Jul 8

Jul 8 Top 10 NFL Number 1 Draft Picks of All Time

The 10 Greatest Number 1 Overall Draft Picks in NFL History

Terry Bradshaw smiling on a submarine — Terry Bradshaw - All smiles

Being selected Number 1 overall in an NFL Draft is an honour. However, the pressure that comes with the honour is greater than any other prospect will face.

Given how the NFL draft operates, the team with the worst record from the previous season is given the top pick. Whoever is selected, has been identified as the cream of the crop from the available college prospects.

They are expected to turn around the fortunes of a team, become a leader and the new face of the franchise.

Teams often get it wrong. The jump in quality from the college level to the pros is monumental. Scouts often miss-evaluate a prospect. Sometimes the player doesn’t fit the coaches scheme as well as they had assumed. Unforeseen off-field drama can ruin a player's career. No draft pick is a certainty, even at Number 1 overall.

Today we are going to rank the Top 10 Number 1 overall selections since the NFL merger in 1970. Ranking players based on the success of their WHOLE career, taking into account the accomplishments players achieved with teams who didn’t draft them.

For example, Carson Palmer was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals first overall in 2003, but arguably had more success with the Arizona Cardinals later in his career. His overall career will be assessed, not just his time with the Bengals.

Without further delay, let’s get ranking...

10) Cam Newton - Carolina Panthers

Year: 2011

College: Auburn

So many names would have been deserving of a Top 10 spot. Mathew Stafford, Andrew Luck, Carson Palmer are all having or had solid careers as an NFL quarterback.

However, Newton has earned achievements the others don’t have. A Superbowl appearance, and most importantly on his CV, a League MVP award from 2015.

Newton is one of the most athletic quarterbacks in NFL history and is still plying his trade in the NFL over a decade later.

9) Lee Roy Selmon - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Year: 1976

College: Oklahoma

A name perhaps not recognised by NFL newbies. But there will be no recency bias in this ranking. Selmon was the first-ever selection for the Buccaneers franchise when they formed a team in the mid-1970s, and remains a legend of the franchise.

A dominant defensive tackle, Selmon earned six Pro Bowl appearances, three All-Pro selections and even won NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1979. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1995, and Tampa Bay retired his jersey number, 63, just a few years after his retirement.

8) Earl Campbell - Houston Oilers

Year: 1978

College: Texas

Campbell dominated the opposition over a limited time in the NFL. In just an eight-year career, the running back made every season count. The Oilers pick earned three All-Pro selections and won the 1979 MVP award.

With some longevity, Campbell would be higher on this list, but his punishing, physical running style meant his career was always unlikely to last. However, the Hall of Famer earns this spot for the lasting impact he had on the league as a runner.

7) Eli Manning - San Diego Chargers

Year: 2004

College: Ole Miss

Part of perhaps the most famous draft-day trades in NFL history. Everything worked out for Manning, who forced the Chargers to trade him to the New York Giants on draft day in 2004, in the Big Apple.

Manning will be in the Hall of Fame one day, and despite a middling statistical career, his two Super Bowl rings have ensured the quarterbacks’ name will be etched into Giants folklore for generations to come. Say what you like about his regular-season record, Manning is one of the most clutch playoff quarterbacks in NFL history.

6) Orlando Pace - St Louis Rams

Year: 1997

College: Ohio State

Some love for the offensive linemen. Pace is the best offensive lineman to be taken with the number 1 overall pick. An NFL Hall of Famer, Pace was the dominant blindside protector of Kurt Warner on one of the best offenses in league history.

Part of “The Greatest Show on Turf,” with the Rams, Pace is a Super Bowl champion, six-time Pro Bowler and earned three All-Pro selections. In the running for the best offensive lineman of all time, Pace is easily one of the best number one draft picks of all time.

5) Troy Aikman - Dallas Cowboys

Year: 1989

College: UCLA

There is no doubt Troy Aikman was a key part of three Dallas Cowboys championship teams in the 1990s. However, just how integral Aikman was to that star-studded team is up for debate.

Regardless, Aikman has three Super Bowl rings, a Super Bowl MVP award, six Pro-Bowl selections and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006. Aikman loyalists certainly have a glittering CV to show anyone who doubts Aikman’s career was anything less than outstanding.

4) John Elway - Baltimore Colts

Year: 1983

College: Stanford

This is going to be a little low for some critics. Elway was traded to the Denver Broncos without ever playing for the team who officially drafted him. He is one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. But I rank the next player on this list ahead of him purely based on ability to get his team over the hump more often.

Elway had a fantastic career, two Super Bowl titles, 1987 MVP and three Pro-Bowl selections, with the Broncos. His Helicopter Dive fighting for extra yards against the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXIII is iconic as Elway hunted down his first of two titles. He has given his life to the game, now as the Broncos General Manager.

3) Terry Bradshaw - Pittsburgh Steelers

Year: 1970

College: Louisiana Tech

Anyone who doubts Terry Bradshaw was not integral to the domination the Steelers enjoyed throughout the 1970s was not paying attention. The game was played very differently in Bradshaw's era, so the quarterback is never going to have the impressive stats of players in the 21st century.

Bradshaw was the driving force, and the perfect leader for the Steelers offense on a team who under his watch, won four titles.

Bradshaw’s style was a glimpse into the future of the position, as he had the tendency to push the ball down the field more than anyone else of the era. We can debate Elway or Bradshaw here, but Bradshaw is better than people give him credit for, earning just as many MVPs and Pro-Bowl selections with double the amount of Super Bowl rings as Elway.

2) Bruce Smith - Buffalo Bills

Year: 1985

College: Virginia Tech

Bruce Smith represents defensive players on this list. What a player he was.

Smith leads the league in All-Time sacks, although sacks were only registered as a statistic for the defensive player from 1982 onwards. Regardless, Smith’s 200 sacks in 279 career games is an incredible record.

Even more impressive, is Smith’s longevity as a defensive end. Notching up 13 seasons with double-digit sacks. Over a 19-year career with the Bills and later Washington, Smith won Defensive Player of the Year twice, eight first-Team All-Pro selections, 11 Pro-Bowl selections and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009.

Smith is arguably the best pass rusher in NFL history. The definition of a home run Number 1 selection.

1) Peyton Manning - Indianapolis Colts

Year: 1999

College: Tennessee

Manning is one of the best players in NFL history. Deserving of more than his two Super Bowl rings, the quarterback set numerous league records over his 18-year career, and is widely considered one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.

A five-time NFL MVP, Manning is the greatest regular-season quarterback of all time and eventually managed to turn that success into Lombardi trophies for the Colts and Broncos.

The second of his Super Bowl rings came after neck surgery in 2011 that cost him a season and ended his career with the Colts.

After that surgery, Manning signed for Denver, won Comeback Player of the year in 2012, broke the NFL single-season passing yards and touchdowns records in 2013, won MVP in 2013 and ended his career winning Super Bowl 50 in 2016.

A truly glittering career, Manning is the standard-setter for all Number 1 overall selections coming into the league. A leader, record-breaker, Hall of Famer and a champion.