We can talk New England's pick of Tom Brady or San Francisco's third-round pick of Joe Montana all we want, but the fact is this: In the NFL Hall of Fame there are more first rounders than in any other round. And every team has had a first round pick that they - and the game of football- will remember.
Here are those picks. Most of them are in the Hall of Fame. Some are biding their time.
AFC East
Here are those picks. Most of them are in the Hall of Fame. Some are biding their time.
AFC East
New England Patriots: Ty Law (1995): A shutdown corner in New England, Law helped the Pats to 3 Super Bowls as well as getting named to five Pro Bowls. He led the league in interceptions twice, and had 52 INTs, 169 pass deflections and 838 tackles to his name.
New York Jets: Joe Namath (1965): One Super Bowl. Guaranteed. Superstardom from then on. ‘Nuff said.
Buffalo Bills: Bruce Smith (1985): The only DE to ever hit the 200 sack mark, Smith went to most of this mark with the Bills. He made 11 Pro Bowls, won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year twice, and helped himself to well over 1,000 tackles….and a Hall of Fame place.
Miami Dolphins: Dan Marino (1983): Playing every year of his career in Miami, Marino threw for nearly 70,000 yards and 420 TDs in an incredible career that included 9 Pro Bowls. No Dolphin has ever come close to his greatness.
AFC North
Pittsburgh Steelers: Rod Woodson. Although there will arguments for Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris and Lynn Swann, we’re going for Woodson, who ended up with 71 career interceptions (38 in his ten-year career in Steeltown), 11 straight Pro Bowl selections, and a spot in the Hall of Fame.
Baltimore Ravens: Ed Reed (2002) There’s a shout for Ray Lewis and Jonathan Ogdgen there, Reed was amazing. The Miami product hit like a train from his safety position, grabbing 64 INTs, defending 141 passes, and having over 1,500 interception return yards, which is a record. He’s going to the Hall of Fame.
Cleveland Browns: Jim Brown (1957): There is – and probably never will be – a bigger legend in Cleveland football than Brown, who ran for over 12,000 yards and 106 TDs and took them to their only Super Bowl triumph.
Cincinnati Bengals: Anthony Munoz (1980): So far the only Bengal to ever make the Hall of Fame, Munoz played 185 games for the Bengals, starting all but three of them. An 11-time Pro Bowler, he was tied for was the most-ever for an OL when the Hall of Fame votes came in.
AFC South
Houston Texans: JJ Watt (2011): The former Wisconsin giant already has four Pro Bowl selections and three Defensive Player of The Year awards, and he’s pretty much unstoppable coming off the end. If he stays healthy.
Indianapolis Colts: Peyton Manning (1998): A future Hall Of Famer seemingly while he throwing footballs at the University of Tennessee, Manning was brilliant throughout his career –helping himself to two Super Bowl wins, 71,940 pass yards, and 539 TDs. The word “Omaha” will never be the same again. Unless you’re thinking about World War II beaches or Warren Buffett.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Tony Boselli (1995): Five-time Pro Bowler who started 90 games out of 91 total games for the Jags, Boselli was the Jags’ first-ever first round pick. And it worked out well.
Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers: Bruce Matthews (1983): The huge offensive linesman was exceptional for the Oilers-come-Titans during his astounding career for the franchise, hardly missing a game while being productive all over the front line.
He was selected to 14 Pro Bowls, nine First Team All-Pro spots. No surprise that he went to the Hall of Fame in 2007, then.
AFC West
Denver Broncos: Floyd Little (1967): The first-ever first round pick for the Broncos, Little’s eight-year career included three Pro Bowls, over 6,000 yards rushing, over 2,400 yards receiving, and 54 total touchdowns. Finally got his place into the Hall of Fame in 2010.
Kansas City Chiefs: Derrick Thomas (1989): Sadly no longer with us, Thomas embellished greatness on and off the field. An Alabama product, the linebacker recorded 126 sacks, 642 tackles and 41 forced fumbles. He might have died way too early, but his legend lives on.
Los Angeles Chargers: LaDanian Tomlinson (2001): The TCU product and Hall of Famer owns the record for most TDs in a season (28). Running for over 13, 684 yards and 145 career touchdowns (third all-time), LT’s time in San Diego was never dull to watch.
Oakland Raiders: Tim Brown (1987): Brown recorded 100 touchdowns, 1,094 receptions, 14,934 total receiving yards as well as 190 rushing yards, 3,320 punt return yards, and 1,235 kick-off return yards. His 19,682 yards is among the best all-time in all-time yardage.
NFC East
Philadelphia Eagles: Donovan MacNabb (1999): Eagles fans hated the ownership for drafting McNabb second overall in the 1999 draft, but he was pretty damned good for the battery-throwing horse-punchers during his time in the City of Brotherly Love. Not only did he lead them to a Super Bowl, but he also threw for 37,000 yards, 234 TDs and ran for nearly 5,000 yards and 29 TDs. If he’d won a Super Bowl, then people would probably be yelling for his Hall of Fame place. We know we are anyways.
New York Giants: Lawrence Taylor (1981): One of the most frightening defensive players to ever play the game, Taylor lit up quarterbacks throughout his 12 years with the Giants, recording 132 sacks and grabbing 9 INTs. He also helped the Giants to two Super Bowl wins and himself to 10 Pro Bowl selections….and a Hall of Fame spot.
Dallas Cowboys: Troy Aikman (1989). Not a bad decision by Jerry Jones to take Aikman as the No.1 overall pick, as it goes. Aikman, who won three Super Bowls in Texas, threw for 32,000 yards, 160 TDs, and put himself in the Hall of Fame.
