The Answer
04-20-2007, 12:46 PM
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6687676
Hope springs eternal on draft day, when fans imagine that their teams' first-round picks have Hall of Fame potential.
Of course, only a tiny minority of first-round draft picks will actually get to the Hall of Fame. But below we present a list that shows the best-case scenario: These are the best picks in the history of the NFL draft, starting with the best player ever taken first overall, and going all the way down to the best player ever taken 32nd.
1. Chuck Bednarik, 1949, Philadelphia Eagles (Pennsylvania)
Who's the best of the 12 Hall of Famers to have gone first overall in the NFL draft? You probably thought you'd see a more famous player here, like John Elway or Terry Bradshaw or O.J. Simpson. But Bednarik gave the Eagles two players for the price of one: As the last of the 60-minute men, Bednarik was great at both center and linebacker. That makes him the greatest player ever chosen first overall, although if Peyton Manning is as great a quarterback for the next nine seasons as he was for his first nine seasons, he could supplant Bednarik here.
2. Lawrence Taylor, 1981, New York Giants (North Carolina)
The most dominant defensive player of the modern era, L.T.'s incredible athleticism and mean streak made him nearly impossible to block one-on-one. Although there have been 11 Hall of Fame players chosen second overall (starting with the Bears drafting Sid Luckman in 1939 and going through the Rams drafting Eric Dickerson in 1983), none have changed the game the way Taylor did.
3. Barry Sanders, 1989, Detroit Lions (Oklahoma State)
The best pure runner ever to play the game, Sanders was part of an incredible 1989 Top 5 that included the Cowboys taking UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman first, the Chiefs taking Alabama linebacker Derrick Thomas fourth and the Falcons taking Florida State cornerback Deion Sanders fifth. The second pick — Michigan State tackle Tony Mandarich to the Packers — was widely regarded as the best prospect of the bunch. The scouts don't get them all right.
4. Walter Payton, 1975, Chicago Bears (Jackson State)
Trivia time: Who's Ken Huff? He's the guard the Baltimore Colts chose with the third pick in the draft when they could have taken Payton. Huff didn't have a bad career (he stayed in the league 11 years), but Baltimore fans must wonder what might have been if their team had chosen Payton. Some folks doubted Sweetness could compete in the NFL — he was small and hadn't faced top competition in college — but it didn't take long for Payton to show he could do much more than compete.
5. Mike Haynes, 1976, New England Patriots (Arizona State)
Haynes was the defensive rookie of the year in 1976 and went on to play in nine Pro Bowls, both for the Patriots and the Raiders. He was both bigger and faster than most of the receivers he covered, and he was the best cornerback of his generation.
6. (tie) Sammy Baugh, 1937, Washington Redskins (Texas Christian)
Jim Brown, 1957, Cleveland Browns (Syracuse)
I couldn't possibly choose between Baugh, widely regarded as the best player of the first half of the 20th Century, and Brown, widely regarded as the best player of the second half of the 20th Century. Both were taken with the sixth overall pick, 20 years apart, so we'll call this one a tie.
7. Clyde "Bulldog" Turner, Chicago Bears, 1940 (Hardin-Simmons)
Turner, a center and middle linebacker, was the best defensive player of the 1940s, helping lead the Bears to four NFL titles. Pro scouts thought so highly of Turner when he came out of Hardin-Simmons (a small Baptist school in Abilene, Texas) that the NFL fined the Detroit Lions $5,000 for trying to convince Turner not to play for the Bears after Chicago drafted him.
8. Ronnie Lott, San Francisco 49ers, 1981 (USC)
Lott and Taylor might have been the two best defensive players of the 1980s, and they were selected just an hour apart on draft day in 1981. As a rookie, Lott helped the 49ers win the first of their five Super Bowls, and he would go on to have 63 career interceptions and be chosen to 10 Pro Bowls.
9. Bruce Matthews, Houston Oilers, 1983 (USC)
What an incredible first round the 1983 NFL draft had. It's best remembered for the six quarterbacks who were selected, including Hall of Famers John Elway, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino. But it also had a Hall of Fame running back in Eric Dickerson, a Hall of Fame cornerback in Darrell Green, and a Hall of Fame lineman in Matthews, who could play center, guard or tackle and was chosen for 12 Pro Bowls.
10. Marcus Allen, Oakland Raiders, 1982 (USC)
The 1981 senior class had what looked like the best collection of running back talent ever assembled. Allen, the Heisman Trophy winner, was the best-known of the group but not necessarily the best-liked among NFL scouts. Two other Pac-10 running backs (Stanford's Darrin Nelson and Arizona State's Gerald Riggs) went ahead of Allen in the 1982 draft. With four more running backs (Baylor's Walter Abercrombie, Richmond's Barry Redden, Michigan's Butch Woolfork and San Jose State's Gerald Willhite) being chosen within 11 picks after Allen, fully one-third of the first 21 players selected in 1982 were running backs. But Allen was head and shoulders ahead of them all, winning the Super Bowl MVP in his second season and becoming the first player in NFL history to accumulate 10,000 rushing yards and 5,000 receiving yards.
Unfortuneatly there are no Bills listed but see link for the rest of the top 32............
