2011 NFL Draft: Best Draft Steals in the History of Every AFC Team

It's pretty fun to look back and see some of the steals teams have landed in the NFL draft.

My colleague Adam Wells looked at the entire league with his excellent piece, but I decided to focus on just the AFC here.

A lot of my selections do overlap with his. I mean, Tom Brady will go down as one of the all-time greatest steals in NFL history. There have been other incredible ones like Priest Holmes, who was an undrafted free agent in 1997 out of Texas. Skimming through all the records, I found someone else for Kansas City who can work (since we are talking about players who were drafted).

Some of these players did surprise me, like Brett Keisel, who was drafted by Pittsburgh in the seventh round with the 242nd overall pick in 2002.

I'm not going to give away everything. Let's have fun.

Baltimore: Adalius Thomas, DE, 2000, 6th Round, 186th Pick

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FOXBORO, MA - JANUARY 10: Adalius Thomas #96 of the New England Patriots looks on against the Baltimore Ravens during the 2010 AFC wild-card playoff game at Gillette Stadium on January 10, 2010 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. The Ravens won 33-14. (Photo by E

Thomas spent seven seasons with the Ravens before joining the Patriots.

The former Southern Miss defensive end compiled 517 total tackles, 53 sacks, seven interceptions and 15 forced fumbles.

Buffalo: Gary Anderson, K, 1982, 7th Round, 171st Pick

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Tennessee Titans kicker Gary Anderson watches play against the Denver Broncos Saturday December 25, 2004 at The Coliseum in Nashville, Tennessee.The Broncos defeated the Titans 37 to 16. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

The former Syracuse player spent 23 years in the league and finally called it a career in 2004.

Anderson made 80.1 percent of his attempts, including a career-long of 55 yards.

My dad used to say Anderson was his favorite player. Not because he liked kickers. Just because he was the one closest to his age.

Cleveland: Leroy Kelly, RB, 1964, 8th Round

Going through all these records, the car brakes screeched in my head when I saw Kelly's name.

The former running back from Morgan State went on to have a Hall of Fame career and was inducted in 1994. He finished his career with 1,727 carries for 7,274 yards and 74 touchdowns. 

Cincinnati: TJ Houshmandzadeh, WR, 2001, 7th Round, 204th Pick

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CHARLOTTE, NC - NOVEMBER 21: T.J. Houshmandzadeh #84 of the Baltimore Ravens against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on November 21, 2010 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

For as big of a train wreck as this franchise is, they did pretty well in landing the former Oregon State player so late in the draft.

T.J.'s turned into a pretty solid contributor in his career. He had back-to-back years with 1,000 yards receiving in 2006 and 2007. He currently has 7,091 yards receiving for his career, averages 11.5 yards per catch and has 43 touchdown receptions.

Denver: Terrell Davis, RB, 1995, 6th Round, 196th Pick

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06 Jan 2002: Terrell Davis #30 of the Denver Broncos runs out the reach of Ellis Johnson #62 of the Indianapolis Colts during their NFL game at the RCA Dome in Indianapplis on Sunday. Mandatory Credit: Ron Hoskins\\Getty Images

Honorable mention here goes to legendary defensive end Lyle Alzado, who was drafted with the 79th overall pick in the fourth round of the 1971 draft.

Terrell is a no-brainer for this spot, though.

The former Georgia running back put the Broncos over the top finally, and helped John Elway win two Super Bowls.

Houston: Mario Williams, DE, 2006, 1st Pick

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JACKSONVILLE, FL - NOVEMBER 14: Mario Williams #90 of the Houston Texans looks on during a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field on November 14, 2010 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

A steal because if you remember, there was a passionate debate about whether the Texans should go with Vince Young or Reggie Bush. 

Let's see: Young was let go by Tennessee and definitely didn't live up to his hype.

Reggie is not better than O.J. Simpson or Barry Sanders (SportsCenter sure hyped him up like that back in the day), and the Saints are likely going to part ways with him. 

Williams? In five years, he has 230 total tackles, 48 sacks and 10 forced fumbles. The former North Carolina State player is also considered one of the game's brightest and best young defensive ends.

Indianapolis: Preston Pearson, RB, 1967, 12th Round, 298th Pick

From their time in Baltimore to when they moved to Indianapolis, the Colts have had some incredible steals throughout the years.

I was amazed to see how late Pearson was taken. Cowboys fans claim him as one of theirs, but he started in Baltimore and had a very solid 14-year career. He finished with 3,609 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns and also had 3,095 yards receiving and 17 touchdowns.

For those who forgot, some other steals: Defensive end Robert Mathis was taken in the fifth round in 2003, and both Cato June and Pierre Garcon were sixth-round selections.

Jacksonville: Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, 2006, 2nd Round, 60th Pick

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NASHVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 05: Maurice Jones-Drew #32 of the Jacksonville Jaguars breaks away from Chris Hope #24 of the Tennessee Titans at LP Field on December 5, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Jaguars won 17-6. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images

The former UCLA player remains one of the NFL's top backs.

