The road to the top for the NFL's best quarterbacks has featured various twists and turns. Indianapolis' Peyton Manning was thrust into the starting lineup from Day One; Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers, conversely, had to cool his heels for three years before the Packers traded icon Brett Favre.

Others got their chance when the QB in front of them was injured or faltered. Some stumbled early — the Colts went 3-13 in 1998, when the rookie Manning tossed a league-high 28 interceptions. Others had immediate success — New England, 5-11 in 2000, won 11 of 14 games after Tom Brady stepped in for the injured Drew Bledsoe in '01 and wound up beating the Rams in the Super Bowl.

The quarterback riding the highest as the 2010 season approaches is Drew Brees of Super Bowl champion New Orleans. And among the league's best QBs, Brees has taken perhaps the most circuitous trip to the apex of his career.

Drafted in the second round out of Purdue by San Diego in 2001, Brees rode the bench his rookie season behind Doug Flutie. The Chargers finished 5-11 that year, last in the NFC West. New coach Marty Schottenheimer decided to go with Brees in '02, and the Chargers improved to 8-8.

But when San Diego opened 1-7 the next year, Brees was benched for Flutie. Brees regained the first-team job in 2004 and guided the Chargers to a 12-4 record and the AFC West title.

Flutie left for New England before the '05 season, when San Diego slipped to 9-7. Brees suffered a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder in the last game of the year, a major blow since he was eligible for free agency.

When San Diego, perhaps wary of his ability to recover fully, offered a contract that was short on guaranteed money and long on incentives, Brees instead accepted a six-year, $60 million deal from the Saints, with $10 million guaranteed.

Brees proved dramatically that his shoulder was fine, throwing for 13,880 yards over the next three seasons — including an NFL-high 5,069 in 2008, when he came up just 15 yards short of Dan Marino's single-season record.

The ultimate reward, of course, came this past February. Brees, who completed 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns, was named the Super Bowl MVP after the Saints surprised the Colts 31-17 and brought the Lombardi Trophy back to New Orleans.

Here's a look at how some of the NFL's other leading quarterbacks made their way to stardom.

Tom Brady: Patriots

• Drafted: Sixth round (199th overall) in 2000.

• First start: Started the third game of his second season after QB Drew Bledsoe was hurt and with the Patriots coming off a 5-11 showing in 2000.

• Record: Went 11-3 in his first season as starter.

• Skinny: An instant success, Brady was at the helm for four Patriots squads that reached Super Bowls. New England brought home the Lombardi Trophy after the 2001, 2003 and 2004 seasons. Brady was the MVP of Super Bowl XXXVI, when the Pats upended the heavily favored Rams 20-17, and Super Bowl XXXVIII, when New England beat Carolina 32-29. He's been selected to six Pro Bowls and holds the sixth-highest passer rating (93.3) for quarterbacks who have attempted at least 1,500 passes. Brady was the league MVP in 2007, when he threw 50 TD passes and was intercepted just eight times. The Patriots went 16-0 but were stunned by the New York Giants 17-14 in the Super Bowl.

Brett Favre: Vikings

• Drafted: Second round (33rd overall) by Atlanta in 1991.

• First start: Started for Green Bay in the third game of his second season, replacing Don Majkowski after the Packers opened 0-2.

• Record: Went 8-5 in his first season as starter.

• Skinny: Favre, who has started a league-record 309 consecutive games (including playoffs), holds many major NFL passing records after 19 seasons. His teams have won eight division championships, two conference titles and a Super Bowl (with the Packers after the 1996 season). The 11-time Pro Bowler is the only player in NFL history to be selected as the league MVP three consecutive years (1995-97). After one season in Atlanta, Favre was traded to Green Bay for the 19th overall pick in the 1992 draft. He spent 16 seasons with the Packers, who traded him to the New York Jets in August 2008. Favre retired after the season, but later relented and signed a free-agent deal with Minnesota. In 2009, at age 40, he put together one of his best seasons, throwing for 4,202 yards and 33 touchdowns, with only seven interceptions, as he led the Vikings to the NFC title game.

Peyton Manning: Colts

• Drafted: No. 1 overall in 1998.

• First start: Started as a rookie for the Colts, who were coming off a 3-13 record in '97.

• Record: Went 3-13 in his first season.

• Skinny: Manning, a 10-time Pro Bowler, has started all 192 games since being drafted by the Colts, compiling a 131-61 record. He's guided Indianapolis to eight consecutive seasons of at least 10 wins and seven AFC East championships. The Colts beat Chicago 29-17 to win the Super Bowl after the 2006 season, and Manning was voted the game's MVP. Indy reached the Super Bowl again this past February but was upset by the Saints 31-17. Manning has been named the league MVP a record four times. He holds NFL records for most seasons with 4,000 or more passing yards (10) and most consecutive seasons with at least 4,000 yards (six). He's the Colts franchise leader in career wins, passing yards, pass attempts, pass completions and passing touchdowns.

Aaron Rodgers: Packers

• Drafted: First round (24th overall) in 2005.

• First start: Started the first game of his fourth season after Brett Favre was traded to the Jets.

• Record: Went 6-10 in his first season.

• Skinny: After appearing in just five games over his first three seasons, Rodgers quickly showed why Green Bay invested a first-round pick in him. Although the Packers finished third in the NFC North, ahead of only the 0-16 Lions, he threw for 4,038 yards during his first year as a starter, completing 63.6 percent of his passes. He had 28 touchdown passes vs. 13 interceptions. Rodgers followed that by boosting his yardage total to 4,434 last year, with 30 touchdowns, just seven interceptions and a completion percentage of 64.7. The Packers improved to 11-5 and made the playoffs, and Rodgers was named to the Pro Bowl.

Ben Roethlisberger: Steelers

• Drafted: First round (11th overall) in 2004.

• First start: Started the third game of rookie season after the Steelers opened 1-1 with Tommy Maddox at quarterback..

• Record: Went 13-0 in his first season and was named AFC offensive rookie of the year.

• Skinny: After his standout showing as a rookie, Roethlisberger guided Pittsburgh to the Super Bowl after the 2005 season, where the Steelers knocked off Seattle 21-10. It was the Steelers' first league championship since 1979. Pittsburgh won it all again after the '08 season, edging Arizona 27-23 with a late TD on a pass from Roethlisberger to wide receiver Santonio Holmes. Roethlisberger has a 60-26 record as a starter, the fifth-highest winning percentage (69.8) in the regular season among QBs with at least 80 starts. His 63.3 percent career completion rate is the eighth-best mark in league history for QBs with at least 1,500 attempts. Roethlisberger will start this season with a six-game suspension (that probably will be reduced to four) levied by the league after he faced sexual-assault allegations.