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NFL Draft - Number 1 Picks  
TOP # 

Tags: NFL Draft, Number 1, Picks, No, 1, One, Bust, First, Player, Team, Mario Williams, Alex Smith, Eli Manning, Carson Palmer, David Carr

Here are some of the recent No. 1 draft picks in the NFL. Some are busts, some are stars, what will happen this year?

	1967 Baltimore - Bubba Smith, DT, Michigan State - HOF and an impact player who got himself a ring. He ate offensive lineman.
	1968 Minnesota - Ron Yary, T, USC - on those great Viking teams that went (but sadly lost) all those Super Bowls
	1969 Buffalo - O.J. Simpson, RB, USC. Ykes, stripes! Great career in the NFL, but best known unfortunately for the distance he covered in a Bronco and not the Gridiron.
	1970 Pittsburgh - Terry Bradshaw, QB, Louisiana Tech - HOF and 4 rings. Enough said.
	1971 New England - Jim Plunkett, QB, Stanford - 1 ring, but I remember him more for upsetting a #1 ranked and Woody Hayes coached Buckeye team in the Rose Bowl.
	1972 Buffalo - Walt Patulski, DE, Notre Dame - when you look at the 5 before him, Walt didn't quite measure up.
	1973 Houston - John Matuszak, DE, Tampa - best known as one of those bearded Raiders players...
	1974 Dallas - Ed Jones, DE, Tennessee State. Too Tall and too good. He got himself one of those rings as well.
	1975 Atlanta - Steve Bartkowski, QB, California. Solid and dependable.
	1976 Tampa Bay - Lee Roy Selmon, DE, Oklahoma. Too bad he had to play in Tampa Bay - a real talent coming out of college.
	1977 Tampa Bay - Ricky Bell, RB, USC - didn't quite achieve what the other USC backs did in the pros
	1978 Houston - Earl Campbell, RB, Texas. A man's man. Practically unstoppable in his prime.
	1979 Buffalo - Tom Cousineau, LB, Ohio State - one of the greatest college LB careers ever, but he didn't hit that bar at the next level
	1980 Detroit - Billy Sims, RB, Oklahoma - wow, if you saw him run you realized what a talent he was....
	1981 New Orleans - George Rogers, RB, South Carolina - Good but not great NFL years.
	1982 New England - Kenneth Sims, DT, Texas. In the end, didn't live up to the selection.
	1983 Baltimore - John Elway, QB, Stanford. DID live up to the selection! Took a while to get that ring, and then BAM, he got another one.
	1984 New England - Irving Fryar, WR, Nebraska. Solid, but a #1?
	1985 Buffalo - Bruce Smith, DE, Virginia Tech. Ok, DEFINATELY a #1...throughout his career.
	1986 Tampa Bay - Bo Jackson, RB, Auburn. Maybe the best all around athlete to play professional team sports in the last 80 years.
	1987 Tampa Bay - Vinny Testaverde, QB, Miami-FL. I remember the camoflage in college. No ring, but turned out to be an ironman in the league, playing longer than most and doing pretty well at it.
	1988 Atlanta - Aundray Bruce, LB, Auburn. Another that fell short of the #1 status.
	1989 Dallas - Troy Aikman, QB, UCLA. And just like with Elway, the next year one of the all-time greats is picked. 3 rings in 4 years. HOF baby.
	1990 Indianapolis - Jeff George, QB, Illinois. Talented but tempermental. Everyone tried to get the potential out of him, none seemed able to in the end.
	1991 Dallas - Russell Maryland, DT, Miami-FL. A force on defense. Worthy of the pick.
	1992 Indianapolis - Steve Emtman, DT, Washington. Seemed like a good call at the time, but looking at the success of others on this list...
	1993 New England - Drew Bledsoe, QB, Washington State. So much promise, but overrated many now say.
	1994 Cincinnati - Dan Wilkinson, DT, Ohio State. Overrated ALL will say. A physical speciman coming out of OSU who blew the Combines away. Cincy had no choice but to take him at that time, but he didn't live up to potential. Sorta like Cincinnati...
	1995 Cincinnati - Ki-Jana Carter, RB, Penn State. Wow, two number one picks in 2 years and neither work out. As the Pretenders once said, "Way to go Ohio."
	1996 NY Jets - Keyshawn Johnson, WR, USC. Dominant the first couple of years, but his stature is becoming less obvious.
	1997 St. Louis - Orlando Pace, OT, Ohio State. A beast who won ST Louis at title. The read deal!
	1998 Indianapolis - Peyton Manning, QB, Tennessee. Um, the real deal too. Another #1 with a ring.
	1999 Cleveland - Tim Couch, QB, Kentucky. Um, no.
	2000 Cleveland - Courtney Brown, DE, Penn State. Um, no, well maybe. Let me think about it again. No.
	2001 Atlanta - Michael Vick, QB, Virginia Tech. Yes, yes, yes. But what's with the dogs Michael?
	2002 Houston - David Carr, QB, Fresno State. Not yet and probaly never. Will need to wait and see.
	2003 Cincinnati - Carson Palmer, QB, USC. No ring yet, but best pure passer in the NFL.
	2004 San Diego - Eli Manning, QB, Mississippi. Brother envy. Good, but not great. However, did get the Super Bowl ring much faster than big brother Peyton.
	2005 San Francisco - Alex Smith, QB Utah. Too soon to tell...
	2006 Houston - Mario Williams, DE North Carolina State. Unfortunately, he was picked above Reggie Bush. Not his fault, but something he will probably never live down.
	2007 Oakland - JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU - To suggest at this point that he’s bust might be a bit premature. It’s not like he has the best situation in Oakland. Not only is his offensive line brutal, but his coaching staff has undergone multiple changes.
	2008 Miami Dolphins - Jake Long, OT, Michigan - Long agreed to a five-year, $57.75 million deal with the Miami Dolphins. The deal included $30 million in guaranteed money and made first overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. This made him, as of that date, the highest paid offensive lineman in the NFL.
	2009 Detroit Lions - Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia - As a classic pocket passer with excellent arm strength, he gives the team a legitimate quarterback to build an offense around.

Lister: ListAfterList Wiki Contributors

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