(See Corrections & Amplifications item below.)

With all the attention given to a certain Wrangler jeans-clad, former Packers quarterback, the historic accomplishments of the team's current quarterback are flying under the radar.

Through 32 starts, Aaron Rodgers is off to the best beginning to a career of any quarterback in NFL history, as measured by one of the position's most important stats—touchdown passes per interception (2.9). After this small sample of games, he also ranks as the sport's all-time leader in interception rate (1.8% of pass attempts) and career QB rating (97.2). It's clear the Packers correctly sensed Mr. Rodgers was a star in the making when they ended his role as understudy to Brett Favre the minute Mr. Favre began his now annual retirement ritual.

Like many of the top-10 most precocious quarterbacks in history, Mr. Rodgers may soon find it difficult to maintain his scintillating start. Dan Marino tossed only 1.5 TD passes for every pick the remainder of his career after starting with a ratio of 2.53. Jets Chad Pennington and Ken O'Brien regressed soon after hot starts due to injuries and poor supporting casts. Kurt Warner was unceremoniously benched after 50 starts despite bursting onto the scene as MVP in 1999.



A common thread among many of the quarterbacks on this list is a lengthy apprenticeship. Just as Mr. Rodgers carried the clipboard for Mr. Favre, Tony Romo, David Garrard and Mr. Pennington all did lengthy stints as backups. Mr. Warner and Jeff Garcia, meanwhile, cut their teeth in the Arena Football League and Canadian Football League, respectively. So perhaps "instant success" as an NFL quarterback is a process that actually takes years in the making.