The Best and Worst First-Round NFL Draft Choices of the Past 5 Years

While it is always fun to go down memory lane, it is worth noting that in this case we won’t be making that long of a trip.

Here, we are taking a look at the sizzle and the fizzle when it comes to the first round of the NFL draft from 2010-14. We have picked one standout in terms of the good and bad for each class.

While we will make choices for each year, we will also be careful not to leave out a few worthy and unworthy candidates depending on the year.

Yes, we realize that for the classes of 2013 and 2014 we have a very small body of work. But rest assured we aren’t giving anyone the bust label, be it for being a disappointment or having one carved for induction in Canton, Ohio.

It’s also very important to note that when it comes to the worst, we won’t penalize a player who saw their career cut short by injuries or other medical concerns. Off-the-field issues, however, are a totally different story.

So here are our selections as they stand today, knowing so much can change in the not-too-distant future.

Best (2010): DT Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions

Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

Overall Pick No. 2

School: Nebraska

If you think this was an easy choice, think again.

We are now five seasons into the NFL draft class of 2010 and a look back at the first round shows that this is a group loaded with some of the bigger stars in the league these days. Nearly half of the 32 selections have been named to at least one Pro Bowl during their careers. And players such as wide receivers Dez Bryant (Dallas Cowboys) and Demaryius Thomas (Denver Broncos), defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and safety Earl Thomas (Seattle Seahawks) are seemingly getting better with age.

After five seasons and four Pro Bowl invitations, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh opted to leave the Motor City for the beaches of South Florida and the Miami Dolphins this offseason. It’s hard to deny his impact with the Detroit Lions and this past season the club ranked second in the NFL in total defense, third in fewest points allowed and first when it came to stopping the run. This was while Suh was also busy leading the team with 8.5 sacks.

If you think the five-year pro is excited to see his name here, you can only imagine how Dolphins defensive ends Cameron Wake and Olivier Vernon feel to have him up front.

Worst (2010): QB Tim Tebow, Denver Broncos

Joe Mahoney/Associated Press

Overall Pick No. 25

School: Florida

We hate to beat a dead horse (pun intended) but it’s always worth mentioning that because of the overall strength of the first-round class of 2010, finding the worst of that group was a lot harder than one may believe.

And it is unfortunate because try as he may, quarterback Tim Tebow has done his best to carve out a career in the NFL and has certainly had his moments. He was the catalyst to the Denver Broncos' 2011 AFC West title season, a year that saw the team finish 8-8 after a 2-5 start. Although the club lost its final three regular-season games, Tebow’s short pass to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas in overtime against the Pittsburgh Steelers turned into an 80-yard score and gave the Broncos a 29-23 victory in the 2011 AFC Wild Card Round.

After a lost season with the New York Jets in 2012 (he was traded there after Denver signed Peyton Manning), the former Gator wound up in New England in 2013 but failed to make the club. After two seasons of inactivity, he’s among the numerous quarterbacks on the Philadelphia Eagles roster these days.

In the slides to follow, you will see that some of the worst players chosen have “earned” that tag without much debate. That’s not the case with Tebow, who hopes to contribute in some way to Philadelphia’s cause in 2015.

Best (2011): DE J.J. Watt, Houston Texans

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Overall Pick No. 11

School: Wisconsin

The four-year resume is stunning. And could the best be yet to come?

The Houston Texans made University of Wisconsin defensive end J.J. Watt the 11th overall pick in the 2011 draft. Since then, he has made himself into a great player no matter what he’s done (although his dancing in commercials still needs a little work).

Watt has been named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year two of the past three seasons, both in which he racked up 20.5 sacks. And we are just getting warmed up.

A total of 64 games has led to 295 tackles, 57 sacks, 12 forced fumbles, 11 fumble recoveries and one interception. That’s not including the three receptions for three touchdowns on offense this past season. In 2014, he returned one of those fumble recoveries and his lone interception for touchdowns. He also recorded a safety along the way.

