Every once in awhile near NFL draft season you may see an article or YouTube video that attempts to rank all NFL players taken first overall in the NFL draft.
Well I thought it would be interesting to attempt to do such a ranking for second overall draft picks since the common draft started in 1967.
That particular pick has by my count nine Hall of Famers and a few potential future Hall of Very Good players, as well as several busts from throughout NFL history.
I think it’s too early to rank 2023’s second overall pick C.J. Stroud or 2024’s second overall pick Jayden Daniels. Though credit both for making a pro bowl and receiving an MVP vote each early into their careers.
Here are the 56 players that will be ranked:
2022: Aidan Hutchison
2021: Zach Wilson
2020: Chase Young
2019: Nick Bosa
2018: Saquon Barkley
2017: Mitchell Trubisky
2016: Carson Wentz
2015: Marcus Mariota
2014: Greg Robinson
2013: Luke Joeckel
2012: Robert Griffin III
2011: Von Miller
2010: Ndamukong Suh
2009: Jason Smith
2008: Chris Long
2007: Calvin Johnson
2006: Reggie Bush
2005: Ronnie Brown
2004: Robert Gallery
2003: Charles Rogers
2002: Julius Peppers
2001: Leonard Davis
2000: LaVarr Arrington
1999: Donovan McNabb
1998: Ryan Leaf
1997: Darrell Russell
1996: Kevin Hardy
1995: Tony Boselli
1994: Marshall Faulk
1993: Rick Mirer
1992: Quentin Coryatt
1991: Eric Turner
1990: Blair Thomas
1989: Tony Mandarich
1988: Neil Smith
1987: Cornelius Bennett
1986: Tony Cassillas
1985: Bill Fralic
1984: Dean Steinkuhler
1983: Eric Dickerson
1982: Johnie Cooks
1981: Lawrence Taylor
1980: Johnny Lam Jones
1979: Mike Bell
1978: Art Still
1977: Tony Dorsett
1976: Steve Niehaus
1975: Randy White
1974: Bo Matthews
1973: Bert Jones
1972: Sherman White
1971: Archie Manning
1970: Mike McCoy
1969: George Kunz
1968: Bob Johnson
1967: Clint Jones
When it came to tiebreakers, I considered the players career (both overall, as well as for the team that drafted them), and any trade value they may have provided.
Here is my attempt to rank each of them from best to worst. Let me know what you think.
1. Lawrence Taylor
2. Randy White
3. Von Miller
4. Eric Dickerson
5. Calvin Johnson
6. Tony Dorsett
7. Julius Peppers
8. Tony Boselli
9. Marshall Faulk
10. Neil Smith
11. Cornelius Bennett
12. Ndomakong Suh
13. Bill Fralic
14. Bert Jones
15. Saquon Barkley
16. George Kunz
17. Nick Bosa
18. Donovan McNabb
19. Art Still
20. LaVarr Arrington
21. Bob Johnson
22. Archie Manning
23. Darrell Russell
24. Leonard Davis
25. Aidan Hutchison
26. Eric Turner
27. Kevin Hardy
28. Ronnie Brown
29. Tony Casillas
30. Mike Bell
31. Carson Wentz
32. Reggie Bush
33. Marcus Mariota
34. Johnie Cooks
35. Mike McCoy
36. Sherman White
37. Chris Long
38. Robert Griffin III
39. Chase Young
40. Steve Niehaus
41. Quentin Coryatt
42. Blair Thomas
43. Robert Gallery
44. Dean Steinkuhler
45. Mitchell Trubisky
46. Clint Jones
47. Bo Matthews
48. Rick Mirer
49. Tony Mandarich
50. Greg Robinson
51. Zach Wilson
52. Luke Joeckel
53. Lam Jones
54. Jason Smith
55. Charles Rogers
56. Ryan Leaf
Ranking second overall NFL draft picks since 1967
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SeahawkFever
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Ranking second overall NFL draft picks since 1967
Last edited by SeahawkFever on Mon May 05, 2025 4:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
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SeahawkFever
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Re: Ranking second overall NFL draft picks since 1967
A few thoughts I had on the players here:
Being a candidate for the best defensive player in NFL history, Lawrence Taylor was the easy top choice and in a class of his own among these players.
