The NFL Draft first round is infamous as much for its misses (Ryan Leaf) as for its hits (Peyton Manning). With the 2008 NFL Draft a little more than two months away, I thought it would be fun to review the past ten first rounds.
The purpose of this project is to find out how long, on average, first rounders stay with their original teams and to measure the success of the players drafted.
I will use the infuriatingly complicated formula of 1-5 to judge the players. 1 is a bust, 2 is a poor player, 3 is average, 4 is good, and 5 is a Hall-of-Famer.
As I research future classes I will compare each one to the past first rounds that have been previously mentioned.
1.
Played For:
Key Stats: Has thrown for over 40,000 yards and 300 touchdowns. Has eight seasons of 4,000-plus passing yards and four seasons of 30-plus touchdowns.
Recognition: Eight-time Pro Bowler, six-time All-Pro, two-time regular season MVP, one Super Bowl win, one Super Bowl MVP.
Notes: Manning is regarded as one of the best quarterbacks in the game today and will be considered one of the all-time greats when he retires.
Played For:
Key Stats: Played 25 career games. He committed 48 turnovers in those 25 games and his career touchdown:interception ratio was 1:2.5.
Recognition: Was thought of as a consummate prima donna and is considered one of the biggest busts in North American sports history.
Notes: He is hated in his home state (
Played For:
Key Stats: Lasted only three seasons, playing in 36 games and accumulating eight sacks.
Recognition: Had a very productive senior season at
Notes: Multiple knee surgeries compromised his athleticism, a key asset of his, and derailed his career.
Played For:
Key Stats: Has started 133 of 136 games in which he has played. Has 29 career interceptions and has made more than 350 tackles.
Recognition: Four-time Pro Bowler and NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Was considered one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks his first few years in the league.
Notes: Injuries caused him to miss one-third of the possible games he could have played in from 02-05, but he has been a solid player since signing with
Played For:
Key Stats: Gained 61% of his rushing yards (916), made 76% of his receptions (45), and scored 83% of his touchdowns (5) in one season (1999).
Recognition: Was thought to fit perfectly (6’0”, 244, Big Ten-bred) into
Notes: Injuries and lack of productivity did in Enis, whose only notable contribution to
Played For:
Key Stats: Recorded 53 sacks while playing five full seasons and missing only one game in two others.
Recognition: Was long viewed as the consummate high-motor player as he accrued 40 sacks in one five-year stretch (99-03), one-time Super Bowl winner.
Notes: Age has caught up to Wistrom, who was released by
Played For:
Key Stats: Started 96 of 97 possible games in his first six years.
Recognition: Despite being a solid player, especially early in his career, his helmet-throwing incident against the Jets in a 2001 Sunday Night Football game is his last legacy.
Notes: Was another player whose career was ravaged by injuries.
Played For:
Key Stats: Has recorded 69 sacks, including 12.5 this past season. He has had at least 7.5 sacks in six seasons.
Recognition: 2007 NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
Notes: Ellis has had an up-and-down career with
Played For:
Key Stats: Has rushed for over 10,000 yards and 60 touchdowns, including seven 1,100 yard-plus seasons and two double-digit touchdown seasons.
Recognition: Long considered the best running back to never make a Pro Bowl,
Notes:
Played For:
Key Stats: Has made 350 career tackles and 25 interceptions.
Recognition: Intercepted a pass and ran it back for a touchdown in Super Bowl XXXV, one-time Super Bowl winner.
Notes: Starks accumulated 206 tackles and 20 interceptions while winning one Super Bowl in his four seasons with
Played For:
Key Stats: Has started 149 of 150 career games. Has played five full seasons and missed one game in each of four other seasons.
Recognition: Two-time Pro Bowler
Notes: Thomas has been a solid bookend on a consistent playoff team for most of his career.
Played For:
Key Stats: Has made 100-plus tackles in each of the last seven seasons, a time in which he has started every possible game. Has also intercepted 12 passes and made 17 sacks.
Recognition: Five-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro.
Notes: Brooking isn’t quite Hall-of-Fame-caliber, but has been one of the best and most versatile linebackers in the NFL for most of his career.
Played For:
Key Stats: Averaged 114 tackles and three sacks per season in his first seven years in the NFL.
Recognition: Two-time Pro Bowler
Notes: Takeo was on his way to possible Hall-of-Fame credentials before injuries began decimating his career. He hasn’t been anywhere near the impact player the last few seasons that he was earlier in the decade.
