NFL Draft: Power Ranking the No. 1 Draft Picks of the 80s

One of the most anticipated parts of every year's NFL Draft is seeing who is selected first.

In the time leading up to the day of the draft, experts and fans alike make their predictions to which player is going to be chosen with that initial pick.

Some years, the choice hasn't been made until the time when the team that has that pick is "on the clock."

More recently, teams have gone as far as coming to a contractual agreement with the player before they actually choose them.

A wide variety of players have been chosen as the No. 1 pick in the draft.

Some of these players are already in the Hall of Fame. Many of them have been selected many times for the Pro Bowl. And still others were the proverbial "busts," not performing up to the place where they were selected.

The following is a power ranking of the No. 1 overall picks of the NFL Draft from the 1980s, a great decade of NFL talent.

Who is on this list is already determined.

What isn't in place is how they rank, based on their actual on-field performance over the course of their NFL careers.

What order would you put these players in from the '80s? Leave a comment and give me your list.

I will be following this power ranking up with other decade ('90s, 2000s, etc.) pieces.

Enjoy!

10. Kenneth Sims: 1982

Position: Defensive End

College: Texas

NFL Drafting Team: New England Patriots

NFL Team Played For: New England Patriots (1982-1989)

After being selected as the Lombardi Trophy winner (top college lineman) and the 1981-82 UPI Lineman of the Year, NFL expectations were high for Kenneth Sims.

Unfortunately, Sims never excelled as in pro football.

He only played a full 16-game season once, and played 74 career games with only 17 sacks in eight NFL seasons.

9. Aundray Bruce: 1988

Position: Linebacker

College: Auburn

NFL Drafting Team: Atlanta Falcons

NFL Teams Played For: Atlanta Falcons (1988-1991), L.A./Oakland Raiders (1992-1998)

Aundray Bruce never quite lived up to the expectations that come with being the No. 1 pick in the draft.

Bruce started only 42 games in his 11-year career. He played in 151 games, posting 32 sacks and four interceptions.

8. George Rogers: 1981

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com

Position: Running Back

College: South Carolina

NFL Drafting Team: New Orleans Saints

NFL Teams Played For: New Orleans Saints (1981-1984), Washington Redskins (1985-1987)

The 1980 Heisman Trophy winner, George Rogers was a hard-running ball carrier who made an immediate impact for the Saints.

In his first season, Rogers led the league in rushing with 1,647 yards, which was record for rookies at that time. He was selected as the NFL Rookie of the Year for 1981 and was selected for the Pro Bowl.

Rogers was also selected to the Pro Bowl his second year in the league also.

During his seven-year career, Rogers rushed for 7,176 yards, scored 54 TDs and won a Super Bowl as a member of the 1987-88 Washington Redskins.

Nagging injuries forced Rogers into an early retirement. 

7. Bo Jackson: 1986

Position: Running Back

College: Auburn

NFL Drafting Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Teams Played For: Los Angeles Raiders (1987–1990)

Bo Jackson was one of the most physically gifted athletes in all sports history. He not only excelled on the football field, but also dominated in major league baseball. In fact, it is his love for baseball that changed the course of his NFL career.

Jackson was drafted first overall in the 1986 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, the Buccaneers, not wanting their new draftee to injure himself playing baseball for Auburn that year, took Jackson on a trip in a private plane that cost him his college eligibility. They also gave Jackson an ultimatum to choose baseball or football. This prompted him to sign with the Kansas City Royals.

Since he did not sign with an NFL team by the 1987 draft, his rights were forfeited by Tampa Bay and his name was thrown back into the draft. The Los Angeles Raiders selected Jackson in the seventh round with the 183rd overall pick.

Raiders owner Al Davis supported Jackson and his baseball career and got Jackson to sign a contract by offering him a salary that was comparable to a full-time starting running back but allowing Jackson to join the Raiders only after the baseball season ended.

In his four seasons in the NFL, Jackson rushed for 2,782 yards and 16 touchdowns with an average yards per carry of 5.4. He also caught 40 passes for 352 yards and two touchdowns.

