ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- One of the most memorable comments made by Doug Whaley during his four-year tenure (2013-17) as Buffalo Bills general manager came during 2015 training camp when describing the team's quarterback situation.

Whaley said the Bills were "almost in quarterback purgatory" because they did not have a franchise quarterback -- they entered camp that year with a three-way competition between Tyrod Taylor, Matt Cassel and EJ Manuel -- and did not project to pick high enough in the draft to select one of the top prospects.

The No. 1 overall selection in 2015 was Jameis Winston, who could make his first career appearance against the Bills this Sunday at New Era Field if he is cleared from a shoulder injury he suffered in last Sunday's loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Whaley is no longer the Bills' GM after being fired in May, but the possibility of Winston coming to town this week provides a springboard to analyze whether the Bills are in "quarterback purgatory" and what it means for first-year GM Brandon Beane as he prepares for next spring's draft:

Does it take a top draft pick to find a franchise quarterback?

Among quarterbacks selected since 2007, there has not been much of a difference between the performance of those taken in the top five and those chosen in the remainder of the draft.

The combined regular-season winning percentage of the 14 quarterbacks taken in the first five picks of the 2007 through 2017 drafts is .493. Those quarterbacks have completed an average of 60.8 percent of their passes for 7.08 yards per attempt, a 1.66 touchdown-to-interception ratio and 85.8 passer rating. Five of those quarterbacks have career records over .500: Andrew Luck (.614), Matt Ryan (.599), Cam Newton (.566), Carson Wentz (.545) and Mark Sanchez (.514).

Among quarterbacks taken after the No. 5 pick of the 2007 through 2017 drafts, their combined regular-season winning percentage is .459. Those quarterbacks have completed an average of 60.2 percent of their passes for 6.82 yards per attempt, a 1.36 touchdown-to-interception ratio and 81.7 passer rating. Notable quarterbacks with records over .500 include Dak Prescott (.714), Russell Wilson (.700), Andy Dalton (.602), Joe Flacco (.597) and Taylor (.515).

Combined, the quarterbacks chosen in the top five picks of the 2007 through 2017 drafts have appeared in 30 playoff games, winning 13 of them. Sanchez has the most playoff wins, with four. Those players have averaged a 61.6 completion rate, 7.53 yards per attempt, 1.52 touchdown-to-interception ratio and 87.7 passer rating in playoff games.

Quarterbacks chosen after the first five picks have appeared in 63 playoff games since 2007, winning 25 of them. Flacco (10) and Wilson (eight) account for the majority of those postseason wins. Overall, quarterbacks taken outside of the top five have averaged a 56.8 percent completion rate, 7.04 yards per attempt, 1.45 touchdown-to-interception ratio and 80.7 passer rating in playoff games.

What quarterbacks have the Bills selected in the draft?

Since Jim Kelly retired after the 1996 season, the Bills have drafted six quarterbacks: J.P. Losman (No. 22, 2014), Trent Edwards (No. 92, 2007), Levi Brown (No. 209, 2010), EJ Manuel (No. 16, 2013), Cardale Jones (No. 139, 2016) and Nathan Peterman (No. 171, 2017).

Only three of those quarterbacks have started in the NFL: Losman, Edwards and Manuel. Combined, they have a 30-54 career record (.357).

Individually, here is how each has performed:

• Losman: 10-23 career record (2004-11), 59.2 percent completion rate, 6.59 yards per attempt, 0.97 touchdown-to-interception ratio, 75.6 passer rating.

• Edwards: 14-19 career record (2007-12), 60.6 percent completion rate, 6.49 yards per attempt, 0.87 touchdown-to-interception ratio, 75.5 passer rating.

• Manuel: 6-12 career record (2013-17), 58.1 percent completion rate, 6.38 yards per attempt, 1.25 touchdown-to-interception ratio, 77.1 passer rating.

The franchise has selected only three quarterbacks in the first round in its 57-year history: Losman, Manuel and Kelly (No. 14, 1983).

Why have the Bills not chosen at the top of the draft?

The Bills have the NFL's longest active playoff drought, dating back to their last postseason appearance in 1999. So why have they not selected near the top of the draft?

Buffalo has rarely been bad enough. The Bills have a 107-154 record since 2001, which is the sixth-worst in the league. However, they have only finished with 13 or more losses in a season once, in 2001. Over that same span, 11 teams have posted more seasons with 13 or more losses, including the Lions (five), Rams (four) and Jaguars (three).

As a result, the highest original draft spot Buffalo has reached during its drought is third overall in 2011. After Newton and Von Miller were chosen with the first two selections, the Bills took defensive tackle Marcell Dareus. Holding off on a quarterback in that spot seems to have been the right call given Jake Locker (No. 8), Blaine Gabbert (No. 10) and Christian Ponder (No. 12) were the next quarterbacks drafted.

The only other season since 2000 in which the Bills held an original top-five selection was 2002, when they took offensive tackle Mike Williams after quarterbacks David Carr and Joey Harrington came off the board. The next quarterbacks chosen were Patrick Ramsey, Josh McCown and David Garrard, so while Williams was a bust, the mistake did not come at the expense of finding a franchise quarterback.

The Bills are the only team since 2000 not to have at least a 10-win season.

Can the Bills acquire a top quarterback in the 2018 draft?

The Bills entered this season with low expectations after Beane and first-year coach Sean McDermott turned over about half of the roster in the offseason. That gave some fans hope -- for better or worse -- that Buffalo would pick near the top of the draft and take a shot at finding a franchise quarterback.

With a 3-2 start to the season, including an upset win over the Atlanta Falcons, that hope has faded. Barring a complete collapse over the remainder of the season, the Bills will remain on the outside of the group of teams vying for one of the 2018 draft's top spots.

The Bills could attempt to trade their way up the board, but that would come at a significant cost. The Bills own the Kansas City Chiefs' first-round pick next year, but with a 5-1 record, Kansas City is likely to make the playoffs and draft near the bottom of the first round, lessening that pick's trade value. Buffalo also owns the Rams' second-round pick and the Eagles' third-round pick, but with Los Angeles beginning this season 4-2 and Philadelphia now 5-1, those selections could also fall later in those rounds.

The discussion about the Bills drafting a quarterback next spring assumes McDermott and Beane do not view Taylor as their long-term solution. Neither has made a public commitment to Taylor as the starter beyond this season, and after Taylor took a $10 million pay cut and slashed the final three years (2019-21) off his contract this past offseason, it is safe to say the Bills are holding back from a financial commitment to Taylor, too.

Taylor's performance through five games has been up and down. His Week 3 win over Denver was one of his best games of his career, but his Week 5 loss to Cincinnati featured his third-lowest passer rating and lowest yards per attempt of his Bills career.

Taylor has been dealing with a severely depleted group of pass-catchers, hampering his evaluation.

Should the Bills decide to move on from Taylor, one of their options in 2018 could be Peterman. Even so, the expectation if the Bills release or trade Taylor after this season is for a quarterback to be chosen in the first round. Both ESPN NFL draft experts Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay view the 2018 quarterback class as one of the deepest in recent years.