The NFL Draft is over a month away, but it will be here before you know it. We are further away from the Super Bowl than we are from the NFL Draft, so it’s time to really dive into draft season.
The first round of the draft gets all the hype, and rightfully so, because it’s the biggest day of the offseason. But that doesn’t mean days two and three aren’t important. In fact, they’re probably more important than the first day. Rosters are built in rounds two through seven, so today, we’re going to not just look at the best first-round picks in NFL history, but the best picks in every single round.
First Round: WR Jerry Rice
Honorable Mentions: RB Jim Brown, RB Walter Payton, QB Peyton Manning, DE Lawrence Taylor, DE Reggie White, RB Barry Sanders
As you can imagine, there were a ton of guys that could be dubbed the best first-round pick of all time. Most of the elite players in the NFL were first round picks, and you probably could’ve gone 10 different directions here and had a case, but I think Jerry Rice deserves to be dubbed the best first-round pick off all time.
Rice was putting up 1,400-yard seasons before it was cool. In his second year in the league, Rice totaled over 1,500 receiving yards, which kicked off a streak of 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons. He holds the NFL record for most receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, and it’s not particularly close.
Rice’s longevity mixed with production is something we’ll probably never see again. He’s one of the best players in NFL history, so he earned his title as the best first-round pick of all time.
Second Round: QB Drew Brees
Honorable Mentions: TE Rob Gronkowski, OG Larry Allen, DE Michael Strahan, QB Brett Favre, RB Roger Craig
There have been some great second-round picks, but none are better than Drew Brees.
He’s the greatest player to never win an MVP and retired as the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns. Brees only won one Super Bowl, but while his defense was out there giving up 30+ points per game, he was throwing for 5,000 yards pretty much every season during his prime. His five 5,000-yard seasons are the most by any quarterback of all time. No other quarterback has done it more than twice.
Drew Brees is a top-five quarterback of all time, and if you don’t believe that, you don’t know ball. He’s the most accurate quarterback we’ve ever seen, and it’s incredible to think he put up all these lofty statistics while being under six feet.
Third Round: QB Joe Montana
Honorable Mentions: WR Steve Smith, TE Jason Witten, TE Travis Kelce, DE Jason Taylor
The third round has seen some pretty notable players, such as Jason Witten, Travis Kelce, Jason Taylor and Steve Smith, selected, but it’s pretty easy to see that Joe Montana is the greatest third-round pick of all time.
Before there was Tom Brady, there was Joe Montana. He was the greatest winner of his generation, winning four Super Bowls while leading one of the most successful dynasties in NFL history. He’s a two-time MVP, three-time Super Bowl MVP and three-time First-Team All-Pro.
Montana was the greatest winner in NFL history for a long time. That is, until Tom Brady came along. Still, his four Super Bowl rings are tied for the second-most by a quarterback in NFL history.
Fourth Round: DE Charles Haley
Honorable Mentions: WR Andre Reed, QB Dak Prescott, WR Brandon Marshall, DE Jared Allen, CB Asante Samuel, OL Jahri Evans
This one was tough. There have been a lot of great fourth-round picks, and in the end, it came down to Jared Allen and Charles Haley, but you can’t keep a five-time Super Bowl champion off this list.
Charles Haley was a fantastic pass rusher, recording 10+ sacks in six of his 12 seasons, but he just had a knack for choosing the winning team. He was drafted to San Francisco, where he won two Super Bowls, before signing with their NFC rivals, the Dallas Cowboys. There, he won three more Super Bowls before retiring after the 1999 season.
Haley has the second-most rings in NFL history behind only Tom Brady, and on top of that, he was a two-time All Pro and one of the greatest pass rushers of his generation. Jared Allen had the better stats, but you can’t argue with guys who win.
Fifth Round: OLB Kevin Greene
20 NOV 2011: Former All-Pro linebacker and current linebacker coach Kevin Greene of the Packers before the NFL American Football Herren USA regular season game between the Tampa Buccaneers and the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI. NFL American Football Herren USA NOV 20 Buccaneers at Packers PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxHUNxRUSxSWExNORxONLY Icon357111120024; x0x xkg 2011 quer
Image number 09069302 date 20 11 2011
Honorable Mentions: RB Herschel Walker, DT La’Roi Glover, CB Lester Hayes, WR Tyreek Hill, C Mike Webster, LB Zach Thomas, CB Dick LeBeau
The fifth-round is loaded with talented players, but when you have a guy who ranks fourth all time in sacks, it’s hard to keep him off this list.
Kevin Greene racked up 160 sacks in his 15-year NFL career. Officially, only two players have recorded more – Reggie White and Bruce Smith – but Deacon Jones has an unofficial 173.5 sacks in his career (he played before sacks were recorded). Either way, ranking third or fourth in sacks is mightily impressive.
Greene was a bit of a late bloomer. He didn’t record his first 10+ sack season until his fourth year in the league, and he didn’t earn his first First-Team All-Pro until year 10, even though he had back-to-back 16.5 sack seasons in years four and five. Unfortunately, Greene never won a Super Bowl, but he’s gone down in history as one of the best pass rushers of all time.
Sixth Round: QB Tom Brady
Quarterback Tom Brady New England Patriots centre cheering PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxHUNxONLY Icon8044838
Honorable Mentions: RB Terrell Davis, WR Antonio Brown, TE Jay Novacek, S Jack Christiansen, CB Ken Riley
There’s something pretty cool about the NFL’s most decorated player being a sixth-round draft pick. There were some other really good options here, like Terrell Davis, but nobody stood a chance against Tom Brady.
Brady is a seven-time Super Bowl champion, and he’s the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns. It’s hard to do much better than that. He has won more than anyone else in NFL history, so there was really no other option here.
Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time. Even when he left New England, he went on and won a Super Bowl in year one with Tampa Bay. What can this guy not do?
Seventh Round: TE Shannon Sharpe
Honorable Mentions: RB Bo Jackson, WR Marques Colston, WR Donald Driver, WR Bob Hayes, OT Rayfield Wright, OLB Bobby Bell, S Larry Wilson
Shannon Sharpe is one of the most decorated tight ends of all time. There have been some all-time greats selected in the seventh round, but Sharpe’s resume stands out among the rest.
Sharpe was as consistent as they come, going for 700+ yards in nine seasons, including six straight from 1993-1998. He’s a four-time First-Team All-Pro and a three-time Super Bowl champion (two with Denver, one with Baltimore). And the craziest thing is, he might not even be the best football player in his family. His brother, Sterling Sharpe, is also a Hall of Famer whose career was cut far too short because of injuries.
Bob Hayes, Larry Wilson, Bobby Bell, Donald Driver, Marques Colston and Bo Jackson deserves recognition, because it’s incredibly hard to make it as a seventh-round pick, but Sharpe’s resume is just too good to leave off this list.