6. Vinny Testaverde: 1987

Position: Quarterback

College: Miami

NFL Drafting Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Teams Played For: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1987-1992), Cleveland Browns (1993-1995), Baltimore Ravens (1996-1997), New York Jets (1998-2003, 2005), Dallas Cowboys (2004), New England Patriots (2006), Carolina Panthers (2007)

After a stellar career at Miami, where he won the Heisman Trophy, Vinny Testaverde had a very nice NFL career.

Testaverde holds the NFL record for having thrown a touchdown pass in 21 consecutive seasons.

He was selected twice to the Pro Bowl.

For his career, Testaverde amassed 46,233 yards passing (seventh all-time) and 275 TDs (eighth all-time).

5. Irving Fryar: 1984

huskermax.com

Position: Wide Receiver

College: Nebraska

NFL Drafting Team: New England Patriots

NFL Teams Played For: New England Patriots (1984-1992), Miami Dolphins (1993-1995), Philadelphia Eagles (1996-1998), Washington Redskins (1999-2000)

Irving Fryar was the first wide receiver to be drafted first overall when the New England Patriots made him the top selection of the 1984 NFL Draft.

Fryar played an amazing 17 seasons in the NFL, being selected five times to the Pro Bowl.

For his career, he caught 851 passes for 12,785 yards and 84 touchdowns, along with one rushing and three punt return touchdowns.

He has the distinction of being the oldest player in NFL History to score four touchdowns (all receptions) in a single game (10/20/1996) at 34 years, 22 days.

4. Billy Sims: 1980

http://students.ou.edu/U/Reece.B.Underwood-1/BillySims2.jpg

Position: Quarterback

College: Oklahoma

NFL Drafting Team: Detroit Lions

NFL Team Played For: Detroit Lions (1980-1984)

Billy Sims was one of the great running backs in college football history.

And if it weren't for a knee injury that cut his pro career short, the same might be said for his years in the NFL.

In five years with the Lions, Sims was selected for the Pro Bowl in his first three years in the league (1980 to '82).

He was selected as the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and the NFC Rookie of the Year.

Sims finished his career with 1,131 carries for 5,106 yards (4.5 yards per carry) and 186 receptions for 2,072 yards (11.1 yards per catch) with 42 TDs.

3. John Elway: 1983

thematadorsports.com

Position: Quarterback

College: Stanford

NFL Drafting Team: Baltimore Colts (traded to Denver Broncos)

NFL Team Played For: Denver Broncos (1983–1998)

John Elway was one of the best QBs in NFL History.

Elway recorded the most victories by a starting quarterback at the time of his retirement.

He was a nine-time Pro Bowl selection and a member of the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team.

He led the Broncos to two Super Bowl championships (XXXII, XXXIII).

He was named the XXXIII Super Bowl MVP.

For his career, Elway threw for 51,475 yards and 300 TDs.

In 2004, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

2. Troy Aikman: 1989

Position: Quarterback

College: Oklahoma/UCLA

NFL Drafting Team: Dallas Cowboys

NFL Team Played For: Dallas Cowboys (1989-2000)

Troy Aikman was one of the most successful QBs in NFL history.

Aikman led the Cowboys to three Super Bowl victories and was the Super Bowl XXVII MVP.

He was a six-time Pro Bowl selection, passing for 32,942 yards and 165 TDs.

Aikman was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006 in his first year of eligibility.

When he accepted the honor, Aikman humbly said that he was merely a beneficiary of the Cowboys' system and being paired with subsequent Hall of Famers Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith.

1. Bruce Smith: 1985

Position: Defensive End

College: Virginia Tech

NFL Drafting Team: Buffalo Bills

NFL Teams Played For: Buffalo Bills (1985–1999), Washington Redskins (2000–2003)

Bruce Smith is considered to be one of, if not the best defensive linemen in NFL history.

He was named 11 times to the Pro Bowl (Pro Bowl MVP in 1987).

In 14 of his 19 NFL seasons, he had at least 10 sacks.

He holds the NFL record for QB sacks with 200.

Smith was selected as the UPI AFC Defensive Player of the Year four times.

He was named to both the NFL 1980s and 1990s All-Decade Teams.

He was a member of the Buffalo Bills teams that played in four consecutive Super Bowls as AFC champions.

In 2009, Smith was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.