
NFL Draft History: The Best and Worst Picks of the Last 10 Years
For every Tom Brady, there is a JaMarcus Russell.
Even the best general managers and talent evaluators strike out from time to time.
Over the past 10 NFL draft classes, we have seen some teams, like Baltimore and New England, hit home runs virtually every year. Other teams, like the Oakland Raiders, seem to have a history of making bad decisions.
A team's entire draft history cannot be graded by evaluating two picks out of the 50 to 100 selections made over the past decade, but it does give you an idea of how they have performed in the NFL's most important offseason event.
With that in mind, here is our look at each team's best and worst draft pick over the last 10 years.
Atlanta Falcons
1 of 32
Best: Quarterback Matt Ryan
Draft: 2008 | Pick: No. 3
The Falcons were confident enough in Matt Ryan to hand him the keys to the franchise after Michael Vick's legal troubles. He hasn't disappointed. Ryan is considered one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL.
Worst: Defensive End Jamaal Anderson
Draft: 2007 | Pick: No. 8
The No. 8 pick from the 2007 NFL draft has produced just 4.5 sacks in his four NFL seasons.
Arizona Cardinals
2 of 32
Best: Wide Receiver Larry Fitzgerald
Draft: 2004 | Pick: 3
Fitzgerald is a five-time Pro Bowl selection and has been voted to two First-team All-Pro teams. He was also the Pro Bowl MVP in 2009.
Worst: Offensive Tackle Levi Brown
Draft: 2007 | Pick: 5
The fifth pick overall in 2007, Brown has been solid but not the dominating force his draft status would suggest.
Baltimore Ravens
3 of 32
Best: Safety Ed Reed
Draft: 2002 | Pick: No. 24
How is this for a stat line? Seven Pro Bowls, seven All-Pro selections, AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year (2004), AFC Defensive Player of the Year (2004), twice the NFL Alumni Defensive Back of the Year, a member of the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team and a sure-fire future Hall of Famer.
Worst: Defensive End Dan Cody
Draft: 2005 | Pick: No. 53
The Ravens have struck out far less than other NFL teams. None of their first-round picks over the last 10 seasons could be considered bad picks. Cody, a mid second-round pick, never stayed healthy long enough to see his NFL career develop.
Buffalo Bills
4 of 32
Best: Defensive Tackle Kyle Williams
Draft: 2006 | Pick: No. 134
The fifth-round pick has become an All-Pro and Pro Bowl player at nose tackle for the Bills.
Worst: Offensive Tackle Mike Williams
Draft: 2002 | Pick: No. 4
The No. 4 overall pick in the draft has started just 56 games in his NFL career and spent only four seasons in Buffalo.
Carolina Panthers
5 of 32
Best: Defensive End Julius Peppers
Draft: 2002 | Pick: No. 2
The Panthers hit the jackpot with Peppers. He made five Pro Bowls while a member of the Panthers and was selected to four All-Pro teams there.
Worst: Running Back Eric Shelton
Draft: 2005 | Pick: No. 54
The Panthers are another example of a franchise that has done a good job drafting in the first and second round. None of their draft picks from the last 10 first rounds are considered busts.
Shelton, on the other hand, never produced. He lasted just two seasons in Carolina before completely washing out of the league.
Chicago Bears
6 of 32
Best: Middle Linebacker Brian Urlacher
Draft: 2000 | Pick: No. 9
Seven Pro Bowls. Five All-Pro selections. NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year. NFL 2000s All-Decade Team. Future Hall of Famer.
Worst: Wide Receiver David Terrell
Draft: 2001 | Pick: No. 8
Offensive tackle/guard Chris Williams may overtake David Terrell by next year, but for now we stick with the No. 8 overall pick from way back in 2001. Tom Brady's favorite receiver never made a splash in the NFL. He accounted for 128 catches in seven seasons.
Cincinnati Bengals
7 of 32
Best: Wide Receiver Chad (Johnson) Ochocinco
Draft: 2001 | Pick: No. 36
Johnson-Ochocinco may also be the weirdest draft pick in Bengals history, but there is no denying his six Pro Bowls and 751 career receptions.
Worst: Offensive Tackle Andre Smith
Draft: 2009 | Pick: No. 6
Some may say that it is too early to give up on the third-year player. We disagree. In two years, Smith has missed all of training camp and three preseason games in a contract dispute and started only five games.
The No. 6 pick overall is expected to do more.