The next two for me were Miller and White. Both were obvious Hall of Famers and Super Bowl MVP’s; let alone for the teams that drafted them.
Then I view Calvin, Dickerson, Dorsett, and Peppers as another tier. All four are once again obvious Hall of Famers. Dickerson had arguably the best start to a career of any running back ever, and was traded for a few picks in the upper rounds.
Then Boselli and Faulk are on a tier because they both had basically five prime Hall of Fame years for their respective teams.
After that, I think of the players in the 10th-18th range to be potential future Hall of Very Good players. I just had Smith on top because his career looks the closest to a Hall of Fame player in my book.
In the cases of Smith, Bennett, Suh and Fralic, you have four players who each made an all decade team and the bulk of the production that got each of them there was for the teams that drafted them.
Then Jones had a brief prime, but was an MVP and I recall his 1976 season being referred to as one of the greatest ever by a quarterback relative to his time by the people at Football Outsiders when that site was up. Kunz was a six time pro bowl tackle who the Falcons packaged in a trade for the first overall pick in 1975, and Barkley gave the Giants two very good years before having the excellent season he had last year for the Eagles. Since last year was for Philadelphia, I may have ranked him a bit too high, but either way, he’s in this tier somewhere in my book.
Bosa I would argue is in this range with the career he’s put together so far and could jump up a few spots in the coming years, and as for McNabb, even with the 18th best player here, we are still talking about a six time pro bowl quarterback who helped his team reach a few conference championships and a Super Bowl.
Not sure if he’ll necessarily ever make the Hall of Very Good, but either way, he made sense at 18th in my opinion, and the fact that McNabb is this far down with his career speaks to how successful the top of the players taken in this spot have been over the years.
Then I would view 19th through 27th as the above average tier. Not Hall of Very Good, but careers that were pretty good for what they were, and Art Still is in my book the best player I put here.
In this group is the first ever draft pick in the history of the Bengals, Bob Johnson who started for a decade with one pro bowl selection and got his number retired.
Hutchison as of this moment is in this tier somewhere in my opinion, but could easily climb the ranks in the coming years should he come back from injury strong.
After that, I view players 28 through 37 as another tier of players who seem a bit more average overall. Most received no accolades of note, but at the very least started a handful of seasons for the teams that drafted them. Of these guys, I would say Ronnie Brown was the best career.
Though Carson Wentz’s 2017 season is probably the best individual season by any of these players.
Then I would view number 38 Robert Griffin III, 39 Chase Young, and 40 Steve Niehaus as players who didn’t have careers that are anything of note, but were significantly derailed by injuries after good rookie seasons (RGIII and Young winning rookie of the year on their respective sides of the ball pre-injury, and Niehaus getting 9.5 sacks).
After that, the players I ranked 41st through 47th didn’t have careers that are that good from what I have heard. Quentin Coryatt started the longest for the team that drafted him of these players, and Blair Thomas has the best efficiency and production of the three running backs in this section (including five yards per carry in his rookie season).
Also Mitchell Trubisky had an ok 2018 season that earned him a pro bowl, but I recall at least one video at the time arguing that it probably should have gone to Matt Ryan, and of course there’s the factor that in recent years some players who get the most votes turn down the pro bowl and it goes to a player who didn’t receive the most votes, so that could’ve been the case too.
Either way, if you wanted to label some of the players in this section “busts” as far as top picks go, I could see where you are coming from.
And as for the players ranked 48th and lower I would view them as for the most part on a bottom tier of their own. To go through each of them:
Rick Mirer I viewed as the best of these bottom picks because he had a decent rookie season from the looks of it, and if you want to consider trade value, the Seahawks were able to get a first round pick for him from the Bears. Sure, that was the Seahawks taking advantage of a GM that likely didn’t know what he was doing, but that’s something at least.