This past season, Watt finished second on the club with 78 tackles and third on the team in touchdowns scored (five). Following a solid rookie year, he’s been named to three straight Pro Bowls and tabbed First-Team All-Pro each season.

We will be glad to hear any other arguments. Good luck.

Worst (2011): QB Blaine Gabbert, Jacksonville Jaguars

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

Overall Pick No. 10

School: Missouri

This is the first of two times you will see the Jacksonville Jaguars in this piece. Unfortunately, both are under the worst category.

In search of a quarterback in 2011, the franchise traded up in the first round that year and grabbed promising Blaine Gabbert from the University of Missouri.

Three years later, the Jaguars selected quarterback Blake Bortles with the third overall pick in the 2014 draft.

What happened?

Gabbert’s days in Jacksonville added up to 29 games with 27 starts (5-22 record). He threw 23 touchdown passes, 24 interceptions, was sacked 74 times and lost eight of his 21 fumbles. Last offseason, he was dealt to the San Francisco 49ers to back up Colin Kaepernick and saw action in one regular-season contest.

Can the still-young signal-caller still turn into a quality starter? These days, it doesn’t look very likely but stranger things have happened.

Best (2012): QB Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Overall Pick No. 1

School: Stanford

To date, this class hasn’t jumped off the page as some others in recent years. And the selection of quarterback Andrew Luck, while hardly surprising, is certainly not a slam dunk.

You could certainly make an extremely strong case for Carolina Panthers middle linebacker Luke Kuechly, who has been nothing short of sensational in each of his three seasons in the league. He’s led his club in tackles each year and totaled 150-plus stops in the process.

Yet we will lean to the three-year quarterback who turned in a season in which he continued not to get a lot of support from the running game while the team’s offensive line still has some work to do.

In 2014, after throwing a combined 46 touchdown passes in his first two seasons, Luck led the NFL with 40 scoring tosses. He connected on 61.7 percent of his passes for 4,761 yards and threw for 300-plus yards in 10 regular-season games.

The turnovers remain a concern. Luck coughed up the ball 22 times this past season and five of those goofs were returned for touchdowns. In 48 regular-season games, he’s thrown for 86 scores and run for a dozen more but has also turned over the football 56 times. His postseason numbers in three years have been less than impressive but he’s also helped his team get there each of those seasons.

But perhaps Luck’s greatest strength is his resiliency. He usually responds positively following a mistake and quickly makes amends. While he’s been part of his team digging themselves some holes over the years he’s also done more than his share of getting them out of that trouble.

It will be interesting to see what veteran free-agent pickups Frank Gore and Andre Johnson do for Luck and the Colts this season.

Worst (2012): WR Justin Blackmon, Jacksonville Jaguars

Genevieve Ross/Associated Press

Overall Pick No. 5

School: Oklahoma State

A total of 16 games (14 starts) added up to 64 receptions for 865 yards and five touchdowns for then-rookie wide receiver Justin Blackmon in 2012.

Unfortunately for the Jacksonville Jaguars, they haven’t seen the former Oklahoma State Cowboy on the field much since.

Oklahoma State beat writer Kyle Fredrickson of NewsOK.com has the latest on the troubled performer, who played in only four games his second season and has not been available ever since. Blackmon was suspended for the entire 2014 campaign and to say his future in professional football is cloudy would not do the overall story justice.

Some may point to wide receiver A.J. Jenkins as a huge disappointment. The 30th overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers has already been a non-factor with two teams (he was dealt to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013 and released this offseason, but he’s now with the Dallas Cowboys).

There is also running back Trent Richardson, who had a promising rookie year with the Cleveland Browns, fizzled in Indianapolis after being traded and now hopes to make some noise in the backfield of the Oakland Raiders.

However, Blackmon’s story is indeed a sad one and eventually we hope he enjoys somewhat of a happy ending.

Best (2013): DT Sheldon Richardson, New York Jets

Elsa/Getty Images

Overall Pick No. 13

School: Missouri

While the New York Jets have had their problems finding the right combinations on offense the past few seasons, they have done a terrific job finding defensive linemen in the first round of the draft.