Played For:
Key Stats: Played 14 games his rookie season, but never played more than nine games in his next three seasons.
Recognition: Was an All-America at
Notes: Had to retire from the NFL due to a recurrent neck stinger.
Played For:
Key Stats: Recorded 100-plus tackles in three seasons.
Recognition: None
Notes: Simmons was a fast, athletic linebacker coming out of Clemson, but would eventually retire due to injuries.
Played For:
Key Stats: Caught 50-plus passes in two seasons and scored four or more touchdowns in three seasons.
Recognition: None
Notes: Scored the touchdown on the infamous Music City Miracle play against
Played For:
Key Stats: Has made 760 career tackles, including 80-plus tackles in seven seasons and 100-plus tackles in three seasons.
Recognition: None
Notes: Has been a solid player for years, but never a noteworthy one.
Played For:
Key Stats: Rushed for 1,115 yards and nine touchdowns in his rookie season.
Recognition: Was considered for the 1998 NFL Rookie of the Year award.
Notes: Edwards blew out his knee playing a flag football game during Pro Bowl week after his rookie season and was never the same.
Played For:
Key Stats: Has made over 450 career tackles and 51.5 sacks. Has recorded seven-plus sacks in three seasons.
Recognition: None
Notes: Has been a positive and consistent contributor throughout his career.
Played For:
Key Stats: Has seven career interceptions and 2,988 career kick return yards.
Recognition: Was regarded as an above-average kick returner for his first few years in the NFL.
Notes: Had hung around the NFL due to his speed, but once that faded, so did his place in the NFL.
Played For:
Key Stats: Has caught 774 passes for 12,193 yards and 124 touchdowns thus far in his career. He has caught 100 or more passes twice, recorded 1,200 yards or more seven times, and scored double-digit touchdowns seven times.
Recognition: Six-time Pro Bowler, four-time All-Pro, 1998 Offensive Rookie of the Year, and holds the record for most receiving touchdowns in a single season (23).
Notes: Moss is probably the most dynamic receiver of his generation and one of the best playmakers in NFL history.
Played For:
Key Stats: Made over 450 career tackles, including 102 during the 2004 season.
Recognition: None
Notes: He never more than a role player.
Played For:
Key Stats: Played a full season twice.
Recognition: Absolutely none
Notes: He was a big boy, but never became a reliable bookend.
Played For: NYG (98-05),
Key Stats: Has 15 career interceptions and recorded more than 400 tackles.
Recognition: None.
Notes: He started for many years with the Giants, but, like Jones, worked mostly as a role player.
Played For:
Key Stats: He recorded 70-plus tackles in his first seven seasons.
Recognition: Along with
Notes: Darius was a hard-hitter who was among the most consistently good safeties in the NFL for nearly a decade.
Played For:
Key Stats: Has started 153 of 158 career games.
Recognition: Seven-time Pro Bowler, five-time All-Pro, one-time Super Bowl winner.
Notes: Faneca has been one of the best guards in the league since he was drafted. He should be considered as a Hall-of-Fame candidate once he retires.
Played For:
Key Stats: It took me a few minutes to even find stats on the guy. Eventually, I found that he played in every game in only three seasons.
Recognition: Probably that he was the one bad offensive lineman for the Chiefs in the early part of this decade.
Notes: There is nothing to add.
Played For:
Key Stats: Has made 481 career tackles to go with 14 interceptions and three punt return and defensive touchdowns apiece, one-time Super Bowl winner.
Recognition: Known as much for his dreadlocks as for his game.
Notes: McQuarters has never been a good cornerback, but he adapted his skills to fill a need and has now become a very reliable kick and punt returner. His ability to hang around in the NFL for a decade is a testament to his awareness to adapt his skills to whatever his team needed.
Played For:
Key Stats: Rushed the ball 143 times for 503 yards and two touchdowns in his rookie year. He rushed six times for 21 yards for the rest of his career.
Recognition: None.
Notes: Was another poor draft pick from the Jimmy Johnson Era.
Played For:
Key Stats: He caught four passes for 76 yards – in his career.
Recognition: He still managed to snag two Super Bowl wins.
Notes: He didn’t have a successful career from an individual standpoint, but anytime you have half as many Super Bowl rings as you do career catches, you have to take that deal.
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