The mid-80s
In 1983, Jeff Christensen was a fifth-round pick out of Illinois. He saw time with Cincy, Cleveland and Philly. His lone NFL stats came as a Brown, going 1-1 in two starts. He has become a quarterbacks guru/trainer. The Bengals finally found a quarterback who stuck and did well with the team in 1984. They selected Boomer Esiason out of Maryland in 1984 with the 38th overall pick. The lefty became the face of the franchise for 10 seasons, throwing for more than 27,000 yards. With Esiason entrenched, the Bengals next chose a QB in 1986. It was Doug Gaynor (fourth, Long Beach State). Gaynor threw three passes, completing all of them, in his lone season.