As you have been reading on here lately, I have been going back in time and really reviewing these past drafts, especially over the past 5 years. Well I was asked by a few followers on Mocking The Draft to go more in depth with the past 10 years of drafting. I figured if you are going to start to break a draft down, you have to look at the biggest prize positions and players. That is the Top 5 picks in the NFL Draft, because they are usually the cream of the crop coming out of college. Well, since people like to review the NFL draft’s and find out about the players, I figured I would break it down and show some pretty amazing facts of how the top 5 picks turned out. So after the jump, you will see the NFL Draft’s and then you will get to read some facts, on the past 10 years. Vote on the poll below and pick which NFL Draft you think was the best?
Factual Evidence: Top 5 picks over the past ten years
2002 NFL Draft
1st Pick – David Carr – Houston Texans – QB
2nd Pick – Julius Peppers – Carolina Panthers – DE
3rd Pick – Joey Harrington – Detroit Lions – QB
4th Pick – Mike Williams – Buffalo Bills – OT
5th Pick – Quentin Jammer – San Diego Chargers – CB
2003 NFL Draft
1st Pick – Carson Palmer – Cincinnati Bengals – QB
2nd Pick – Charles Rogers – Detroit Lions – WR
3rd Pick – Andre Johnson – Houston Texans – WR
4th Pick – Dewayne Robertson – New York Jets – DT
5th Pick – Terence Newman – Dallas Cowboys – CB
2004 NFL Draft
1st Pick – Eli Manning – San Diego Chargers – QB
2nd Pick – Robert Gallery – Oakland Raiders – OT
3rd Pick – Larry Fitzgerald – Arizona Cardinals – WR
4th Pick – Phillip Rivers – New York Giants – QB
5th Pick – Sean Taylor – Washington Redskins – S
2005 NFL Draft
1st Pick – Alex Smith – San Francisco 49ers – QB
2nd Pick – Ronnie Brown – Miami Dolphins – RB
3rd Pick – Braylon Edwards – Cleveland Browns – WR
4th Pick – Cedric Benson – Chicago Bears – RB
5th Pick – Carnell Williams – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – RB
2006 NFL Draft
1st Pick – Mario Williams – Houston Texans – DE
2nd Pick – Reggie Bush – New Orleans Saints – RB
3rd Pick – Vince Young – Tennessee Titans – QB
4th Pick – D’Brickashaw Ferguson – New York Jets – OT
5th Pick – A.J. Hawk – Green Bay Packers – LB
2007 NFL Draft
1st Pick – Jamarcus Russell – Oakland Raiders – QB
2nd Pick – Calvin Johnson – Detroit Lions – WR
3rd Pick – Joe Thomas – Cleveland Browns – OT
4th Pick – Gaines Adams – Tampa Bay Buccaneers - DE
5th Pick – Levi Brown – Arizona Cardinals – OT
2008 NFL Draft
1st Pick – Jake Long – Miami Dolphins – OT
2nd Pick – Chris Long – St. Louis Rams – DE
3rd Pick – Matt Ryan – Atlanta Falcons – QB
4th Pick – Darren McFadden – Oakland Raiders – RB
5th Pick – Glenn Dorsey – Kansas City Chiefs – DT
2009 NFL Draft
1st Pick – Matthew Stafford – Detroit Lions – QB
2nd Pick – Jason Smith – Saint Louis Rams – OT
3rd Pick – Tyson Jackson – Kansas City Chiefs – DE
4th Pick – Aaron Curry – Seattle Seahawks – LB
5th Pick – Mark Sanchez – New York Jets – QB
2010 NFL Draft
1st Pick – Sam Bradford – Saint Louis Rams – QB
2nd Pick – Ndamukong Suh – Detroit Lions – DT
3rd Pick – Gerald McCoy – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – DT
4th Pick – Trent Williams – Washington Redskins – OT
5th Pick – Eric Berry – Kansas City Chiefs – S
2011 NFL Draft
1st Pick – Cam Newton – Carolina Panthers – QB
2nd Pick – Von Miller – Denver Broncos – LB
3rd Pick – Marcell Dareus – Buffalo Bills – DT
4th Pick – A.J. Green – Cincinnati Bengals – WR
5th Pick – Patrick Peterson – Arizona Cardinals – CB
2012 NFL Draft * (Added this year’s draft)
1st Pick – Andrew Luck – Indianapolis Colts – QB
2nd Pick – Robert Griffin III – Washington Redskins – QB
3rd Pick – Trent Richardson – Cleveland Browns – RB
4th Pick – Matt Kalil – Minnesota Vikings – OT
5th Pick – Justin Blackmon – Jacksonville Jaguars – WR
Here are some facts, which I had come across through research. There are some pretty interesting tidbits below.......