~The Answer
Hope springs eternal on draft day, when fans imagine that their teams' first-round picks have Hall of Fame potential.
Of course, only a tiny minority of first-round draft picks will actually get to the Hall of Fame. But below we present a list that shows the best-case scenario: These are the best picks in the history of the NFL draft, starting with the best player ever taken first overall, and going all the way down to the best player ever taken 32nd.
1. Chuck Bednarik, 1949, Philadelphia Eagles (Pennsylvania)
Who's the best of the 12 Hall of Famers to have gone first overall in the NFL draft? You probably thought you'd see a more famous player here, like John Elway or Terry Bradshaw or O.J. Simpson. But Bednarik gave the Eagles two players for the price of one: As the last of the 60-minute men, Bednarik was great at both center and linebacker. That makes him the greatest player ever chosen first overall, although if Peyton Manning is as great a quarterback for the next nine seasons as he was for his first nine seasons, he could supplant Bednarik here.
2. Lawrence Taylor, 1981, New York Giants (North Carolina)
The most dominant defensive player of the modern era, L.T.'s incredible athleticism and mean streak made him nearly impossible to block one-on-one. Although there have been 11 Hall of Fame players chosen second overall (starting with the Bears drafting Sid Luckman in 1939 and going through the Rams drafting Eric Dickerson in 1983), none have changed the game the way Taylor did.
3. Barry Sanders, 1989, Detroit Lions (Oklahoma State)
The best pure runner ever to play the game, Sanders was part of an incredible 1989 Top 5 that included the Cowboys taking UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman first, the Chiefs taking Alabama linebacker Derrick Thomas fourth and the Falcons taking Florida State cornerback Deion Sanders fifth. The second pick — Michigan State tackle Tony Mandarich to the Packers — was widely regarded as the best prospect of the bunch. The scouts don't get them all right.
4. Walter Payton, 1975, Chicago Bears (Jackson State)
Trivia time: Who's Ken Huff? He's the guard the Baltimore Colts chose with the third pick in the draft when they could have taken Payton. Huff didn't have a bad career (he stayed in the league 11 years), but Baltimore fans must wonder what might have been if their team had chosen Payton. Some folks doubted Sweetness could compete in the NFL — he was small and hadn't faced top competition in college — but it didn't take long for Payton to show he could do much more than compete.
5. Mike Haynes, 1976, New England Patriots (Arizona State)
Haynes was the defensive rookie of the year in 1976 and went on to play in nine Pro Bowls, both for the Patriots and the Raiders. He was both bigger and faster than most of the receivers he covered, and he was the best cornerback of his generation.
6. (tie) Sammy Baugh, 1937, Washington Redskins (Texas Christian)
Jim Brown, 1957, Cleveland Browns (Syracuse)
I couldn't possibly choose between Baugh, widely regarded as the best player of the first half of the 20th Century, and Brown, widely regarded as the best player of the second half of the 20th Century. Both were taken with the sixth overall pick, 20 years apart, so we'll call this one a tie.
7. Clyde "Bulldog" Turner, Chicago Bears, 1940 (Hardin-Simmons)
Turner, a center and middle linebacker, was the best defensive player of the 1940s, helping lead the Bears to four NFL titles. Pro scouts thought so highly of Turner when he came out of Hardin-Simmons (a small Baptist school in Abilene, Texas) that the NFL fined the Detroit Lions $5,000 for trying to convince Turner not to play for the Bears after Chicago drafted him.
8. Ronnie Lott, San Francisco 49ers, 1981 (USC)
Lott and Taylor might have been the two best defensive players of the 1980s, and they were selected just an hour apart on draft day in 1981. As a rookie, Lott helped the 49ers win the first of their five Super Bowls, and he would go on to have 63 career interceptions and be chosen to 10 Pro Bowls.
9. Bruce Matthews, Houston Oilers, 1983 (USC)
What an incredible first round the 1983 NFL draft had. It's best remembered for the six quarterbacks who were selected, including Hall of Famers John Elway, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino. But it also had a Hall of Fame running back in Eric Dickerson, a Hall of Fame cornerback in Darrell Green, and a Hall of Fame lineman in Matthews, who could play center, guard or tackle and was chosen for 12 Pro Bowls.
10. Marcus Allen, Oakland Raiders, 1982 (USC)
The 1981 senior class had what looked like the best collection of running back talent ever assembled. Allen, the Heisman Trophy winner, was the best-known of the group but not necessarily the best-liked among NFL scouts. Two other Pac-10 running backs (Stanford's Darrin Nelson and Arizona State's Gerald Riggs) went ahead of Allen in the 1982 draft. With four more running backs (Baylor's Walter Abercrombie, Richmond's Barry Redden, Michigan's Butch Woolfork and San Jose State's Gerald Willhite) being chosen within 11 picks after Allen, fully one-third of the first 21 players selected in 1982 were running backs. But Allen was head and shoulders ahead of them all, winning the Super Bowl MVP in his second season and becoming the first player in NFL history to accumulate 10,000 rushing yards and 5,000 receiving yards.
Unfortuneatly there are no Bills listed but see link for the rest of the top 32............
~The Answer