Tony Mandarich obviously didn’t pan out at all in Green Bay, but to the extent that you factor the whole career into the equation, I’ve heard he was a decent starting lineman in Indianapolis years later and he started consistently for three seasons in that tenure of his career.
Greg Robinson wasn’t good by any accounts I’m aware of, but at the very least it could be said that he was a regular starter for four seasons; three of them for the team that drafted him, and he stuck around a year longer than the length of a rookie contract and a fifth year option.
Zach Wilson hasn’t looked good for the most part thus far in his career. Though being in an organization that doesn’t develop quarterbacks well wouldn’t have done him any favors either. Like Robinson he also was the centerpiece of a trade that gave his team a sixth round pick after three seasons. With the right coaching maybe he could improve, but for now, he’s right here.
Luke Joeckel wasn’t any good from what I remember, and being an offensive lineman whose career ends after being cut by the 2017 Seahawks (one of the worst offensive lines in recent years from what I remember) isn’t a good look.
As for the two receivers, I’ve heard both were terrible picks, but Johnny Lam Jones had three seasons with more yardage than Charles Rogers’ entire career despite playing in an earlier era, so he should be considered the better player of the two.
Jason Smith was out of the league in four seasons. He didn’t pan out at all from the sounds of it. If you want to say he’s better than Jones, I could see that, but he lasted longer than Rogers, and shorter than Joeckel did, so I put him at 54th.
And that leaves Ryan Leaf. He admittedly lost a year to injury from the looks of it, but being a guy who had a bad attitude towards his teammates and the media coupled with throwing over twice as many interceptions as touchdowns in the NFL of 1998 to 2001 after being taken second overall in an NFL draft makes you a candidate for the worst NFL draft bust ever in most people’s opinions.
Leaf at the very bottom was just as easy of a pick as Lawrence Taylor at the very top, and those two are the opposite ends of the spectrum of players taken second overall.
At least that’s what I think, what do you all think?
Being a candidate for the best defensive player in NFL history, Lawrence Taylor was the easy top choice and in a class of his own among these players.
The next two for me were Miller and White. Both were obvious Hall of Famers and Super Bowl MVP’s; let alone for the teams that drafted them.
Then I view Calvin, Dickerson, Dorsett, and Peppers as another tier. All four are once again obvious Hall of Famers. Dickerson had arguably the best start to a career of any running back ever, and was traded for a few picks in the upper rounds.
Then Boselli and Faulk are on a tier because they both had basically five prime Hall of Fame years for their respective teams.
After that, I think of the players in the 10th-18th range to be potential future Hall of Very Good players. I just had Smith on top because his career looks the closest to a Hall of Fame player in my book.
In the cases of Smith, Bennett, Suh and Fralic, you have four players who each made an all decade team and the bulk of the production that got each of them there was for the teams that drafted them.
Then Jones had a brief prime, but was an MVP and I recall his 1976 season being referred to as one of the greatest ever by a quarterback relative to his time by the people at Football Outsiders when that site was up. Kunz was a six time pro bowl tackle who the Falcons packaged in a trade for the first overall pick in 1975, and Barkley gave the Giants two very good years before having the excellent season he had last year for the Eagles. Since last year was for Philadelphia, I may have ranked him a bit too high, but either way, he’s in this tier somewhere in my book.
Bosa I would argue is in this range with the career he’s put together so far and could jump up a few spots in the coming years, and as for McNabb, even with the 18th best player here, we are still talking about a six time pro bowl quarterback who helped his team reach a few conference championships and a Super Bowl.
Not sure if he’ll necessarily ever make the Hall of Very Good, but either way, he made sense at 18th in my opinion, and the fact that McNabb is this far down with his career speaks to how successful the top of the players taken in this spot have been over the years.