Washington Redskins: Art Monk (1980). The 18th-pick and Syracuse product helped the Skins to win three Super Bowls during his time in the Capital, and grabbed 68 TDs and 12,700 yards receiving in a sparkling career. He’s rightly in the Hall of Fame.
New York Giants: Lawrence Taylor (1981): One of the most frightening defensive players to ever play the game, Taylor lit up quarterbacks throughout his 12 years with the Giants, recording 132 sacks and grabbing 9 INTs. He also helped the Giants to two Super Bowl wins and himself to 10 Pro Bowl selections….and a Hall of Fame spot.
Dallas Cowboys: Troy Aikman (1989). Not a bad decision by Jerry Jones to take Aikman as the No.1 overall pick, as it goes. Aikman, who won three Super Bowls in Texas, threw for 32,000 yards, 160 TDs, and put himself in the Hall of Fame.
Washington Redskins: Art Monk (1980). The 18th-pick and Syracuse product helped the Skins to win three Super Bowls during his time in the Capital, and grabbed 68 TDs and 12,700 yards receiving in a sparkling career. He’s rightly in the Hall of Fame.
NFC North
Chicago Bears: Walter Payton (1975): “Sweetness” led the Bears to their only Super Bowl victory in 1985, and in a brilliant Hall of Fame career recorded 110 rushing touchdowns, 16,000 rushing, and is widely recognised as one of the greatest running backs ever to play the game.
Minnesota Vikings: Randy Moss (1998): One of the greatest wide receivers in the NFL history, Moss was incredible throughout his career, grabbing six straight 1,000 yard receiving seasons in his first six years with the Vikes. Although he also lit up the 2007 season with Tom Brady throwing to him in New England, he’ll always be thought of as a Viking.
Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers (2005): Rodgers bided his time behind Brett Favre for three years, but never left Lambeau. And since taking over, the future Hall of Famer has thrown for 38,000 yards, 313 TDs, won two NFL MVP awards and won the Packers two Super Bowls.
Detroit Lions: Barry Sanders (1989): In a glittering career that spanned nine years, the Hall of Famer led the NFL in rushing four times, and more importantly ran for over 15,000 yards, 99 touchdowns while receiving for nearly 3,000 yards and 10 TDs as well.
Minnesota Vikings: Randy Moss (1998): One of the greatest wide receivers in the NFL history, Moss was incredible throughout his career, grabbing six straight 1,000 yard receiving seasons in his first six years with the Vikes. Although he also lit up the 2007 season with Tom Brady throwing to him in New England, he’ll always be thought of as a Viking.
Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers (2005): Rodgers bided his time behind Brett Favre for three years, but never left Lambeau. And since taking over, the future Hall of Famer has thrown for 38,000 yards, 313 TDs, won two NFL MVP awards and won the Packers two Super Bowls.
Detroit Lions: Barry Sanders (1989): In a glittering career that spanned nine years, the Hall of Famer led the NFL in rushing four times, and more importantly ran for over 15,000 yards, 99 touchdowns while receiving for nearly 3,000 yards and 10 TDs as well.
NFC South
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Warren Sapp (1995): The freakishly-good DT was voted into the Hall of Fame after a career that included over 100 career sacks, he was a staple of the Bucs defense that won a Super Bowl in 2002.
Atlanta Falcons: Julio Jones (2011): Matt Ryan’s favourite target - and future Hall of Famer -averages a filthy 95 receiving yards per game. If injuries don’t kill his career, Jones will end up with over 100 receiving TDs (he’s on 43 now), and will definitely finish with 10,000 receiving yards. The latter probably midway through the 2018 season.
New Orleans Saints: Willie Roaf (1993): The offensive tackle out of Louisiana Tech never missed a game in his career, starting all 189 games he played in. Dependable even if his quarterbacks behind him were not, Roaf was an 11-time Pro Bowler and named to back-to-back NFL All-Decades teams.
Carolina Panthers: Cam Newton (2011): Newton’s athletic ability has made him one of the most exciting players in the NFL. The future Hall of Famer has run for over 50 TDs and thrown for over 150 more, as well as 25,000 yards, and we can’t think of a better running QB since Michael Vick. Nor can Carolina fans.
NFC West
St Louis/Los Angeles Rams: Eric Dickerson (1983): While his career was relatively short with the Rams, he still ran for 1,000 yards in four out of five seasons, which included 2,000 in one season alone. Although he might be remembered for his ongoing spats with ownership about contracts, he was still the Greatest Ram Who Ever Lived.
Arizona Cardinals: Larry Fitzgerald (2004): The future Hall of Famer has played 13 seasons as a Cardinal, catching 15,000 yards and 110 TDs in the process, and twice led the league in receptions and touchdowns while also being voted into 11 Pro Bowls.
San Francisco 49ers: Jerry Rice (1985): He's the G.O.A.T. among NFL wide receivers, and there's no argument. Rice owns (and no-one really comes close on any of these) current NFL records for the most receptions in NFL history (1,549), the most yards (22,895), the most touchdowns (197), and the most career all-purpose yards (23,546). Oh, and three Super Bowl rings.
Seattle Seahawks: Walter Jones (1997). The offensive tackle from Florida State played 180 games for the Seahawks, starting 100% of them. The 6’5 player was the key for success for running backs Shaun Alexander and Ricky Watters. He entered the Hall of Fame in 2014, to the surprise of no-one.
