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NFL Draft No. 1 Picks
When the Houston Texans took defensive end Mario Williams with the
first pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, passing on versatile running back
Reggie Bush, the country was dumbfounded. After last season, it would
appear that Houston made the right choice. But when teams have the power
of that number one spot, they don’t always make the right decisions.
Surprisingly enough, busts come out of that number one slot. Let’s take
a look at some of the previous number one NFL draft picks in this look
back.
Perhaps Peyton Manning will go down as the best number one draft choice
of all-time. The Colts would take that as a major compliment. Back in
1990, they thought they had their franchise QB of the future pegged when
they drafted Jeff George from the University of Illinois. What should
have been a dream career with the hometown Colts, who traded to make him
the first pick in the 1990 draft and then rewarded him with the richest
rookie contract in NFL history, turned ugly almost from the start. While
George was not as big of a bust as Tim Couch for example, he certainly
never lived up to the hype of being a number one pick.
Arguments could also be made for John Elway or Troy Aikman as the best
number one draft picks of all time. Currently, they both have more Super
Bowl rings than Peyton. Take a look down this list and check out the
busts, guys that never lived up to the hype, and other notable top
choices.
2007 JaMarcus Russell QB LSU Oakland Raiders
2006 Mario Williams DE N. Carolina State Houston Texans
2005 Alex Smith QB Utah San Francisco 49ers
2004 Eli Manning QB Mississippi San Diego Chargers
2003 Carson Palmer QB Southern Cal. Cincinnati Bengals
2002 David Carr QB Fresno State Houston Texans
2001 Michael Vick QB Virginia Tech Atlanta Falcons
2000 Courtney Brown DE Penn State Cleveland Browns
1999 Tim Couch QB Kentucky Cleveland Browns
1998 Peyton Manning QB Tennessee Indianapolis Colts
1997 Orlando Pace OT Ohio State St. Louis Rams
1996 Keyshawn Johnson WR Southern Cal. New York Jets
1995 Ki-Jana Carter RB Penn State Cincinnati Bengals
1994 Dan Wilkinson DT Ohio State Cincinnati Bengals
1993 Drew Bledsoe QB Washington State New England Patriots
1992 Steve Emtman DT Washington Indianapolis Colts
1991 Russell Maryland DT Miami, (Fla.) Dallas Cowboys
1990 Jeff George QB Illinois Indianapolis Colts
1989 Troy Aikman QB UCLA Dallas Cowboys
1988 Aundray Bruce LB Auburn Atlanta Falcons
1987 Vinny Testaverde QB Miami, (Fla.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1986 Bo Jackson RB Auburn Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1985 Bruce Smith DE Virginia Tech Buffalo Bills
1984 Irving Fryar WR Nebraska New England Patriots
1983 John Elway QB Stanford Baltimore Colts
1982 Kenneth Sims DT Texas New England Patriots
1981 George Rogers RB South Carolina New Orleans Saints
1980 Bill Sims RB Oklahoma Detroit Lions
1979 Tom Cousineau LB Ohio State Buffalo Bills
1978 Earl Campbell RB Texas Houston Oilers
1977 Ricky Bell RB Southern Cal. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1976 Lee Roy Selmon DE Oklahoma Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1975 Steve Bartkowski QB California Atlanta Falcons
1974 Ed 'Too Tall' Jones DE Tennessee State Dallas Cowboys
1973 John Matuszak DE Tampa Houston Oilers
1972 Walt Patulski DT Notre Dame Buffalo Bills
1971 Jim Plunkett QB Stanford New England Patriots
1970 Terry Bradshaw QB Louisiana Tech Pittsburgh Steelers
1969 O.J. Simpson RB Southern Cal. Buffalo Bills
1968 Ron Yary OT Southern Cal. Minnesota Vikings
1967 Bubba Smith DE Michigan State Baltimore Colts
1966 Jim Grabowski RB Illinois Miami Dolphins (AFL)
1966 Tommy Nobis LB Texas Atlanta Falcons (NFL)
1965 Lawrence Elkins WR Baylor Houston Oilers (AFL)
1965 T. Frederickson RB Auburn New York Giants (NFL
1964 Jack Concannon QB Boston College Boston Patriots (AFL)
1964 Dave Parks WR Texas Tech San Francisco 49ers (NFL)
1963 Buck Buchanan DT Grambling Kansas City Chiefs (AFL)
1963 Terry Baker QB Oregon State Los Angeles Rams (NFL)
1962 Roman Gabriel QB N. Carolina State Oakland Raiders (AFL)
1962 Ernie Davis RB Syracuse Washington Redskins (NFL)
1961 Ken Rice G Auburn Buffalo Bills (AFL)
1961 Tommy Mason RB Tulane Minnesota Vikings (NFL)
1960 Billy Cannon RB Louisiana State Los Angeles Rams
1959 Randy Duncan QB Iowa Green Bay Packers
1958 King Hill QB Rice Chicago Cardinals
1957 Paul Hornung HB Notre Dame Green Bay Packers
1956 Gary Glick DB Colorado A&M Pittsburgh Steelers
1955 George Shaw QB Oregon Baltimore Colts
1954 Bobby Garrett QB Stanford Cleveland Browns
1953 Harry Babcock E Georgia San Francisco 49ers
1952 Bill Wade QB Vanderbilt Los Angeles Rams
1951 Kyle Rote HB SMU New York Giants
1950 Leon Hart E Notre Dame Detroit Lions
1949 Chuck Bednarik C/LB Pennsylvania Philadelphia Eagles
1948 Harry Gilmer QB Alabama Washington Redskins
1947 Bob Fenimore HB Oklahoma State Chicago Bears
1946 Frank Dancewicz QB Notre Dame Boston Yanks
1945 Charley Trippi HB Georgia Chicago Cardinals
1944 Angelo Bertelli QB Notre Dame Boston Yanks
1943 Frank Sinkwich HB Georgia Detroit Lions
1942 Bill Dudley HB Virginia Pittsburgh Steelers
1941 Tom Harmon HB Michigan Chicago Bears
1940 George Cafego HB Tennessee Chicago Cardinals
1939 Ki Aldrich C Texas Christian Chicago Cardinals
1938 Corbett Davis FB Indiana Cleveland Rams
1937 Sam Francis FB Nebraska Philadelphia Eagles
1936 Jay Berwanger HB Chicago Philadelphia Eagles
March 21st, 2008
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