He ranked fifth in rushing last year with 1,324 yards and five touchdowns. For his career, Jones-Drew has 5,248 yards rushing and 54 touchdowns.

Kansas City: Joe Horn, WR, 1996, 5th Round, 135th Pick

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NEW ORLEANS - OCTOBER 29: Wide receiver Joe Horn #87 of the New Orleans Saints looks on against the Baltimore Ravens at the Louisiana Superdome on October 29, 2006 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Ravens defeated the Saints 35-22. (Photo by Ronald Martinez

Again, Priest Holmes is the craziest free agent acquisition I've heard of in my lifetime.

When it comes to the draft, though, I'll go ahead and throw Horn into the mix. He came out of Itawamba Community College in Mississippi, and spent the first four years of his career with the Chiefs.

He blossomed, though, in New Orleans and is probably one of the most beloved players in franchise history. Horn ended his career in Atlanta, and finished with 603 total catches for 8,744 yards (14.5 avg.) and 58 touchdowns. 

Miami: Zach Thomas, MLB, 1996, 5th Round, 154th Pick

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MIAMI, FL - OCTOBER 21: Linebacker Zach Thomas #54 of the Miami Dolphins calls for a play against the New England Patriots at Dolphin Stadium on October 21, 2007 in Miami, Florida. The Pats won 49 - 28. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

I remember laughing at how the so-called experts said Thomas would never make it and that he was too undersized.

All I knew was that he went all-out every game and hit like a mule when I watched him. I thought he was awesome and knew he would be a great NFL player.

Thomas stayed around for awhile, and there was a time when he and Jason Taylor led what was a very talented Dolphins defense.

New England: Tom Brady, QB, 2000, 6th Round, 199th Pick

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FOXBORO, MA - JANUARY 16: Quarterback Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots stands on the field during their 2011 AFC divisional playoff game against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on January 16, 2011 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa

He's already an icon in New England, and he'll eventually retire as one of the best quarterbacks of my generation.

In my time, I think Brady would go in my top five. Right now, it reads like this: 1.) Joe Montana, 2.) Troy Aikman, 3.) Steve Young, 4.) John Elway, 5.) Tom Brady.

When I was looking back through past New England drafts, I forgot about 1995. They also got a steal in the third round when they took a running back out of Pitt named Curtis Martin with the 74th pick.

New York Jets: Mark Gastineau, DE, 1979, 2nd Round, 41st Pick

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MEADOWLANDS - SEPTEMBER 18: Defensive end Mark Gastineau #99 of the New York Jets runs on the field during a game against the Houston Oilers on September 18, 1988 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands, East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Rick Stewart/

He played for 10 seasons and finished his career with 74 sacks.

There was a time when he was one of the toughest, most aggressive linemen in the NFL.

Oakland: Bo Jackson, RB, 1987, 7th Round, 183rd Pick

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25 Nov 1990: Running back Bo Jackson of the Los Angeles Raiders moves the ball during a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. The Chiefs won the game, 27-24.

If he could have stayed healthy, I seriously believe Bo would have been a potential Hall of Famer in football and baseball.

Bo played just four seasons for the Los Angeles Raiders and had 515 carries for 2,782 yards (5.4 avg.) and 16 touchdowns.

Pittsburgh: Brett Keisel, DE, 2002, 7th Round, 242nd Pick

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PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 23: Brett Keisel #99 of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks on against the New York Jets during the 2011 AFC Championship game at Heinz Field on January 23, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

There are so many good selections you could go with here, and none would be wrong.

There are also legends like Hall of Fame linebacker Jack Lambert, picked 46th in the second round of the 1974 draft, or the great Mel Blount, who was a third-round pick back in 1970.

It's cool, though, that Keisel has become a pillar on the Steelers' line. His beard has also taken on a life of its own.

San Diego: Dan Fouts, QB, 1973, 3rd Round, 64th Pick

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

SAN DIEGO -1987: Dan Fouts #14 of the San Diego Chargers looks to pass during a 1987 NFL season game at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California. ( Photo by: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

I really enjoyed listening to Fouts and Keith Jackson broadcast college games together. I got choked up recently when I saw an old tribute to Jackson on YouTube, and Fouts was paying respect.

The Hall of Fame quarterback finished his career with 43,040 yards passing and 254 touchdown passes. He also rushed for 13 touchdowns.

He was a six-time Pro Bowler and was named MVP in 1982.

Tennessee: Steve Largent, WR, 1976, 4th Round, 117th Pick

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LOS ANGELES - DECEMBER 18: Wide receiver Steve Largent #80 of the Seattle Seahawks catches a pass during a game against the Los Angeles Raiders at the L.A. Coliseum on December 18, 1988 in Los Angeles, California. The Seahawks defeated the Raiders 43-37

Back then they were the Houston Oilers, and it was a 1976 preseason trade that sent the former Tulsa player to Seattle.

It was there he put together a Hall of Fame career, finishing with 819 receptions for 13,089 yards and 100 touchdowns. At one point, he also caught a pass in 177 straight games.