interceptions for a 55.0 passer rating. Hunter’s rookie NFL season in Green Bay was Starr’s final one as quarterback of the Packers.
10. Harry Gilmer: 3,786 passing yards
Washington Redskins 1948-54, Detroit Lions 1955-56: The former Woodlawn High School standout completed 263-of-579 passes with 23 touchdowns and 45 interceptions for a 48.0 passer rating. Gilmer was the first player picked in the 1948 NFL Draft.
Stabler has held the top spot on the Alabama passing list since he completed a 16-yard pass to wide receiver Eugene Goodlow on Sept. 16, 1984, for the Saints in an NFC West game against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Saints’ starting quarterback in the game was Todd. But Todd threw three interceptions in his first seven passes, and with New Orleans trailing 17-0 in the second quarter, Stabler took the field.
On his first pass of the second half, Stabler passed Namath for Alabama’s NFL record. Stabler played in only two more NFL games.