Cleveland Browns
8 of 32
Best: Offensive Tackle Joe Thomas
Draft: 2007 | Pick: No. 3
In four NFL seasons, Thomas has been named to four Pro Bowls and has been an All-Pro three times. He also ranks as our No. 1 offensive tackle in the NFL.
Worst: Defensive End Courtney Brown
Draft: 2000 | Pick: No. 1
The Browns made Courtney Brown their first pick of the 21st century. He gave them 19 sacks in five years.
Dallas Cowboys
9 of 32
Best: Nose Tackle Jay Ratliff
Draft: 2005 | Pick: No. 224
You are reading that right. Jay Ratliff, an All-Pro player, was the 224th pick in the 2005 NFL draft. Amazing.
Worst: Linebacker Bobby Carpenter
Draft: 2006 | Pick: No. 18
Bill Parcells vouched for Bobby Carpenter by saying he's known his family "for years" and that Bobby was "his kind of player."
In four years Carpenter has played on four different NFL teams.
Denver Broncos
10 of 32
Best: Offensive Tackle Ryan Clady
Draft: 2008 | Pick: No. 12
Clady quickly became one of the elite offensive tackles in football. For an organization with few draft hits in recent years, Clady stands out as their best draft pick since Terrell Davis.
Worst: Defensive End Jarvis Moss
Draft: 2007 | Pick: No. 17
Moss was supposed to be a Dwight Freeney-like rush end. Instead, he rarely saw the field and is now playing in Oakland.
Detroit Lions
11 of 32
Best: Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh
Draft: 2010 | Pick: No. 2
The Lions decision one year ago between Suh and Gerald McCoy seemed like a win-win. Boy did the Lions luck out. Suh was an All-Pro and Pro-Bowler as a rookie. His 10 sacks were the most for all rookies.
Worst: Wide Receiver Charles Rogers
Draft: 2003 | Pick: No. 2
Charles Rogers was a tough pick for the worst selection ever. His competition was stiff with quarterback Joey Harrington a close second.
Rogers produced just 36 total catches in the NFL.
Green Bay Packers
12 of 32
Best: Quarterback Aaron Rodgers
Draft: 2005 | Pick: No. 24
Rodgers lasted until late in the first-round in 2005. From 2005 through 2007 Rodgers served as a backup to Brett Favre.
And then he went off.
Rodgers passed for over 4,000 yards in his first season as a starter. In 2010 he led the Packers to a Super Bowl win.
Worst: Defensive End Jamal Reynolds
Draft: 2001 | Pick: No. 10
Reynolds lasted just three seasons in Green Bay. He totaled three career sacks and just 18 tackles.
Houston Texans
13 of 32
Best: Wide Receiver Andre Johnson
Draft: 2003 | Pick: No. 3
The three-time NFL Alumni Wide Receiver of the Year has also been named to five Pro Bowls and four All-Pro teams.
Worst: Quarterback David Carr
Draft: 2002 | Pick: No. 1
It's hard to fault David Carr too much, but the fact remains he never lived up to expectations. Blame a bad offensive line or lack of weapons around him, but at the end of the day, Carr just did not produce as expected.
Indianapolis Colts
14 of 32
Best: Defensive End Dwight Freeney
Draft: 2002 | Pick: No. 11
Freeney has been the perfect fit in Indianapolis. In his brilliant career, Freeney has made six Pro Bowls and led the NFL in sacks with 16 in 2004.
Worst: Offensive Tackle Tony Ugoh
Draft: 2007 | Pick: No. 42
The Colts have missed on offensive and defensive tackles over the last decade. Tony Ugoh is just the biggest mistake in a pile of them.
Jacksonville Jaguars
15 of 32
Best: Running Back Maurice Jones-Drew
Draft: 2006 | Pick: No. 60
MJD lasted until Round 2 based on concerns about his size. With three All-Pro selections in five years those doubts have been extinguished. Jones-Drew is recognized as one of the best running backs in the NFL.
Worst: Defensive End Derrick Harvey
Draft: 2008 | Pick: No. 8
The jury is still out, slightly, on defensive end Derrick Harvey. He has flashed potential, but only eight sacks in three years is simply not enough.
Kansas City Chiefs
16 of 32
Best: Running Back Jamaal Charles
Draft: 2008 | Pick: No. 73
Jamaal Charles kicked down the door in 2010, leading the Chiefs with 1,467 yards rushing. Charles is a force to be reckoned with now and in the future.