Then I would view 19th through 27th as the above average tier. Not Hall of Very Good, but careers that were pretty good for what they were, and Art Still is in my book the best player I put here.
In this group is the first ever draft pick in the history of the Bengals, Bob Johnson who started for a decade with one pro bowl selection and got his number retired.
Hutchison as of this moment is in this tier somewhere in my opinion, but could easily climb the ranks in the coming years should he come back from injury strong.
After that, I view players 28 through 37 as another tier of players who seem a bit more average overall. Most received no accolades of note, but at the very least started a handful of seasons for the teams that drafted them. Of these guys, I would say Ronnie Brown was the best career.
Though Carson Wentz’s 2017 season is probably the best individual season by any of these players.
Then I would view number 38 Robert Griffin III, 39 Chase Young, and 40 Steve Niehaus as players who didn’t have careers that are anything of note, but were significantly derailed by injuries after good rookie seasons (RGIII and Young winning rookie of the year on their respective sides of the ball pre-injury, and Niehaus getting 9.5 sacks).
After that, the players I ranked 41st through 47th didn’t have careers that are that good from what I have heard. Quentin Coryatt started the longest for the team that drafted him of these players, and Blair Thomas has the best efficiency and production of the three running backs in this section (including five yards per carry in his rookie season).
Also Mitchell Trubisky had an ok 2018 season that earned him a pro bowl, but I recall at least one video at the time arguing that it probably should have gone to Matt Ryan, and of course there’s the factor that in recent years some players who get the most votes turn down the pro bowl and it goes to a player who didn’t receive the most votes, so that could’ve been the case too.
Either way, if you wanted to label some of the players in this section “busts” as far as top picks go, I could see where you are coming from.
And as for the players ranked 48th and lower I would view them as for the most part on a bottom tier of their own. To go through each of them:
Rick Mirer I viewed as the best of these bottom picks because he had a decent rookie season from the looks of it, and if you want to consider trade value, the Seahawks were able to get a first round pick for him from the Bears. Sure, that was the Seahawks taking advantage of a GM that likely didn’t know what he was doing, but that’s something at least.
Tony Mandarich obviously didn’t pan out at all in Green Bay, but to the extent that you factor the whole career into the equation, I’ve heard he was a decent starting lineman in Indianapolis years later and he started consistently for three seasons in that tenure of his career.
Greg Robinson wasn’t good by any accounts I’m aware of, but at the very least it could be said that he was a regular starter for four seasons; three of them for the team that drafted him, and he stuck around a year longer than the length of a rookie contract and a fifth year option.
Zach Wilson hasn’t looked good for the most part thus far in his career. Though being in an organization that doesn’t develop quarterbacks well wouldn’t have done him any favors either. Like Robinson he also was the centerpiece of a trade that gave his team a sixth round pick after three seasons. With the right coaching maybe he could improve, but for now, he’s right here.
Luke Joeckel wasn’t any good from what I remember, and being an offensive lineman whose career ends after being cut by the 2017 Seahawks (one of the worst offensive lines in recent years from what I remember) isn’t a good look.
As for the two receivers, I’ve heard both were terrible picks, but Johnny Lam Jones had three seasons with more yardage than Charles Rogers’ entire career despite playing in an earlier era, so he should be considered the better player of the two.
Jason Smith was out of the league in four seasons. He didn’t pan out at all from the sounds of it. If you want to say he’s better than Jones, I could see that, but he lasted longer than Rogers, and shorter than Joeckel did, so I put him at 54th.
And that leaves Ryan Leaf. He admittedly lost a year to injury from the looks of it, but being a guy who had a bad attitude towards his teammates and the media coupled with throwing over twice as many interceptions as touchdowns in the NFL of 1998 to 2001 after being taken second overall in an NFL draft makes you a candidate for the worst NFL draft bust ever in most people’s opinions.
Leaf at the very bottom was just as easy of a pick as Lawrence Taylor at the very top, and those two are the opposite ends of the spectrum of players taken second overall.
