NFL Draft: Top Five Late Round Steals in History

The NFL Draft is tomorrow, giving football fans and their teams an opportunity for a fresh start. I know I’m excited because it means viewers get two days of Mel Kiper and Todd McShay debating over every little thing. It’s probably a good thing ESPN has put them in two different locations or a fight may have broken out. And Erin Andrews ha been added to the coverage, which can’t be a bad thing.

For teams that had bad seasons, it’s a chance to draft some new leaders that can make a team relevant again. And for the more successful franchises, it’s a chance to reload and continue winning. Last week I compiled a list of the five biggest busts, so today I present the five best late round steals. Drafting players like these is what seperates the competent GMs from the great ones. Hopefully your team will find a late round gem this weekend. Let’s get to the list.

 

1. Tom Brady

Like when I wrote about the biggest busts last week, the No. 1 spot is an easy choice. Brady is the polar opposite of biggest draft bust Ryan Leaf in a number of ways. Leaf was a first round pick, Brady a sixth. Leaf was heralded coming out of college, Brady was not. Leaf never made the playoffs with the Chargers, Brady won three Super Bowls with the Patriots. Brady owns a number of postseason records, including most consecutive postseason wins and most completions in a Super Bowl. Pretty good value with the 199th pick of the 2000 NFL Draft.

 

 

2. Joe Montana

Montana was drafted in the third round of the 1979 draft, which isn’t all that late, especially when compared to Brady. However, no other third round pick has ever led his team to four Super Bowl wins. Montana was a three-time Super Bowl MVP still remembered for his great performances in big games. Despite a successful career at Notre Dame, he received low grades from NFL scouts coming out of college. The San Francisco 49ers took him with the 82nd pick. The highest graded quarterback in 1979? That was Jack Thompson, who lasted just five years in the NFL.

 

 

3. Terrell Davis

Davis, like Brady, was a sixth-round pick. He was taken at number 196 overall by the Denver Broncos in the 1995 NFL Draft. Davis spent his whole career with Denver, becoming their all-time leading rusher with 7,607 yards. During his rookie season, he became the lowest drafted player ever to rush for 1,000 yards. He won two Super Bowls, one Super Bowl MVP, an NFL MVP, two Offensive Player of the Year awards and was a member of the 1990s All-Decade Team.

 

 

4. Deacon Jones

His name may not be recognizable to younger fans, but Jones is a Hall of Fame defensive end. He was drafted in the 14th round of the 1961 Draft with the 186th pick, meaning he came before Davis or Brady did in their respective drafts. He has been called the “greatest defensive end of the modern era” after a career in which he totaled 226.5 sacks. (Or 173.5 according to Pro Football Weekly.) There is no exact count because sacks were not counted as a statistic until Jones came along. He won two Defensive Player of the Year awards, made eight Pro Bowls, and was a member of the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All-Time Team.

 

 

5. Zach Thomas

Thomas was taken by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round of the 1996 Draft with the 154th pick. Coming out of Texas Tech, he was considered undersized at 5’11” so his draft-stock fell despite the fact that he was a consensus All-American. He spent 12 seasons with the Dolphins, going to seven Pro Bowls during that span. Thomas has amassed a total of 1,733 tackles in his career—more than any linebacker currently in the Hall of Fame.