NFL Draft 2011: Power Ranking the 25 Best First Round Picks in AFC History
The NFL Draft has its share of stars and busts. In every draft class, except perhaps 1992, there are always a couple of players that go on to have fantastic careers. Usually, the ones that do are not the ones selected first, but manage to emerge elsewhere in the draft.
Those that turn into Hall of Famers, whether they are taken first, 11th, or 199th, are the crown jewels of the draft we all look back on. Getting those picks is the result of great scouting, getting the right spot in the draft, and just being lucky that the player didn't end up with an injury-shortened career.
The following are the top 25 first round draft picks in AFC history. The ranking is done by a mixture of talent and where they were drafted, but for the most part the more talented will of course be ranked higher.
25. Steve McNair
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Air McNair was a quarterback that was never fully appriciated. He missed out on a Super Bowl by a yard, yet he was the star quarterback for a team that continually moved and changed names for a decade.
The third overall pick in 1995, McNair finished his career with over 31,000 yards, 174 touchdowns, an MVP Award, and multiple Pro Bowls.
23/24. Troy Polamalu/Ed Reed
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Polamalu still has time to rise up these rankings, but he's already shown himself to be a force at the safety position. He's easily one of the top few in the league. Ed Reed has proven himself to be an elite safety as well, and since both are rivals in the AFC North, it's all too easy to put both of them in the same sentence.
Polamalu was drafted 16th in 2003, while Reed was drafted 24th in 2002. In other words, they could have easily gone to the same team had others had that foresight. That would have been a dangerous combination.
22. John Hannah
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Guards tend to be overlooked when talking about all-time greats, since they don't have a glamorous position. Nonetheless, Hannah showed himself to be one of the best of all time during his career with the Patriots.
He was drafted with the fourth overall pick back in 1973, and was selected to nine Pro Bowls and 10 All-Pro teams in 13 seasons. On top of that, he was named Offensive Lineman of the Year four times.
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21. Richard Seymour
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The New England Patriots are famed for having great draft picks in later rounds, but they know how to find the right pieces at the start as well. In 2001, they snagged Richard Seymour, who was the cornerstone of the three-time Super Bowl winning Patriots' defense.
Seymour was selected sixth overall, and has been to six Pro Bowls in his eight years on the Pats. He now plays for the Raiders, where he remains effective in the trenches.
20. Jim Kelly
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Jim Kelly was the third best quarterback in his class when it was all said and done. Normally that would be looked down upon, but he was part of the amazing quarterback class of 1983, where three ended up becoming Hall of Famers.
While he was not able to win a Super Bowl, he did bring the Bills to four of them, and would have won at least one had a field goal been made. He was drafted 14th, behind quarterbacks Todd Blackledge and John Elway.
19. Charles Woodson
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It was great to see Woodson finally win a Super Bowl ring with the Packers, since with the career he's had he deserved one. He was one of the elite cornerbacks in the league for the better part of the decade. While he was good with the Raiders, he seemed to hit a whole new level with the Packers from 2006 onward.
Woodson was drafted with the fourth pick in 1998, and was able to prove he was worth such a high pick with 47 career interceptions and seven Pro Bowl selections.
18. Terry Bradshaw
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Depending on how you evaluate football talent, Bradshaw either squeaks in the top 25 or should be in the top five. I use the former because, when looking at his stat-line, it's only decent. His first few years in particular would be laughed at in the modern game.
However, he did lead a team to four Super Bowls. That's more than any other quarterback can claim, so you can never discount that. He looks like a very obvious number one selection in hindsight, which he was in 1970.
17. Reggie Wayne
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For much of his career, Wayne was the second best receiver on his own team. With the retirement of Marvin Harrison, however, he has finally emerged from that shadow and proven himself as a great receiver.
After being drafted 30th by the Colts in 2001, Wayne has racked up over 10,000 yards, been named to five Pro Bowls, and seems to have enough left in the tank that reaching the 15,000 yard mark may not be out of the question.
16. Marcus Allen
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It's not often you see a running back play for sixteen seasons, but Marcus Allen did just that in his career. Another product out of USC (there are many of them on this list; Polamalu, Allen, and more to come), Allen was a great running back for the Raiders, and was very good for the Chiefs as well.
The 10th overall pick in 1982 and the third running back behind Darrin Nelson and Gerald Riggs, Allen ran for over 12,000 career yards, was named to six Pro Bowls, and was a force at the position in the 80s.
15. Tim Brown
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Tim Brown is one of the greatest wide receivers on all time, and in fact may be one of the most under-appreciated as well. We remember wideouts that notched under 10,000 yards, yet Brown finished his career with just under 15,000.
The sixth overall pick in 1988, Brown was selected to nine Pro Bowls in his long career with the Raiders. I would be shocked if he didn't get into the Hall of Fame soon, though Cris Carter does have to get in before Brown does.
14. Bruce Matthews
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One of the greatest offensive tackles of all time was, as may be expected, a first-round draft selection. Bruce Matthews spent 19 seasons with the Oilers, long enough to see the team turn into the Tennessee Titans. Matthews was also yet another USC product to make this list.
During his time there after being drafted with the ninth pick in 1983, Matthews was selected to 14 Pro Bowls, and, on top of that, holds the all-time record for most games played by an offensive lineman. Matthews spent his career as one of the most stable pieces on any team.
13. Franco Harris
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The Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s had so many weapons on both sides of the football that there was not really any one place one could concentrate on. Among all these greats, Franco Harris emerged as probably the best.
The 13th overall pick in 1972, Harris was part of nine Pro Bowls, seven All-Pro selections, four Super Bowl wins, and racked up over 12,000 career rushing yards in the process. He was also a very consistent back, especially for the time, racking up 1,000 yards in six straight seasons.
