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Who are the top #1 overall picks in NFL history? Here is our top 10 countdown:
10. Lee Roy Selmon (1976): the very first pick of the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Selmon played in six consecutive Pro Bowls during his nine NFL seasons and was named Defensive Player of the Year in 1979.
9. Orlando Pace (1997): a member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame, Pace earned seven Pro Bowl and three All-Pro selections while anchoring the Rams’ offensive line for Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, and “The Greatest Show on Turf”.
8. Terry Bradshaw (1970): one of the NFL’s greatest winners, Bradshaw guided the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowl titles during the 1970s while also winning a regular season MVP award and two Super Bowl MVPs in the process.
7. O.J. Simpson (1969): before he was infamous for off-the-field news, Simpson was one of the dominant running backs of the 1970s, becoming the first player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season (2,003 in 1973) while making the Pro Bowl 6x, All-Pro 5x, and winning the MVP in his record-setting year.
6. John Elway (1983): the first quarterback selected in the famed “Year of the Quarterback”, Elway was actually traded from the Baltimore Colts to the Denver Broncos, where he went on to win MVP honors while leading the Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowl titles in 1997 and 1998.
5. Paul Hornung (1957): a 4x NFL champion and also part of the first Super Bowl-winning team, Hornung was an integral part of Vince Lombardi’s 1960s Green Bay Packers dynasty – a running back and placekicker, he led the league in scoring in three straight years (1959-1961) and was also named MVP in 1961.
4. Earl Campbell (1978): while his bruising running style ultimately shortened his career, Campbell led the NFL in rushing his first three years, and rushed for a total of 9,407 yards and 74 touchdowns in just eight seasons.
3. Bruce Smith (1985): the NFL’s all-time career sack leader (200.0), Smith was a 2x Defensive Player of the Year and had 13 career double-digit sack seasons, including a career-best 19.0 in 1990.
2. Chuck Bednarik (1949): the NFL’s last full-time two-way player, Bednarik was both a center on offense and a linebacker on defense with the Philadelphia Eagles, racking up eight Pro Bowl nods, six All-Pro selections, and two NFL championships during his career.
1. Peyton Manning (1998): coming from a family of quarterbacks (father Archie and brother Eli also played in the NFL), Manning is one of the greatest signal-callers in league history, winning five MVP awards and two Super Bowls, among a slew of other honors, and retiring as the all-time leader in career passing yards and touchdowns (though he has since been surpassed in both categories).
Agree/Disagree? As always, debate/discuss, and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Note: All statistics as of time of publication.
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Countdown 26: Top 10 New York Yankees of All Time
