The No. 1 Pick In The NFL Draft


Feb 5, 2023 11:30:32 GMT -6 1 Replies
The Chicago Bears currently hold the first pick of the 2023 NFL Draft. If they use the pick, it would be the third time that they made the first pick in the draft. The first two didn’t go so well. Tom Harmon never played for them. Bob Fenimore never played all that well. With seven times each, the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts and the Cleveland/Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams have picked first the most. The Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, and Seattle Seahawks have never picked first. Here are the No. 1 Picks ranked by the teams that have made the pick the most.

The No. 1 Pick In The NFL Draft

1. Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts (7)
1955: George Shaw, QB, Oregon
1967: Bubba Smith, DE, Michigan State
1983: John Elway, QB, Stanford
1990: Jeff George, QB, Illinois
1992: Steve Emtman, DE, Washington
1998: Peyton Manning, QB, Tennessee
2012: Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford

1. Cleveland/Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams (7)
1938: Corbett Davis, FB, Indiana
1952: Bill Wade, QB, Vanderbilt
1960: Billy Cannon, HB, LSU
1963: Terry Baker, QB, Oregon St.
1997: Orlando Pace, OT, Ohio State
2010: Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma
2016: Jared Goff, QB, California

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5)
1976: Lee Roy Selmon, DE, Oklahoma
1977: Ricky Bell, HB, USC
1986: Bo Jackson, HB, Auburn
1987: Vinny Testeverde, QB, Miami
2015: Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State

3. Cleveland Browns (5)
1954: Bobby Garrett, QB, Stanford
1999: Tim Couch, QB, Kentucky
2000: Courtney Brown, DE, Penn State
2017: Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M
2018: Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma

3. Chicago/St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals (5)
1939: Ki Aldrich, C, TCU
1940: George Cafego, HB, Tennessee
1945: Charley Trippi, HB, Georgia
1958: King Hill, QB, Rice
2019: Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma

6. Detroit Lions (4)
1943: Frank Sinkwich, HB, Georgia
1950: Leon Hart, E, Notre Dame
1980: Billy Sims, HB, Oklahoma
2009: Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia

6. Atlanta Falcons (4)
1966: Tommy Nobis, LB, Texas
1975: Steve Bartkowski, QB, California
1988: Aundray Bruce, LB, Auburn
2001: Michael Vick, QB, Virginia Tech

6. Buffalo Bills (4)
1969: O.J. Simpson, HB, USC
1972: Walt Patulski, DE, Notre Dame
1979: Tom Cousineau, LB, Ohio State
1985: Bruce Smith, DE, Virginia Tech

6. Cincinnati Bengals (4)
1994: Dan Wilkinson, DT, Ohio State
1995: Ki-Jana Carter, HB, Penn State
2003: Carson Palmer, QB, USC
2020: Joe Burrow, QB, LSU

6. New England Patriots (4)
1971: Jim Plunkett, QB, Stanford
1982: Kenneth Sims, DE, Texas
1984: Irving Fryar, WR, Nebraska
1993: Drew Bledsoe, QB, Washington State

11. Philadelphia Eagles (3)
1936: Jay Berwanger, HB, Chicago
1937: Sam Francis, FB, Nebraska
1949: Chuck Bednarik, LB, Penn

11. Pittsburgh Steelers (3)
1942: Bill Dudley, HB, Virginia
1956: Gary Glick, DB, Colorado A&M
1970: Terry Bradshaw, QB, Louisiana Tech

11. Dallas Cowboys (3)
1974: Ed Jones, DE, Tennessee State
1989: Troy Aikman, QB, UCLA
1991: Russell Maryland, DT, Miami

11. San Francisco 49ers (3)
1953: Harry Babcock, E, Georgia
1964: Dave Parks, WR, Texas Tech
2005: Alex Smith, QB, Utah

11. Houston Texans (3)
2002: Dave Carr, QB, Fresno State
2006: Mario Williams, DE, North Carolina State
2014: Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina

16. Minnesota Vikings (2)
1961: Tommy Mason, HB, Tulane
1968: Ron Yary, OT, USC

The Minnesota Vikings were awarded the first pick in the 1961 NFL Draft as a way to help an expansion team. I believe that the Vikings were the first expansion team to receive such treatment. The year before, the Dallas Cowboys were awarded their franchise at such a late date that they didn’t even take part in the 1960 NFL Draft. The league was in a rush to get the Cowboys going so that they could compete for control of the city of Dallas and the state of Texas with the AFL’s Dallas Texans. It’s wild that the first pick in Cowboys franchise history preceded their second season. They made that first pick count when they selected defensive tackle Bob Lilly. Anyway, this isn’t about the Cowboys. It’s about the Vikings and their two opportunities with the first pick in the NFL Draft. They gained the first pick in the 1968 NFL Draft from the New York Giants as part of the Fran Tarkenton trade. The Vikings did well with both of their opportunities to draft first overall. Along with Tarkenton, Tommy Mason was one of the franchise’s early stars. He went to the Pro Bowl from 1962-64 and was named first-team All-Pro in 1963. If injuries hadn’t whittled away at his talents, he’d be better remembered. Ron Yary is honored in Canton for the career that he had in Minnesota. Simply put, he’s the best offensive tackle of his era and one of the best to ever play.