How many are no longer in the league?
There are a total of seven that are no longer in the league. They are Joey Harrington, Mike Williams, Charles Rogers, DeWayne Robertson, Sean Taylor, Jamarcus Russell, and Gaines Adams.
How many of the picks have made the Pro-Bowl?
Out of 55 players a total of 24 made the Pro-Bowl, Julius Peppers, Carson Palmer, Andre Johnson, Terrance Newman, Mario Williams, Vince Young, Eli Manning, Larry Fitzgerald, Phillip Rivers, Sean Taylor, Ronnie Brown, Braylon Edwards, D’Brickashaw Ferguson, A.J. Hawk, Calvin Johnson, Joe Thomas, Jake Long, Matt Ryan, Ndamukong Suh, Eric Berry, Cam Newton, Von Miller, A.J. Green, and Patrick Peterson.
How many have won a Super Bowl?
Only 4 of these 55 players won the Super Bowl, they are David Carr (Giants), Eli Manning (Giants), Reggie Bush (Saints), and A.J. Hawk (Packers).
How many are dead?
Two of these 55 players above are no longer with us. Both Gaines Adams and Sean Taylor are both in a much safer place, and never really got to experience the good life.
What player has been on the most teams?
There is a tie; both Joey Harrington and David Carr have both been on four teams. There are several that have been on three teams on this list as well.
What NCAA Conference has had the most picks?
The breakdown in order from most to least is SEC (15), Big 12 (13), ACC (9), Big 10 (7), Pac 10/12 (6), Big East (3), MWC (1), WAC (1)
What position has had the most picks?
The breakdown is in this order from most to least is Quarterbacks (15), Offensive Tackles (9), Wide Receivers (7), Running backs (6), Defensive Ends and Defensive Tackles (5), Corner backs and Linebackers (3), and the Safeties are in last with 2 players. There were a total of 37 offensive players and 18 defensive players.
How many of the picks have won a Heisman Trophy?
There are a total of 5, of these picks above in the past 10 years who have won the Heisman Trophy. Although there are five who have actually won the Heisman only 4 are credited with it. They are Carson Palmer (2002), Reggie Bush (2005, vacated in 2010), Sam Bradford (2008), Cam Newton (2010) and Robert Griffin III (2011).
What rookie on Offense had the biggest NFL Rookie Contract?
Sam Bradford inked a deal for $78 million over six years and has $50 million in guaranteed money. With incentives, Bradford could earn as much as $86 million over the life of the contract, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
What rookie on Defensive had the biggest NFL Rookie Contract?
Ndamukong Suh signed with the Detroit Lions in 2010 and was given a five-year deal for $68 million. As much as $40 million of it was guaranteed, regardless of whether he got injured.
What Rookies won AP Offensive Rookie of the Year?
There were a total of 5 players who won ROY; they were Carnell Williams, Vince Young, Matt Ryan, Sam Bradford and Cam Newton.
What rookies won AP Defensive Player of the Year?
There have been only three players; they are Julius Peppers, Ndamukong Suh, and Von Miller.
How many of the players have won Most Valuable Player in the regular season?
In the past ten years, there has not been one player named MVP in the regular season that was drafted in the top 5 picks.
Has there ever been a player who won Super Bowl MVP?
There actually has, Eli Manning won Super Bowl MVP on two different occasions and is the only one on the list above that has accomplished this accolade.
There are just a few facts, for the guys that are into NFL trivia. I was really impressed with both the 2004 and 2006 NFL Draft, which had 15 of their 32 picks in the first round make the Pro-Bowl. That is a very good statistic when it comes to drafting. I really learned quite a bit when doing this research and I hope you all enjoy it as well. It is sad that there were some guys that couldn’t live to see the hype such as Gaines Adams and Sean Taylor, but they will always be remembered for their great plays in both college and pro.
Make sure to follow me on twitter as well @drocksthaparty
