All of the draft boards, all of the articles, all of the attention, almost all of everything involving the NFL draft is directed at Round 1. But many of the best players in the history of the league have come in later rounds. So, I've decided to rank what I think are the top 10 NFL players drafted in each round 2-7. This leaves out many later rounds from the days when the draft was much longer, but I will limit each to the contemporary seven. I picked 1970 as the start date due to the NFL-AFL merger.
Round 2
1. Mike Singletary, CHI 1981 (38th overall)--Best. MLB. Ever. A tackling machine. Ten consecutive Pro-Bowls.
2. Brett Favre, ATL 1991 (33rd overall)--Most passing yards in NFL history. Most passing TDs in NFL history. Nine Pro-Bowls. Three MVPs. Miraculously, the third QB taken in the 1991 draft.
3. Jack Lambert, PIT 1974 (46th overall)--The dude played meaner than he looked.
4. Dwight Stephenson, MIA 1980 (48th overall)--Easily the best center while he played. Has to be mentioned in a discussion of best ever.
5. Jack Ham, PIT 1971 (34th overall)--A game changer for the steel curtain defense. Made 32 career ints at OLB. All over the field.
6. Larry Allen, DAL 1994 (46th overall)--Eleven Pro-Bowls. Blocked for the all-time rushing leader, Emmitt Smith, in one of the best run-blocking o-line units ever. A freakin' bulldozer.
7. Thurman Thomas, BUF 1988 (40th overall)--Eight 1000-yard seasons. Great all-purpose back, with 472 career receptions. Scott Norwood owes him a Super Bowl MVP award.
8. Michael Strahan, NYG 1993 (40th overall)--Giants' all-time sack leader, which is something on a team that had the LT. Also NFL single-season sack record hold with 22.5 (Although many think he got help from #2 on this list).
9. Roger Craig, SF 1983 (49th overall)--Key to the 1980s 49ers dynasty. First player to ever have 1000+ yards rushing and receiving in the same season. 566 career receptions at RB. Incredibly versitile all-purpose back (only not as consistant as Thomas).
10. Andre Tippett, NE 1982 (41st overall)--Great OLB, but in the long shadow of contemporary OLB Lawrence Taylor. 100 career sacks, including seasons of 18.5 and 16.5.
Other 2nd Rounders (*active player who will eventually bump someone from the list)
Dan Dierdorf 1971
Dave Casper 1974
Todd Cristensen 1978
Mark Gastineau 1979
Ray Donaldson 1980
Ricky Jackson 1981
Howie Long 1981
James Wilder 1981
Neil Lomax 1981
Joe Morris 1982
Darryl Talley 1983
Boomer Esiason 1984
Randall Cunningham 1985
Eric Allen 1988
Carnell Lake 1989
LeRoy Butler 1990
Ricky Waters 1991
Jimmy Smith 1992
Carl Pickens 1992
Kevin Mawae 1994
Isaac Bruce 1994
Brian Dawkins 1996
Darren Sharper*1997
Sam Madison 1997
Flozell Adams 1998
Chad Johnson 2001
Bob Sanders 2004
Lofa Tatupu* 2005
Devin Hester* 2006
Hopefully some of you find this topic interesting enough to comment on. I'd love to hear some people's thoughts.
gunslinger...pretty good list. But the small-market Jaguar fans (like myself) would like to add Maurice Jones-Drew to your list(with appreciation for Jimmy Smith).. 26 all-purpose TDs in 2yrs and he shares the carries on offense
Last edited by ATTITUDE70 on April 15th at 8:11 PM.
You're definitely right on him. I missed that. He and Fred Taylor are probably the best RB combo in the league. He's arguably the best NFL back out of an excellent 2006 group, although Joseph Addai fans also have a pretty good case (But I'd say Jones-Drew's kickoff return skills put him over the top). It's hard to believe that a running back class could be so good that a back of Jones-Drew's calubur could be the sixth back taken.
hey gunslinger, good list, but you forgot Demeco Ryans selected by the Houston Texans in the 2006 draft, who was defensive rookie of the year and led the league in tackles that same year.