At least that’s what I think, what do you all think?
Re: Ranking second overall NFL draft picks since 1967
I would have Lam Jones worse than Charles Rogers. Jones was a terrible pick coming out the gate. Rogers started off well, but what happened (according to a Lions fan on another site) was that he was allowed to go rehab back at his alma mater (Michigan St.) after an injury. That's when the problems started.
That was the Matt Millen error, and there was no leadership in the building. I think that's why picks bust (or don't pan out or underachieve). You saw it with the 90's Bengals (Klingler, KiJana, Wilkinson, etc...).
That was the Matt Millen error, and there was no leadership in the building. I think that's why picks bust (or don't pan out or underachieve). You saw it with the 90's Bengals (Klingler, KiJana, Wilkinson, etc...).
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SeahawkFever
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Re: Ranking second overall NFL draft picks since 1967
I could see that if you want, and yeah, terribly ran organizations can hurt the performance of the draft picks they select.7DnBrnc53 wrote: ↑Mon May 05, 2025 10:05 am I would have Lam Jones worse than Charles Rogers. Jones was a terrible pick coming out the gate. Rogers started off well, but what happened (according to a Lions fan on another site) was that he was allowed to go rehab back at his alma mater (Michigan St.) after an injury. That's when the problems started.
That was the Matt Millen error, and there was no leadership in the building. I think that's why picks bust (or don't pan out or underachieve). You saw it with the 90's Bengals (Klingler, KiJana, Wilkinson, etc...).
Out of curiosity, could the 10th-18th range all be seen as potential Hall of Very Good in the future?
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74_75_78_79_
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Re: Ranking second overall NFL draft picks since 1967
Very good list! I'm not sure I can actually rank them all myself. As the 'strategy' with all rankings, you'd have to start with '67 & '68, see who's better between both, then fit '69 in there, then '70, and so on all the way to the very end. And even then, there may be some ranked ahead of some who some of them may actually may be better than the ones ranked above them so it can get to be a tough exercise.
One thing I'll agree on (and I said this to myself as I was reading your thread before actually seeing what you did end up writing yourself), yes, LT and Leaf are the opposites (overeating/anorexia) in that #1 is clear as day and last place clear as day also. You can't even try to be 'cute' and say someone else is #1 or someone else is really in last.
I feel bad saying that. I'm sure had Ryan Leaf had a chance to do it over again things would have been quite better for him. Maybe still no HOF or on his way to HOVG, but quite away from this. And, as I admitted numerous times, I would have picked him first in '98!
It's the antithesis to my high school Beastie Boys prediction in 1987 while at my job washing dishes, or cranking 'Licensed to Ill' up on my beat-box while scraping the front porch to my father's dismay ("That's the worst album I ever heard in my life!"), and seriously envisioning them having a real solid career in the future (1990s). Seeing through their, apparent, 'frat-boy' foolery, I saw true Artists! I was geeked-up when they knocked Bon Jovi 'Slippery When Wet' from the #1 album spot!
Just one problem, "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)" only made it to #6! I wanted it to be #1 as well! Just as, to my dismay, "Cum on Feel the Noize" years earlier only peaked at #6 unlike 'Metal Health' which made #1 - and in the midst of the rein of Michael Jackson Thriller, mind you! A few LPs like Synchronicity, Sports, Can't Slow Down, etc got in there before MJ, with the help of his released "Thriller" single/video took back over again in the Catbird Seat for umpteen consecutive weeks again as he did the previous year via "Billie Jean"/"Beat It"!
In either event, the Beastie Boys DID make the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (which, no, I did not predict that)! Perhaps they called themselves that name ahead of time so they could be placed in the Rock and Roll Encyclopedia right between both the Beach Boys and the Beatles! I saw them at Lollapalooza in '94 (that Cobain almost headlined, Smashing Pumpkins instead). They ROCKED the House! They could simply be rapping in front of DJ Hurricane one moment and then, seamlessly with no stoppage nor hesitation, grab their instruments and rock-out with the band! They never really cared about being big 'stars'. End of the day, they being musicians truly mattered! Studio or stage!