12. Tony Gonzalez
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If we were evaluating the best value in a tight end pick based on where they were drafted, the honor would go to Shannon Sharpe. Going on raw talent though, the honor for best tight end has to go to Tony Gonzalez.
The 13th overall pick in 1997, Gonzalez spent 13+ seasons with Kansas City and Atlanta, putting up nearly 12,500 yards while being selected to 11 Pro Bowls in the process. He also became the first tight end in league history to catch 1,000 passes in his career.
11. Ray Lewis
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The Baltimore Ravens were a new team in 1996. Unlike most expansion teams, they had an established roster, and were ready to add even better pieces. Their first draftee was tackle Jonathan Ogden, a great tackle who almost made this list. The second draftee? Ray Lewis.
The 26th pick and fourth linebacker behind Kevin Hardy, John Mobley, and Reggie Brown, Lewis was selected to 12 Pro Bowls, and will likely notch a couple more before his career is over. He has easily proven himself to be one of the greatest inside linebackers of all time.
10. Marvin Harrison
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Looking back on the weapons the Colts had in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it's a shame they didn't match-up career-wise. Having Marshall Faulk, Reggie Wayne, Peyton Manning, and Marvin Harrison all in their primes would have been an all-time offense.
Nonetheless, Marvin Harrison had an amazing career in his 13 seasons with the Colts. The 19th pick in 1996, Harrison had 14,500 career yards and 128 touchdowns, making him and Manning one of the best duos of all time not named Montana and Rice.
9. Derrick Thomas
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Sadly, had Thomas been able to end his career on his own terms, he would likely be known as the greatest linebacker of all time. In his 11 seasons, he was unstoppable on the Chiefs, and I still consider him just that.
The 4th overall pick in 1989 out of Alabama, Thomas made nine Pro Bowls, notched 127.5 sacks in his career, had his number retired by the Chiefs, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2009. He also holds the record for most sacks in a game with seven.
8. Marshall Faulk
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Another great running back to go in the first round, Marshall Faulk had many great seasons with the Colts and Rams. His rushing numbers are great, but what sets him apart is that he is one of the best receiving running backs in NFL history. In fact, he had 1,000 rushing and receiving yards in 1999.
The 2nd overall pick in 1994, Faulk finished his career with over 12,000 rushing yards and over 6,500 receiving yards, the only player in history to put up both those numbers. He also won the MVP Award in 2000 and made it to seven Pro Bowls.
7. LaDainian Tomlinson
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When we look back at the 2000s in the NFL, we'll remember many passing and receiving records being shattered. When we think of rushers however, L.T. will be the first person to come to mind.
The fifth overall pick in the 2001 NFL draft, Tomlinson has already amassed over 13,000 yards in ten seasons, including over 1,100 in each of his first eight. He won an MVP Award as well, and managed to total 31 touchdowns in 2006. Even as a split option with Shonn Greene on the Jets, he still nearly hit the 1,000 yard mark this past season.
6. Rod Woodson
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Sometimes, it takes a truly elite talent to make you realize how valuable a cornerback can be on a team. Rod Woodson, longtime cornerback for the Steelers and others, did just that from 1987 to 2003.
The 10th draft pick in 1987, he finished his career with 71 interceptions, a number which ranks alongside the greatest of all time. He made 11 Pro Bowls, and was a no-brainer for the Hall of Fame, getting in his first time through. He now coaches the defensive backs for the Raiders, and if half his talent rubs off on them, they'll be great.
5. John Elway
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The number five spot goes to number seven, John Elway. The 16-year quarterback for the Denver Broncos was one of the best of all time, and while he struggled when the Broncos did, he was great when it mattered.
The first quarterback taken in the great class of 1983, Elway finished his career with over 50,000 yards, 300 touchdowns, and an MVP Award. Oh, and he won two Super Bowls as well to wrap up his career.
3. Anthony Muñoz
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Widely regarded as the best offensive lineman in NFL history, Anthony Munoz gave Bengals fans something to cheer about throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.
The third overall pick in 1980 out of USC, Munoz made his way to 11 Pro Bowls, nine All-Pro selections, and actually has made his way near the top of many all-time football player lists. For an offensive lineman, that's a great accomplishment, since that position is usually unheralded.
3. Dan Marino
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The greatest quarterback of all time never to win a Super Bowl, Dan Marino was the face of the Miami Dolphins for a long time, and ended up being perhaps the best quarterback in the class of 1983, despite being selected near the end of the first round.
Marino was drafted 27th overall in 1983, and in his second season, set the record for most passing yards with 5,084. His career touchdown record of 420 has since been passed, though his 61,000+ passing yards continue to hold up. He was also invited to nine Pro Bowls and was named MVP in 1984 as well.
2. Bruce Smith
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Deciding on what order to place the top three was difficult, and was even more so for the top two. So, while Smith is second on the list, that doesn't discount what an amazing career he had with the Bills.
Smith was naturally the first overall pick in 1985, and lived up to that hype with little difficulty. He finished his career with 200 sacks, including a span of seven seasons with ten or more sacks. He was the leader of a defense that made it to four Super Bowls as well, and his 11 Pro Bowls and nine All-Pro selections were great as well.
1. Peyton Manning
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Having him first on the list will likely be controversial, but based on what he's already done, an argument can be made for the spot. Even if his career ends quietly, he'll still have the numbers to be here, or at least in the top three. He can easily take over the career passing yards and touchdown marks so long as he doesn't completely flame out.
Manning was the first overall pick in 1998, and proved his worth. He's been to 11 Pro Bowls, has won 4 MVP Awards, and has put up 399 touchdowns and 54,000+ yards. He's also won a Super Bowl, which the others in the top three were unable to do. All this put together puts him at the top of the list.
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