It appears that I lapsed on noting quality 2nd rounders from 2006. I named Devin Hester and then left it. Demeco Ryans might as well buy a time share in Hawaii for the next eight or ten years. Houston has really drafted well for the past couple of years.
Not quite sure if I'd agree with Singletary over Favre...I mean...the dude's a living legend, and is in the discussion of "Best Ever" at a position that is ultimately the most important in all of sports...not to knock on Singletary, 'cus he was a hell of a player and will make a hell of a head coach. But seeing as you're a Bears fan, I'll let it slide.
Of course...maybe Favre shouldn't even be on this least seeing as he was more of a first rounder for the Packers than a second rounder for the Falcons.
And good call there bobb...way to read the entire post.
But I'd definately have to say that 2nd rounders are becoming more and more valuable with teams starting to hold on to more of their own players.
Last edited by poolboy87 on April 16th at 12:15 PM.
While it is a fantastic list I personally don't think you can add guys to the top ten list who are not yet in the Hall of Fame. If you are talking about "all time" then the only members to actually be on the list should already be in the Hall or what everyone will consider unanimous first ballot guys such as Brett Favre.
I figured that there would be some contention about not having Favre at #1. It's definitely debatable, but, as you mentioned, a Bears fan has to go with Singletary.
eherr--
I agree with you. But every player on the list is either in the Hall or will be.
And I think that Darren Sharper has solidified his place with consistantly great play (53 INTs, 1024 return yards, and 10 defensive TDs gets you in). I think that after he retires he might be considered a better player than Craig or Tippett.
I wouldn't put Hester or Tatupu on the list yet, but I think that they are definitely on the path to be considered future HOFers.
I wholeheartedly agree with your prediction with Tatupu, I am a big Seahawks fan. Man oh man was I excited to watch him make such an impact so quickly.
bobb498 - wow, you really called me and attitude70 nitwits and morons when you clearly didn't understand our posts... try reading gunslinger77’s whole blog and then our comments before you post an uninformed comment like that. since you are too stupid to understand why we posted our comments, let me explain it to you... first, gunslinger77 made a list of the 10 best 2nd rounders of all time. after his list, he made a 2nd list of other great 2nd round players from 1971-2006. 3 players had a star by their name because gunslinger77 believed they could eventually bump someone off of his original top 10 list. Attitude70 and I just listed maurice jones-drew and demeco ryans because we felt they should have been a part of THE SECOND LIST, with maybe A CHANCE OF CRACKING THE TOP 10 LIST. hopefully that was clear enough for you. ####.
and thanks gunslinger77 for your nice comment on demeco and the houston texans… I look forward to your future blogs
Wake up you nitwits. You can't put someone on a any kind of best ever list when they have only been in the league two years. Morons.
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the best--What's amazing is that there were seven other backs taken before Thomas that year.
Troubled--Tatupu really is awesome. Three Pro-Bowls in three years. 100+ tackles every year. And eight INTs with 26 pass defenses might make him the best LB in the league against the pass, or at least right up there at the top.
bminns--The Texans deserve some praise for getting their team in the right direction. The AFC South is incredibly tough, but the Texans are bringing in some quality players, like Ryans. (And how smart do the Texans look now for taking Mario Williams instead of Reggie Bush? Williams is like The Freak, only freakier.) The Colts will probably be the cream of the division right up until Peyton Manning's last game. And the Jags are looking like they're not too far behind. But as wee saw in 2007, the AFC South can send three teams to the playoffs. It pains me to write this, as I'm a Tennessean and I pull for the Titans unless they're playing the Bears (I loved the Bears before Titans existed in the NFL), but the Texans could be that third team now. The AFC South in-conference games should be fun to watch.
great list and i understand there are only so many names you want to put on there but i have a few i think you missed. hate to say this as a cowboys fan but i think tiki barber, as much as i disliked him, deserves to be on the list. other names to throw out there: drew brees, clinton portis, rashean mathis,anquan boldin, and marcus mcneil. maybe even thomas howard for the raiders fans to have something to look forward to.
jgould--Wow! Those are some glaring omissions. Barber could probably be on the top-10 list. Portis and Boldin should be on the second list with stars by their names. Brees, Mathis, McNeill, and Howard should all be mentioned. Good calls, I missed some big ones. Thanks.