Such was the case a few years ago when the team grabbed University of Missouri defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson in the middle of the first round. He would go on to earn 2013 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors following a debut season in which he finished fourth on the team with 78 tackles, added 3.5 sacks and helped the Jets rank third in the NFL in rushing defense.

The 6’4”, 294-pounder also helped in the backfield, totaling four rushing attempts for four yards and a pair of scores.

This past season, only four teams in the league gave up fewer yards on the ground. Richardson once again was fourth on the club with 66 tackles but this time generated a team-high eight sacks and was named to his first Pro Bowl.

It’s far too early to say where Richardson is headed career-wise. But he, along with others such as wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (Houston Texans) and center Travis Frederick (Dallas Cowboys), is off to a very nice start.

Worst (2013): DE Dion Jordan, Miami Dolphins

Alan Diaz/Associated Press

Overall Pick No. 3

School: Oregon

When you move up in the first round of the NFL draft, you are hoping that your gamble of sorts pays off and the player matches the expectations of the move.

Of course, when you wind up getting just three sacks out of the third player selected, that’s not the kind of match.

In 2013, the Miami Dolphins looked to make a potent pass rush even more formidable by trading with the Oakland Raiders to grab University of Oregon defensive end Dion Jordan.

Just 26 games and three sacks later, it doesn’t look good.

On April 28, per Marc Sessler of NFL.com, the Miami Dolphins announced the defensive end had been suspended for the upcoming season due to another violation of the league’s substance abuse policy.

Earlier this offseason, there was speculation that the Philadelphia Eagles and head coach Chip Kelly were interested in obtaining Jordan. After all, what’s one more Duck when it comes to Kelly’s bird nest?

We’ll have to wait to see exactly what will happen when it comes to the two-year defensive end down the road.

Best (2014): G Zack Martin, Dallas Cowboys

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Overall Pick No. 16

School: Notre Dame

With apologies to reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Aaron Donald of the St. Louis Rams, as well as some other very worthy candidates, the Dallas Cowboys hit the jackpot when they added a former Golden Domer to their offensive front this past season.

The selection of Zack Martin with the 16th overall pick marked the third time in four years that the Cowboys added an offensive lineman in the first round. He joined left tackle Tyron Smith (2011) and center Travis Frederick (2013) along a unit that emerged as the best in the league in 2014. Martin was named to the Pro Bowl, earned First-Team All-Pro honors and was tied for sixth in the NFL in terms of guard play, per Pro Football Focus.

The first-round class of 2014 gave us the likes of linebackers Khalil Mack (Oakland Raiders), Anthony Barr (Minnesota Vikings) and C.J. Mosley (Baltimore Ravens) and wide receivers Sammy Watkins (Buffalo Bills), Mike Evans (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Odell Beckham Jr. (New York Giants) and Kelvin Benjamin (Carolina Panthers), as well as the aforementioned Donald.

For now, we will lean to Martin. But keep an eye on the rest of the group as one year (obviously) does not make a career.

Worst (2014): LB Marcus Smith, Philadelphia Eagles

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Overall Pick No. 26

School: Louisville

For head coach Chip Kelly’s sake, let us hope that he did not make a cardinal error.

Of course, it’s hard to tell after just eight games and on a defense that already had experience players at the position such as Connor Barwin, Trent Cole and Brandon Graham.

Still, outside linebacker Marcus Smith from the University of Louisville did nothing to distinguish himself in his debut seasons. The staff at CSNPhilly.com states that he played 68 defensive snaps, lined up on special teams and did not record a tackle in 2014.

Still, Barwin has noticed a change in Smith, as he stated in a television interview last month.

“Physically, he looks different. He gained 15 pounds, he put on a lot of muscle," the veteran linebacker said about three weeks ago. “He’s one of the stronger guys on our defense now. He took the offseason and did what he needed to do, which was get bigger, stronger…”

“Now we're just excited to see what happens when we put the pads on,” Barwin said.

That would likely be an understatement.

Unless otherwise noted, all player and team statistics come from Pro-Football-Reference and ESPN.com.