Worst: Defensive End Tyson Jackson
Draft: 2009 | Pick: No. 3
Jackson is quickly becoming known as an example of a player drafted way too high. As a 3-4 defensive end, he may not be asked to accumulate huge statistics, but he is expected to beat out journeymen defensive linemen for his job.
In 2010, that didn't happen.
Miami Dolphins
17 of 32
Best: Offensive Tackle Jake Long
Draft: 2008 | Pick: No. 1
If Jake Long is not the best offensive tackle in football, he's pretty damn close. Long has allowed just 13.5 sacks in three seasons.
Worst: Wide Receiver Ted Ginn Jr.
Draft: 2007 | Pick: No. 9
Ted Ginn was supposed to be a game-changing slot receiver and return man. Instead he showed a fear of taking hits, a propensity for injuries and was eventually traded for a fifth-round pick.
Minnesota Vikings
18 of 32
Best: Running Back Adrian Peterson
Draft: 2007 | Pick: No. 7
Peterson was great from his first snap in the NFL. He was second in the NFL in rushing as a rookie, led the league in rushing during his second season and led the Vikings to the playoffs in year three.
Worst: Wide Receiver Troy Williamson
Draft: 2005 | Pick: No. 7
Troy Williamson was supposed to be the Vikings answer to trading Randy Moss to Oakland. Instead, he dropped 11 passes his rookie season. Williamson was traded to Jacksonville in 2007 for a sixth-round pick.
New England Patriots
19 of 32
Best: Quarterback Tom Brady
Draft: 2000 | Pick: No. 199
In 2010, Brady became the first unanimous choice for the Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player Award since the AP began using a nationwide panel of media members who cover the league. This capped a season in which Brady led the Patriots to an NFL-best 14 wins.
Brady has won three Super Bowls, two Super Bowl MVP awards, two AP NFL MVP awards and became the quickest to achieve 100 regular season wins with a laundry list of other awards and records
Worst: Running Back Laurence Maroney
Draft: 2006 | Pick: No. 21
The Patriots had high hopes for Maroney, who has had a decent career but never lived up to his first-round draft status. As a spot-starter in New England, Maroney only accounted for 2,400 yards and 21 touchdowns in five seasons.
New Orleans Saints
20 of 32
Best: Wide Receiver Marques Colston
Draft: 2006 | Pick: No. 252
Colston made his presence known immediately, grabbing 70 catches in 2006 and never looking back. Excluding his injury-shortened 2008 season, Colston has grabbed at least 70 passes and racked up over 1,000 yards every year.
Worst: Running Back Reggie Bush
Draft: 2006 | Pick: No. 2
Reggie Bush is the highest running back drafted in the last five years. His production does not come close to matching the investment.
Bush has never rushed for more than 600 yards in a season and has only 29 touchdowns in five seasons.
New York Giants
21 of 32
Best: Defensive End Justin Tuck
Draft: 2005 | Pick: No. 74
Tuck, who missed the 2009 season with injury, has made the Pro Bowl twice and is a two-time All-Pro. He is also a Super Bowl champion.
Worst: Defensive Tackle William Joseph
Draft: 2003 | Pick: No. 25
The Giants have not had many misses in the draft, unless you count trading Philip Rivers for Eli Manning.
William Joseph played seven seasons in New York and produced seven sacks.
New York Jets
22 of 32
Best: Cornerback Darrelle Revis
Draft: 2007 | Pick: No. 14
Revis lasted until the middle of the first round back in 2007. If the draft were today, he would be the first player taken.
Revis emerged as one of the top two cornerbacks in the NFL during the 2009 season. He has the talent to become a perennial All-Pro.
Worst: Defensive Tackle DeWayne Robertson
Draft: 2003 | Pick: No. 4
Some may consider defensive end Vernon Gholston the bigger bust, and he has produced less, but the Jets traded two first-round and a fourth-round pick in the 2003 draft to get Robertson, who never produced like a top-five pick.
Oakland Raiders
23 of 32
Best: Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha
Draft: 2003 | Pick: No. 31
Asomugha has become the best cornerback in the NFL, despite being picked at the bottom of the first round.
Worst: Quarterback JaMarcus Russell
Draft: 2007 | Pick: No. 1
In complete opposition to Asomugha's success, despite being picked first overall, Russell ranks as the biggest draft bust of all time.
