Every Jets starting quarterback ever: Full list

The NY Jets have a quarterback history that would make most other teams quiver in fear. On top of the fact that success has been few and far between, some of the names that have shuffled in and out of the starting lineup put the Jets on a one-way ticket to pain.

The last few years have been tough to watch for fans, but there have been a few bright spots of sustained success.

For every Jets bust that has occupied the starting role for far too long, there's a hidden and standout player who managed to break through and lead New York to some glory. Is the overall history better or worse than you previously imagined?

Every Jets starting quarterback ever:

Joe Namath: 125 starts

Namath's ordinary stats will earn him the "overrated" tag from anyone who doesn't dive deep into the data. In his era, Namath had one of the biggest arms and most prominent clutch genes out there. He remains the only Jets quarterback to appear in and win a Super Bowl.

Namath became the first quarterback in history to throw for 4,000 yards (in 14 games) in 1967 and won AFL Player of the Year in 1968. Namath still owns every Jets career passing record that matters, and his records won't fall anytime soon.

Ken O'Brien: 106 starts

O'Brien gets some unfair hate for being "not Dan Marino," but the fellow 1983 draftee was a solid quarterback for almost a decade. A two-time Pro Bowler who had the lowest interception percentage in the NFL three times in four years, O'Brien threw for just under 25,000 yards during his career with the Jets.

Richard Todd: 94 starts

While Todd did take the Jets to an AFC Championship game and put up gaudy numbers in his prime, Todd's penchant for turning the ball over limited how much success he could put together in New York. Todd averaged 23 interceptions per 17 games in New York, though he also averaged over 3,000 yards per season in that span.

Mark Sanchez: 62 starts

Sanchez was not a good quarterback, as he threw more interceptions than touchdowns. However, he was good enough to game-manage the Jets to consecutive AFC Championship games, winning a record four road playoff games along the way to do so.

Sanchez never had the accuracy to match his big arm, but the Jets did him no favors by giving him an outdated scheme and a head coach in Rex Ryan who didn't have expansive offensive football knowledge.

Vinny Testaverde: 61 starts

The perfect quarterback for Bill Parcells when he took the Jets job, Testaverde was a highly productive player who led the Jets to postseason success on the back of arguably the best season any Jets quarterback ever had in 1998. Ultimately, a 1999 injury ruined his effectiveness. While not a star, Testaverde managed to hang around until age 44 in 2007.

Chad Pennington: 61 starts

Pennington lacked the arm strength he needed to develop into an elite passer, and his injuries would constantly blunt his momentum. However, Pennington is one of the most accurate passers ever, nailing 66% of his passes in an era where it was more difficult to be that efficient. Pennington threw 82 touchdowns in his tenure with the Jets.

Boomer Esiason: 42 starts

Esiason was not the MVP-level passer he was in Cincinnati, but he was far from the biggest problem the Jets had in the mid-1990s. A Pro Bowler in 1993 who played for three coaches in three years, Esiason's 13-27 record as a starter is not reflective of his overall performance.

Sam Darnold: 38 starts

The Vikings will be the fourth team to try and turn Darnold into an NFL starter. While he did have some moments of brilliance, and Adam Gase hurt his development immensely, Darnold's roller-coaster play and penchant for ill-advised throws made it tough for the Jets to consider him a long-term starter,

Zach Wilson: 33 starts

Lord knows the Jets gave Wilson more than enough chances to prove himself as a franchise quarterback, and it never seemed to take. Wilson was offloaded to the Broncos, cementing his unfortunate legacy as one of the worst draft picks in recent NFL History. Even Namath didn't like him.

Geno Smith: 30 starts

Smith's success in Seattle has to be very ironic for some Jets fans, as he was not a good quarterback in New York. Smith was in a terrible offensive system where no quarterback could have performed above their capabilities, but his own inexperience and turnover problems didn't help.

Al Dorow: 27 starts

Perhaps one of the best players in Titans of New York history, Dorow's two seasons as the starter for Sammy Baugh's team were an exercise in extremes. Dorow led the AFL in touchdown passes with 26 in 1960, but he followed that up by throwing 30 interceptions in 1961.

Ryan Fitzpatrick: 27 starts

Fitzpatrick, like Dorow, had one amazing season and one terrible one. Fitzpatrick's 31 touchdowns in 2015 have now been equaled across Jets history. However, his 2016 season saw him regress to the mean. By 2017, the Jets were off of Fitzpatrick, leaving 2015 as a one-hit wonder.

Dick Wood: 24 starts

Wood succeeded Dorow in 1963, but his tenure was unremarkable. With 44 picks in two seasons, Wood may have done the Jets a favor by playing just poorly enough to convince the front office that Namath was a necessity.

Every Jets starting quarterback with 20 or fewer starts: