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.
Round 4 (This one was harder for me because there were fewer that stood out above all others.)
1. Steve Largent, HOU 1976 (117th overall)--The best ever before Jerry Rice. One time all-time in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. Could be agrued to be the second-best receiver ever.
2. Andre Reed, BUF 1985 (86th overall)--Never dominant, but always reliable. Put up amazing career numbers without ever really putting up great single-season numbers. However, when other receivers would peak with a great season and then drop, Reed kept producing for 15 years.
3. Donnie Edwards, KC 1996 (98th overall)--1462 tackles, 28 INTs, and six career defensive TDs. Certain future HOFer. Missed out on a lot of Pro-Bowls playing in the AFC with Ray Lewis and Zach Thomas.
4. Charles Haley, SF 1986 (96th overall)--Pass-rush specialist with the 49ers and Cowboys. Probably best known for his five SB rings. Also had 5 Pro-Bowl trips along with 100.5 sacks and 26 forced fumbles.
5. Lorenzo Neal, NO 1993 (89th overall)--Not much with the ball. He's a lineman in the backfield. Explosive lead blocker. Has lead the way for Mike Alstott and Warrick Dunn, Eddie George, Corey Dillon, and Ladanian Tomlinson. I think that there's potential for Tomlinson's numbers to fall a bit with Neal gone.
6. Derrick Mason, TEN 1997 (98th overall)--14108 all-purpose yards. His 2690 All-purpose yards in 2000 is an NFL record. Known early in his career primarily for his return skills, he is now known as a solid #1 receiver with 710 career catches and 9024 yards.
7. John Stallworth, PIT 1974 (86th overall)--Excellent deep-threat receiver. Tall and fast. Came up big-time in the Super Bowls in '79 and '80 with combined totals of six catches, 236 yards, and three TDs.
8. Rich Gannon, NE 1987 (98th overall)--Took a while to come in to his own. Drafted more for his atleticism than his skills as a QB. Things came together when he joined the Raiders in 1999. Lit up the field from '99 to '02, and was inpressively efficient.
9. Morten Andersen, NO 1982 (86th overall)--1st all-time in FGs. 1st all-time points scored. Most career FGs of 50+ yds. And he's not likely to be passed anytime soon. Hit 25 of 28 FGs (89.3%) last year at age 47.
10. Harry Carson, NYG 1976 (105th overall)--I can't say much about Harry Carson because I just can't recall his play. Maybe he should be higher on the list, I don't really know. But nine Pro-Bowls and an HOF induction can't be ignored.
Other Fourth Rounders (*active player who could eventually bump someone from the list)
Ken Ellis 1970
Joe Theismann 1971 (It may only be my anti-Theismann prejudice from his excruciating "skills" in the booth that keeps him from the top ten list. Hearing him costs me IQ points that I can't afford to lose.)
This one was much harder for me. #1 was obvious. But after that, it was less and less clear to me who exactly should be on there and where they should go. Let me know what you think. Thanks.
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.
Round 3
1. Joe Montana, SF 1979 (82nd overall)--Always in the argument of best QB ever. Eight career Pro-Bowls. Ninth in career TDs, but 60th career INTs. 49ers went 112-39-1 (.740%) and won four Super Bowls in the 10 years that Montan was the primary starter.
2. Aeneas Williams, PHO 91 (59th overall)--Eight Pro-Bowls. 55 career INTs and an amazing 13 career TDs.
3. Curtis Martin, NE 1995 (74th overall)--Workhorse running back, as well as excellent all-purpose back. Was consistently one of the better runners in the NFL, as well as a good receiver and a top pass-blocker from the backfield.
4. Will Shields, KC 1993 (74th overall)--Twelve consecutive Pro-Bowls--unbelievable. Year-in and year-out the best guard in the league. Blocked for some amazing seasons by Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson.
5. Terrell Owens, SF 1996 (89th overall)--Does anybody like this guy at all? Does it matter? Future HOFer. 9th all-time receptions. 10th all-time receiving yards. 3rd all-time receiving TDs. He's fast, he's strong, and he's huge for a WR. And he's in such phenomenal physical shape that he could dominate until he's 40. He might not be Jerry Rice...but, like him or not, he's one of the best to ever play the game. He should probably be higher on this list.
6. Mel Blount, PIT 1970 (53rd overall)--57 career INTs, which is 10th all-time. Picked off an amazing eleven in 1975, back in the day of the 14 game season.
7. Jackie Slater, LA 1976 (86th overall)--A 20-year HOF career for a third round pick. Value doesn't get any better than that.
8. Jason Taylor, MIA 1997 (73rd overall)--117 sacks and six Pro-Bowls is pretty amazing. Add in eight career TDs for a DE. And he's got three or four good years left.
9. Dan Fouts, SD 1973 (64th overall)--Put up jaw-dropping numbers in the late 70s and early 80s. Held the single-season record for passing yardage before Marino broke it in '84.
10. John ####, TAM 1993 (82nd overall)--Nine Pro-Bowls. Only 26 career INTs, but he is much more well-known as a tackler and a leader in the defensive backfield. A big, big hitter who can separated a receiver from the ball.
