LOVERRO: Washington has had its share of springtime saviors. Remember Heath Shuler?

I know this information I’m about to dispense here is well known. Some of you lived through it, others have heard about it.

But, like a good antibiotic, I think it may help reduce the fever that has gripped Washington Commanders fans in the hours leading up to the first round of the NFL draft Thursday night.

With the second pick in the draft, the Commanders have an opportunity to dig out of the quarterback grave they’ve been buried in for more than 30 years. The excitement of that opportunity has reached a frenzied pitch, because there are choices to be made — at least three different young quarterbacks to choose from.

Fans and pundits have lined up behind either Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye or J.J. McCarthy as the path the Commanders should take to dig out of the darkness and lead them to the light.

Some are convinced their guy is the right choice. Others are putting their faith in the new brain trust of general manager Adam Peters, assistant general manager Lance Newmark and coach Dan Quinn, and believe they will make the right decision.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Heath Shuler.

I know, you’re rolling your eyes. You know about Shuler, the Tennessee quarterback Washington selected with the third pick in the 1994 draft who turned out to be the biggest bust in franchise history who lost his starting job to the afterthought quarterback Washington picked in that draft — seventh-rounder Gus Frerotte.

I know, everybody knows the story. But have you relived it recently? There have been so many organizational failures since then, you may have forgotten the lessons that should have been seared into your bones when it comes to drafting quarterbacks.

Nobody knows nothing.

In 1994 the decision makers were Super Bowl general manager Charley Casserly and new coach Norv Turner, just hired after leading the Dallas Cowboys offense to two Super Bowl titles and hailed as the offensive genius of his time (in the resume department, that would seem to be them a step ahead of rookie GM Peters and former Cowboys defensive coordinator Quinn).

In 1994, they had choices too: Would they take Shuler? Or Fresno State quarterback Trent Dilfer (who ended up going to Tampa Bay).

Washington had been leaning toward Dilfer, but when Turner got hired, he had his sights set on Shuler.

Turner said the staff in Dallas believed Shuler could be as good as Troy Aikman, then in the midst of putting together a Hall of Fame career.

“This was one of the big factors in me being as interested in the job as I was,” Turner told reporters after they selected Shuler. “Having the third pick and knowing there was two good young quarterbacks out there, and the chance to start with a young quarterback and watch him develop, that’s the ultimate thing, not only for a new head coach, but for any head coach.”

Choices — what could go wrong, right?

Remember, Turner was considered one of the top offensive minds of his time — certainly more respected and celebrated than the Commanders’ current resident offensive genius, Kliff Kingsbury.

And look how wrong Turner was — not just about Shuler, but also Dilfer, who won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens in 2000 as a caretaker quarterback and spent nearly half of his 13 years in the league as a backup.

These are not the choices Washington fans hope they have with Daniels, Maye and McCarthy, as this quarterback group is rated to be a strong one coming out of college.

But I doubt anyone doing the ratings knows more about offense than Turner did 30 years ago. So calm down, and hope they get it right — because you certainly, and they as well, don’t really know.

In the days before the players union agreed to a rookie wage scale, Shuler held out for two weeks in a contract dispute before finally reporting after signing an eight-year, $19.25 million contract, which was the richest in franchise history and the biggest rookie deal in NFL history. No Top Golf outing for Shuler.

With all the furor over their Top Golf trip, you would have thought Peters took the team’s draft prospects to Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club on their little social experiment.

They may have learned who plays well with others. But they still don’t know who will be an NFL quarterback. Neither did Norv Turner in 1994. And neither do you.

You can hear Thom Loverro on The Kevin Sheehan Show podcast.