INDIANAPOLIS -- Not since spending a second-round pick on Quincy Carter in 2001 have the Cowboys been this diligent about the possibility of using a first-round pick on a quarterback.

The win-now crowd doesn't even want to discuss the topic. If the Cowboys use the fourth overall pick on a quarterback, that player is unlikely to make an impact until Tony Romo's career is over.

Is that two years from now? Three? Four?

Those who believe the Cowboys are closer to 12-4 than 4-12 want immediate help on defense.

But the opportunity to capitalize at the game's most important position can't be overlooked. How often will the Cowboys get a shot at one of the top quarterbacks in a draft class? They might not be drafting this high for another 13 years, which is how long it's been since their last top-five pick.

"You have to look at it," Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said this week from the NFL scouting combine. "If you have the opportunity in this league, in our situation to get a potential franchise quarterback, then you have to make the investment. You have to have the patience. You sacrifice maybe that opportunity that maybe is impactful right now."

Of course, the Cowboys might find that there isn't a franchise quarterback in this class. Multiple quarterbacks are picked in the first round of most drafts. But every class hasn't produced a franchise quarterback.

In fact, five of the last 20 haven't. Fifty-six quarterbacks were drafted in the 2013, 2010, 2007, 2002 and 1996 drafts combined, and not one ended up being a franchise quarterback.

Jared Goff, Carson Wentz and Paxton Lynch are the quarterbacks the Cowboys would probably be choosing from at No. 4. None of the three is getting the predraft hype of a Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck, Cam Newton, Matthew Stafford or Eli Manning.

After seeing how the Cowboys performed without Romo, it's obvious they need to improve at the position. Romo turns 36 in two months, and there's no future starting quarterback on the roster.

Jerry Jones thought about taking a quarterback with the Cowboys' first pick in 2014. But that came in an offseason when the team's owner and general manager thought the Cowboys had their backs against the wall. He doesn't seem to feel the same way two years later.

Another potential route is getting immediate impact players in the first two or three rounds and identifying a developmental quarterback in the middle of the draft.

"That's something we'll be looking at," Stephen Jones said. "We haven't made up our minds at all. If we pick someone other than a quarterback with our first pick, that doesn't mean we're not going to pick one in the second round or the third round or the fourth round."

And that's why the Senior Bowl, scouting combine, pro days and individual visits are going to be so important over the next 62 days. If the research shows they have a chance at getting their next Romo at No. 4, then they should take that player.

But if there are serious doubts about the top quarterback prospects, the focus should be on improving the defense.

"You always want to have a young quarterback in your program that you're developing," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said Wednesday. "For a lot of years, Tony was that young quarterback and he was in his prime. We had some other young quarterbacks who we were trying to develop.

"You always want a guy in his prime, you want a veteran-type guy who can go in and play and function, and then you like to have a young guy who you're grooming and developing. We'll evaluate the players in this draft to see if anybody, at any position in this draft, can fit those criteria as we go."

Twitter: @jonmachota

Franchise QBs?

Quarterbacks selected in the top five of the NFL draft over the last five years:

2015: Jameis Winston (first), Marcus Mariota (second)

2014: Blake Bortles (third)

2013: None

2012: Andrew Luck (first), Robert Griffin III (second)

2011: Cam Newton (first)