Anyways, my reason for thinking Leaf would be better than Peyton was perhaps a bit superficial. Leaf seemed to have the dynamics down. His team almost beat undefeated co-champ, Michigan, in the Rose Bowl. However, Peyton - though even more dynamic - got blasted by the other undefeated co-champ, Nebraska, in his Bowl game against them! And he never could handle Florida. Of course not all his fault. He couldn't play all other 21 starting positions at once. But that's where "superficial" comes into play. And then Ryan starts 2-0 whilst Peyton starts 0-2...
But it ended RIGHT AFTER THAT, and ended right after that FAST!! But even still, you had Tee Martin (yes, future-Steeler, for what it was worth) lead Tenn to a NC the year after he left; and it took a while for he to win a playoff game as the Patriots seemed, at first, to be his pro-equivalent to Florida. But you knew he was heading to Canton regardless. And then came 2003, but I still predicted he would never actually win a SB going into '05, my Steelers helped prove that for one more year and just one more year it was and, of course, immediately became glad he proved me wrong!
But, yeah, Thank God I wasn't Indy's GM in 1998. Otherwise, I never would have been an NFL GM ever again!
"What will you do if you're picked #1?" I guess I wasn't listening when Peyton answered, "I'd ask for the team's playbook and study it right away" while Leaf answers, "Go to Vegas".
Anyways, great thread! Great, thoughtful list! Glad you picked Manster over Von Miller! Von is awesome, he WAS the 2015 Broncos, it seemed! But old-school sensibilities and me having the 'Randy White Weight Set" (out the box) in my basement as a kid causes me to approve, lol!
One thing I'll agree on (and I said this to myself as I was reading your thread before actually seeing what you did end up writing yourself), yes, LT and Leaf are the opposites (overeating/anorexia) in that #1 is clear as day and last place clear as day also. You can't even try to be 'cute' and say someone else is #1 or someone else is really in last.
I feel bad saying that. I'm sure had Ryan Leaf had a chance to do it over again things would have been quite better for him. Maybe still no HOF or on his way to HOVG, but quite away from this. And, as I admitted numerous times, I would have picked him first in '98!
It's the antithesis to my high school Beastie Boys prediction in 1987 while at my job washing dishes, or cranking 'Licensed to Ill' up on my beat-box while scraping the front porch to my father's dismay ("That's the worst album I ever heard in my life!"), and seriously envisioning them having a real solid career in the future (1990s). Seeing through their, apparent, 'frat-boy' foolery, I saw true Artists! I was geeked-up when they knocked Bon Jovi 'Slippery When Wet' from the #1 album spot!
Just one problem, "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)" only made it to #6! I wanted it to be #1 as well! Just as, to my dismay, "Cum on Feel the Noize" years earlier only peaked at #6 unlike 'Metal Health' which made #1 - and in the midst of the rein of Michael Jackson Thriller, mind you! A few LPs like Synchronicity, Sports, Can't Slow Down, etc got in there before MJ, with the help of his released "Thriller" single/video took back over again in the Catbird Seat for umpteen consecutive weeks again as he did the previous year via "Billie Jean"/"Beat It"!
In either event, the Beastie Boys DID make the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (which, no, I did not predict that)! Perhaps they called themselves that name ahead of time so they could be placed in the Rock and Roll Encyclopedia right between both the Beach Boys and the Beatles! I saw them at Lollapalooza in '94 (that Cobain almost headlined, Smashing Pumpkins instead). They ROCKED the House! They could simply be rapping in front of DJ Hurricane one moment and then, seamlessly with no stoppage nor hesitation, grab their instruments and rock-out with the band! They never really cared about being big 'stars'. End of the day, they being musicians truly mattered! Studio or stage!