16. Chicago Bears (2)
1941: Tom Harmon, HB, Michigan
1947: Bob Fenimore, HB, Oklahoma A&M

16. Boston/Washington Braves/Redskins/Commanders (2)
1948: Harry Gilmer, HB, Alabama
1962: Ernie Davis, HB, Syracuse

16. New York Giants (2)
1951: Kyle Rote, HB, SMU
1965: Tucker Fredrickson, HB, Auburn

16. Green Bay Packers (2)
1957: Paul Hornung, HB, Notre Dame
1959: Randy Duncan, QB, Iowa

16. Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans (2)
1973: John Matuszak, DE, Tampa
1978: Earl Campbell, HB, Texas

16. Jacksonville Jaguars (2)
2021: Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson
2022: Travon Walker, DE, Georgia

23. New Orleans Saints (1)
1981: George Rogers, HB, South Carolina

23. New York Jets (1)
1996: Keyshawn Johnson, WR, USC

23. San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers (1)
2004: Eli Manning, QB, Mississippi

23. Oakland/Los Angeles/Las Vegas Raiders (1)
2007: Jamarcus Russell, QB, LSU

23. Miami Dolphins (1)
2008: Jake Long, OT, Michigan

23. Carolina Panthers (1)
2011: Cam Newton, QB, Auburn

23. Kansas City Chiefs (1)
2013: Eric Fisher, OT, Central Michigan

The Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, and Baltimore Ravens have never picked first.

One team that is no longer with us made the first pick in the draft twice:

Boston Yanks (2)
1944: Angelo Bertelli, QB, Notre Dame
1946: Frank Dancewicz, QB, Notre Dame

The Yanks were fond of Notre Dame quarterbacks. Unfortunately, that fondness couldn’t save the franchise. They became the New York Bulldogs in 1949, the New York Yanks in 1950, and the Dallas Texans in 1952. The team folded after the 1952 season and many of the players were folded into the “new” Baltimore Colts.


The No. 1 Pick In The NFL Draft

Shoutbox

Purple Pain: I'll have the Pick 6 thread up tonight for Wild Card Weekend! Jan 10, 2024 12:08:58 GMT -6
Purple Pain: Pick 6 Playoffs Edition for Wild Card Weekend is up: purplepainforums.com/thread/7532/pick-playoffs-edition-wild-weekend Jan 11, 2024 1:30:16 GMT -6
Purple Pain: Pick 6 Playoffs Edition for the Divisional Round: purplepainforums.com/thread/7549/pick-playoffs-edition-divisional-round Jan 17, 2024 23:09:56 GMT -6
beckmt: Where are the totals for the wild card weekend. Jan 18, 2024 20:49:24 GMT -6
Purple Pain: Pick 6 Playoffs Edition for Championship Weekend: purplepainforums.com/thread/7572/pick-playoffs-edition-championship-weekend Jan 25, 2024 11:02:04 GMT -6
Purple Pain: Pick 6 Playoffs Edition for the Super Bowl is up: purplepainforums.com/thread/7585/pick-playoffs-edition-super-lviii Jan 31, 2024 11:33:55 GMT -6
salamander: Not feeling good unless we can find a QB. Haven't had a great one in a looooooong time. Feb 22, 2024 13:43:06 GMT -6
Reignman: March 11th, 2024 will live in history as Kirk Cousins Independence Day *cheerleader* Mar 11, 2024 16:34:20 GMT -6
salbrecht: Why can Pittsburg sign Russel Wilson fo 1.2 million and we get Sam Darnold for 10 million?? Mar 13, 2024 18:31:25 GMT -6
Reignman: when you put it like that, it's a real head scratcher, but this franchise is all about their precious culture, so I imagine they passed on a guy like Russ over something silly like that ... Darnold will have a big smile when he's throwing all the INT's Mar 14, 2024 17:44:47 GMT -6
shandman: If I am NE, I seriously consider getting Justin Fields and roll with Fields/Brisset this year.

For Vikings to actually pull this off they probably have to trade #11, #23 and 2025 first rounder. In return, they hopefully get #3 overall this year and NE's
Mar 15, 2024 19:29:01 GMT -6
glenwo2: Saying that Darnold will have a big smile when he's throwing all the INT's is quite the Take, Reignman. Mar 16, 2024 20:17:05 GMT -6
Nemesis: Good grief....first I hear....and then I hear...I think I better go back to being gone. *woot* ??? Mar 22, 2024 15:24:17 GMT -6
Norseman: You were gone? Mar 22, 2024 22:30:40 GMT -6
Nemesis: I'm a long gone daddy www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtpe6_2nCts Mar 23, 2024 9:39:00 GMT -6
glenwo2: Norseman is Nemesis' Daddy! You heard it here first, folks. Mar 25, 2024 12:26:17 GMT -6
glenwo2: I'm kidding of course, Nemesis. :) Mar 25, 2024 12:27:05 GMT -6
Norseman: How do you know that it isn't true? Mar 25, 2024 14:28:23 GMT -6
glenwo2: Because Nemesis is the Mod and I'm just a punk rookie acting like a goofball. Mar 25, 2024 16:57:35 GMT -6
Nemesis: Plus glenwo2 is probably my dad, he just likes messing with me from the beyond. Mar 26, 2024 17:13:40 GMT -6
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