Other Third-Rounders (*active player who will eventually bump someone from the list)
Ken anderson 1971
Lynn Dickey 1971
Lawrence McCutcheon 1972
Danny White 1974
Tony Hill 1977
Mickey Shular 1978
William Andrews 1979
Steve McMichael 1980 (Maybe should be 10th)
Russ Grimm 1981
Tim Irwin 1981
Mike Meriweather 1982
Charles Mann 1983
Dave Duerson 1983
Albert Lewis 1983
Guy McIntyre 1984
Jeff Hostetler 1984
Jack Del Rio 1985
John Taylor 1986
Pat Swilling 1986 (Also might have claim to that 10th spot)
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.
I see many of the mock drafts showing Matt Ryan to be picked very early in the 1st round--sometimes even 1st overall, but usually never lower than top five--and often with no other QBs taken until second. The more I look at it, and the more I think about this, that seems to be quite an unneccesary risk.
As for the first overall pick, in the past thirty-or-so years I see four QBs that absolutely could not be allowed to slip past the #1 pick: John Elway (1983), Troy Aikman (1989), Peyton Manning (1998), and Michael Vick (2001). Elway was the complete package coming in to the league: born leader and winner, super athelete, and a cannon arm. Aikman didn't have all of the tools of the other three, but he was an excellent QB in an otherwise not-so-great class. Manning was the prototype NFL pocket passer even as a college sophomore--he was a 100%, can't miss, guarantee to be an elite NFL player and futer HOFer. And, despite the current situation which was unforseeable in 2001, Vick was an athlete at QB like never before seen and had all the talent to revolutionize the position. Matt Ryan (or any other QB in the 2008 class, for that matter) does not belong in this group.
But even top 5 seems questionable to me this year:
1. The Dolphins have to address other needs. Plus, they drafted a QB second round last year who didn't look too bad when he played.
2. The Rams don't need a QB, they just need to keep him upright.
3. The Falcons also have many needs. And, (I'll be in the minority in this opinion) the more I watch Joey Harrington play, the more I believe that he's not a bad QB, he's only been cursed with lame teams. In a good situation, I think that Harrington will be a solid QB.
4. The Raiders drafted JaMarcus Russell #1 last year.
5. The Chiefs have QB issues (I'm not sold on Croyle, but he's young enough to prove me wrong) and they may want to draft one, but I wouldn't do it with my 1st pick. They'd get another chance at a QB without spending top-5 money.
I'd even say that 1st round is pushing it this year:
6. The Jets have Clemons and Pennington. Not a threatening duo, but with a young QB who has potential and a veteran who doesn't lose many games, they'll address other areas.
7. The Patriots...do I really have to explain?
8. The Ravens are in a similar situation as the Jets. Smith could turn out to be pretty good. And if McNair will accept a backup/mentor role, he could have a couple more years as a quality role player.
9. The Bengals are set at QB.
10. The Saints are also set.
11. The Bills will continue with Edwards, who played surprisingly well for a rookie.
12. The Broncos look good with Cutler for the next decade.
13. The Panthers have their starter, when he's healthy. They won't use a 1st round pick for a back-up.
14. The Bears do need to look at QB. But that might actually not be their biggest need on offense. Grossman can play...sometimes. The Bears haven't given up on him. They'll go HB or OL.
15. The Lions need a QB of the future. But they have Stanton as a developing QB and Kitna as a decent vet, and they won't spend a 1st round on a rookie to get killed by a swiss cheese OL.
16. The Cards already have their 1st round QB from 2006. And Leinart (even though he's not yet coming along as expected) and Warner are both better than anyone the 2008 class can offer.
17. The Vikes could actually consider a QB. But they'll stick with Jackson's potential.
18-28. The Texans, Eagles, Bucs, Skins, Cowboys, Steelers, Titans, Seahawks, Jags, and Chargers are all set at QB for the forseeable future.
29. The 49ers have other needs than QB. And it might still be a little early to give up on a 2005 1st overall pick.
30. The Packers are now ready for the Aaron Rogers era.
32. The Giants are fine with their SB MVP QB.
Now, here we are in the second round, with QBs still on the board. So, let's just say that you're the Phins, Falcons, Cheifs, or some other team with QB needs, and you decide to pass on a QB in the 1st round. There is still a chance of a full selection come time for your second pick. And if Matt Ryan gets picked up by someone else, you can pick Brian Brohm. Do you really lose anything? Brohm might actually be better.
And if both are gone? There is a bit of a step down from the top two, but with Henne, Woodson, Flacco...do you really lose that much? I don't think so.
Given the situation in 2008, why pay $30 million dollars guaranteed to take a QB in the top five and risk a bust that could hurt your team for years when you could get the same QB (or one close in skills) in the second round for millions less?
Now, I don't really think that the 1st round will pass with no QBs drafted. I just think that if teams look at the QB options in the draft, and then look at the teams picking in the 1st round down the line, addressing other positions in the 1st round might be the smartest way to go.