Philadelphia Eagles
24 of 32
Best: Wide Receiver DeSean Jackson
Draft: 2008 | Pick: No. 49
Jackson has been recognized as an All-Pro punt returner and two-time Pro Bowler. His skills as a wide receiver are quickly becoming his greatest weapon.
Worst: Defensive End Jerome McDougle
Draft: 2003 | Pick: No. 15
McDougle made it through four sub-par seasons with the Eagles before being cut and signed for one last season with the Giants.
Pittsburgh Steelers
25 of 32
Best: Safety Troy Polamalu
Draft: 2003 | Pick: No. 16
The six-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro is a future Hall of Famer.
Worst: Offensive Guard Kendall Simmons
Draft: 2002 | Pick: No. 30
A mix of injuries kept Simmons from ever realizing his potential as a lead blocker for the Steelers power blocking scheme. He was released in 2009.
St. Louis Rams
26 of 32
Best: Quarterback Sam Bradford
Draft: 2010 | Pick: No. 1
NFL Rookie of the Year in 2010, Bradford has a bright future in the NFL. He's making the Rams look brilliant.
Worst: Defensive End Chris Long
Draft: 2008 | Pick: No. 2
Long has finally developed into a quality player, but his play to date is not worthy of the No. 2 overall pick or the millions of dollars the Rams are paying him.
San Diego Chargers
27 of 32
Best: Running Back LaDainian Tomlinson
Draft: 2001 | Pick: No. 5
Before signing with the New York Jets Tomlinson set the NFL on fire in San Diego. He's currently ranked sixth all-time in rushing yards and holds a plethora of Chargers and NFL records.
Worst: Wide Receiver Craig Davis
Draft: 2007 | Pick: No. 30
The Chargers have one of the better draft records in the NFL, so there are not many bad picks to choose from. One player they definitely missed on is wide out Craig Davis.
In four years, the former first-rounder has just 51 catches.
San Francisco 49ers
28 of 32
Best: Middle Linebacker Patrick Willis
Draft: 2007 | Pick: No. 11
Willis quickly became the team captain and defensive MVP. He's been named to four Pro Bowls and four All-Pro teams in four seasons.
Worst: Quarterback Alex Smith
Draft: 2005 | Pick: No. 1
Blame it on injuries or a lack of wide receivers or too many offensive coordinators; truth is Alex Smith just isn't very good. As the No. 1 overall pick, he ranks slightly below JaMarcus Russell on the biggest busts all time.
Seattle Seahawks
29 of 32
Best: Linebacker Lofa Tatupu
Draft: 2005 | Pick: No. 45
Tatupu was on a tear as a three-time Pro Bowler before injury crept in. Once he is healthy, he will be back on top as one of the best middle linebackers in the NFL.
Worst: Wide Receiver Koren Robinson
Draft: 2001 | Pick: No. 9
Robinson, a top-10 pick, has played on four NFL clubs and two UFL teams over the past 10 seasons. He scored just 16 touchdowns in the NFL.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
30 of 32
Best: Quarterback Josh Freeman
Draft: 2009 | Pick: No. 17
In just 26 starts, Freeman has already established himself as one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL. He led the Bucs to a 10-6 record in 2010 and was named a Pro Bowl alternate.
Worst: Defensive End Gaines Adams
Draft: 2007 | Pick: No. 4
Before passing away due to cardiac arrest in January of 2010, Adams had yet to find his place in the NFL. With the Buccaneers, he failed to catch on and was traded to Chicago for a second-round pick.
Tennessee Titans
31 of 32
Best: Running Back Chris Johnson
Draft: 2008 | Pick: No. 24
Johnson has quickly emerged as a top running back in the NFL. He holds the all-time league record with 2,509 yards from scrimmage.
Worst: Cornerback Pacman Jones
Draft: 2005 | Pick: No. 6
It's hard to beat out quarterback Vince Young for this position, but Jones' run-ins with the law and failures on the field warrant his ranking as the Titans worst draft pick in the past 10 years.
Washington Redskins
32 of 32
Best: Outside Linebacker Brian Orakpo
Draft: 2009 | Pick: No. 13
Orakpo was named a Pro-Bowler and All-Rookie team member in 2009 and made a second-straight Pro Bowl with 8.5 sacks in 2010. He also ranked third in the league in holding calls caused, a number that kept him from more sacks.
Worst: Wide Receiver Devin Thomas
Draft: 2008 | Pick: No. 34
Thomas is now playing on his third NFL team in two seasons, as a special teams ace for the Giants. He has 40 career catches and just three touchdowns.
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