Anyways, my reason for thinking Leaf would be better than Peyton was perhaps a bit superficial. Leaf seemed to have the dynamics down. His team almost beat undefeated co-champ, Michigan, in the Rose Bowl. However, Peyton - though even more dynamic - got blasted by the other undefeated co-champ, Nebraska, in his Bowl game against them! And he never could handle Florida. Of course not all his fault. He couldn't play all other 21 starting positions at once. But that's where "superficial" comes into play. And then Ryan starts 2-0 whilst Peyton starts 0-2...
But it ended RIGHT AFTER THAT, and ended right after that FAST!! But even still, you had Tee Martin (yes, future-Steeler, for what it was worth) lead Tenn to a NC the year after he left; and it took a while for he to win a playoff game as the Patriots seemed, at first, to be his pro-equivalent to Florida. But you knew he was heading to Canton regardless. And then came 2003, but I still predicted he would never actually win a SB going into '05, my Steelers helped prove that for one more year and just one more year it was and, of course, immediately became glad he proved me wrong!
But, yeah, Thank God I wasn't Indy's GM in 1998. Otherwise, I never would have been an NFL GM ever again!
"What will you do if you're picked #1?" I guess I wasn't listening when Peyton answered, "I'd ask for the team's playbook and study it right away" while Leaf answers, "Go to Vegas".
Anyways, great thread! Great, thoughtful list! Glad you picked Manster over Von Miller! Von is awesome, he WAS the 2015 Broncos, it seemed! But old-school sensibilities and me having the 'Randy White Weight Set" (out the box) in my basement as a kid causes me to approve, lol!
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Brian wolf
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Re: Ranking second overall NFL draft picks since 1967
Faulk was ahead of all those guys except Taylor. A special back, who also blocked. Johnson retired after nine years but still made first ballot election.
Many of these guys were busts, considered where they were drafted. Blair Thomas was considered cant-miss coming out of college but just couldnt grasp the starting job in NY. He helped the Cowboys to end the 1994 season but couldnt help the team in the NFC championship game, due to them trying to overcome a deficit.
After watching a more colorized version of SB IV on Youtube, I still believe Clint Jones could have been more a factor in the game had he gotten more playing time. He had a decent year in 1971 but how Dave Osborn beat him out of a starting job in 1969 and 1970 is anyones' guess?
Its fun to speculate on what Peyton Manning might have done with SD over Indy but could he have refused to play for the Spanos family as well? Eli felt the Chargers didnt develop QBs properly from sources he talked to, but his agent was also Marty Schottenheimer's agent, so maybe he felt that either Marty wouldnt pass the ball enough, or would stay on his ass too much, who knows? Coughlin couldnt have been any better but Eli got better himself when Barber retired.
Many of these guys were busts, considered where they were drafted. Blair Thomas was considered cant-miss coming out of college but just couldnt grasp the starting job in NY. He helped the Cowboys to end the 1994 season but couldnt help the team in the NFC championship game, due to them trying to overcome a deficit.
After watching a more colorized version of SB IV on Youtube, I still believe Clint Jones could have been more a factor in the game had he gotten more playing time. He had a decent year in 1971 but how Dave Osborn beat him out of a starting job in 1969 and 1970 is anyones' guess?
Its fun to speculate on what Peyton Manning might have done with SD over Indy but could he have refused to play for the Spanos family as well? Eli felt the Chargers didnt develop QBs properly from sources he talked to, but his agent was also Marty Schottenheimer's agent, so maybe he felt that either Marty wouldnt pass the ball enough, or would stay on his ass too much, who knows? Coughlin couldnt have been any better but Eli got better himself when Barber retired.
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SeahawkFever
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Re: Ranking second overall NFL draft picks since 1967
If we go by overall career, then Marshall Faulk is most definitely in front of at least a few of the players I put him behind, but of the nine Hall of Famers, he’s arguably the one who provided the least to the team that drafted him. Either him or Boselli.Brian wolf wrote: ↑Mon May 05, 2025 11:20 pm Faulk was ahead of all those guys except Taylor. A special back, who also blocked. Johnson retired after nine years but still made first ballot election.
Many of these guys were busts, considered where they were drafted. Blair Thomas was considered cant-miss coming out of college but just couldnt grasp the starting job in NY. He helped the Cowboys to end the 1994 season but couldnt help the team in the NFC championship game, due to them trying to overcome a deficit.
After watching a more colorized version of SB IV on Youtube, I still believe Clint Jones could have been more a factor in the game had he gotten more playing time. He had a decent year in 1971 but how Dave Osborn beat him out of a starting job in 1969 and 1970 is anyones' guess?
Its fun to speculate on what Peyton Manning might have done with SD over Indy but could he have refused to play for the Spanos family as well? Eli felt the Chargers didnt develop QBs properly from sources he talked to, but his agent was also Marty Schottenheimer's agent, so maybe he felt that either Marty wouldnt pass the ball enough, or would stay on his ass too much, who knows? Coughlin couldnt have been any better but Eli got better himself when Barber retired.
If his whole career was for one team, then I’d say no lower than fourth probably.
As for the tiers on here, I spelled much of it out in my reply but in short, the first nine are the Hall of Famers, then 10-18 were the potential Hall of Very Good players, 19-27 are what I’m going to call the above average tier, then 28-37 are the average tier I’d say.
38-40 are the three players who had careers that aren’t very good but I’ve heard are derailed by injuries after a first year that sounds promising.
41-47 are the below average tier, and if you called them busts I’d see where you are coming from, and anyone 48th and lower is a bonafide bust at least as of this moment. Due to the length of his career and the trade value he had, Rick Mirer is the best of that group in my opinion.
And as stated above, Leaf and Taylor were no brainers on their respective ends of the list.
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Brian wolf
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Re: Ranking second overall NFL draft picks since 1967
I see your point SeahawkFever, but I feel Faulk could have been just as valuable had he stayed with the Colts. Its rare that a team replaces a HOF back with another one, but Edgerrin James also never won a SB with Indy. I feel Faulk and Polian wanted the change of scenery but Faulk could have easily played at an MVP level regardless of which team he was on. Randy White was a wise choice but also washed as a linebacker. Great list though, and you wonder how many of these players could have succeeded with better coaching or not playing for perennial losing teams?
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SeahawkFever
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Re: Ranking second overall NFL draft picks since 1967
Glad you enjoyed the list. Yeah, there are a good number of busts on here. The bottom nine in particular, and the guys below 40 all probably felt very underwhelming for a top pick at minimum.Brian wolf wrote: ↑Tue May 06, 2025 1:02 am I see your point SeahawkFever, but I feel Faulk could have been just as valuable had he stayed with the Colts. Its rare that a team replaces a HOF back with another one, but Edgerrin James also never won a SB with Indy. I feel Faulk and Polian wanted the change of scenery but Faulk could have easily played at an MVP level regardless of which team he was on. Randy White was a wise choice but also washed as a linebacker. Great list though, and you wonder how many of these players could have succeeded with better coaching or not playing for perennial losing teams?
Out of curiosity, could the guys from 10th-18th be viewed as potential Hall of Very Good?
Re: Ranking second overall NFL draft picks since 1967
In his rookie year you would have figured Jones to play a bit. The Vikings traded Tommy Mason. Osborn had played some in 1966, finished with a hundred yard game. But Osborn goes the whole way in 1967 and has his best year.Brian wolf wrote: ↑Mon May 05, 2025 11:20 pm After watching a more colorized version of SB IV on Youtube, I still believe Clint Jones could have been more a factor in the game had he gotten more playing time. He had a decent year in 1971 but how Dave Osborn beat him out of a starting job in 1969 and 1970 is anyones' guess?
Jones was not used in the passing game, never caught even 10 passes in any season, so maybe that was an issue. He definitely had a burst, great speed, but couldn't make a name for himself somehow.