No. 1 NFL Draft picks from the last 40 years

The Tampa Bay Bucs took Bell with the first pick in the 1977 draft, giving former USC coach John McKay a fellow Trojan he could build around. Bell delivered in a big way in 1979, rushing for more than 1,200 yards and leading the lowly Buccaneers to their first-ever playoff win. Bell’s career and life were tragically short-lived, however, as he succumbed to heart failure at the age of 29. 

Outside of winning a Super Bowl, Earl Campbell did just about everything you can accomplish in football. He won the Heisman (at Texas), got selected first in the 1978 draft (by the Oilers), became Rookie of the Year, was named the league’s MVP in 1979 and made it to the Pro Bowl his first four years in the league. To cap it off, Campbell was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1991.

Cousineau was a stud linebacker at Ohio State. He seemed like a safe bet and a sure thing for the Bills, so they took him with their No. 1 overall pick in 1979. Cousineau and the Bills couldn’t reach a deal, however, so he played in the CFL for three years before finally getting back to the NFL in 1982. He was traded to Cleveland for a draft pick and ended up playing only six seasons in the league. Things worked out well for Buffalo, though, as that draft pick the Bills got from Cleveland ended up being Jim Kelly.

Fresh off winning a Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma, the Lions took Billy Sims with the first draft pick of the 1980s. Sims made the Pro Bowl his first three years in the league, but a terrible knee injury derailed what would have no doubt been a stellar career. He scored 42 TDs over five seasons and will always be remembered for spectacularly jump-kicking a would-be tackler in the head.

For the third time in four years, the No. 1 overall pick at the 1981 draft was a Heisman Trophy-winning running back. Rogers, like Earl Campbell and Billy Sims before him, also hit the ground running and succeeded right away. He was a Pro Bowler his first two seasons and eventually helped the Redskins win Super Bowl XXII.

Sims was a huge bust for the Patriots. He managed to compile just 17 sacks over the course of eight lackluster seasons, eventually getting released after a drug possession situation. The Pats could've nabbed Marcus Allen, who was selected 10th overall.

The '83 draft was absolutely loaded with talent, including the likes of Dan Marino; Eric Dickerson; and Tecmo Bowl superstars like Darrell Green, Willie Gault and Joey Browner (who carried that Vikings defense in Tecmo Bowl). The Broncos hit the jackpot with Elway, who overcame several devastating losses early in his career to finally achieve glory twice over by winning Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII.

Fryar was brilliant at Nebraska and kept right on catching everything thrown in his direction in the pros. He played 15 seasons and made it to five Pro Bowls.

The Bills picked a generational talent when they took Smith with the No. 1 pick of the 1986 draft. One of the most dominant defensive players of all time, Smith was relentless in his pursuit of quarterbacks, running backs and anyone unfortunate enough to be playing offense against him. The 2009 Hall of Fame inductee played for 18 seasons and made it to 11 Pro Bowls, but never did manage to get that elusive Super Bowl win. 

The Tampa Bay Bucs selected the most freakishly gifted athlete the world has ever seen in 1986, but a dispute prevented them from ever signing the great Bo Jackson. Bo only played four seasons with the Raiders before a hip injury ended his football-playing days.

Tampa selected the Miami Hurricanes' superstar quarterback with the first pick in the '87 draft. Vinny would go on to play for eight teams over an impressive 21 seasons in the league, eventually racking up the ninth-most passing yards in NFL history.

Bruce was an unblockable beast at Auburn. The Falcons were counting on him to be their defensive bedrock for years to come when they selected him with the first overall pick in the 1988 draft, but he unfortunately peaked in his rookie season. He managed to hang around the NFL for 11 seasons but never really made much of an impact after his promising first year.

Dallas picked the right guy at the 1989 draft. Aikman ushered the Cowboys into a golden era of success, leading them to wins in Super Bowls XXVII, XXVIII and XXX. Aikman made the Pro Bowl every year from ’91-'96 and was enshrined in Canton in 2006.

The Colts were the first to have Jeff George, but they wouldn’t be the last. The gunslinger with prodigious arm strength played for nine teams over the course of 13 seasons, throwing for more than 27,000 yards and 154 TDs in the process.

Maryland was a star at “The U” at the height of the program's powers and went from there to the Cowboys, who were about to reach theirs. He only made it to one Pro Bowl in his 10-year career but helped America’s Team win three Super Bowls in the 1990s.

Emtman seemed primed for greatness after a dominant career with the Washington Huskies. Sadly, devastating knee and neck injuries prevented him from ever reaching anywhere near his potential with the Colts. He ended up accumulating a mere eight sacks over an injury-plagued eight seasons.

Bledsoe had a prolific career, earning four trips to the Pro Bowl and helping the formerly lowly Patriots to reach the Super Bowl. After a gruesome injury, he was replaced by a guy named Tom Brady.

“Big Daddy” did a pretty good job chasing after quarterbacks for the Bengals his first few seasons in the league, but things soured quickly after Wilkinson called Cincinnati “a racist city.” He was promptly traded thereafter, leaving many Bengals fans wishing they’d taken Marshall Faulk instead with the first pick of the ’94 draft.

Carter had the terrible misfortune of tearing his ACL early on in his first NFL preseason game. Sadly, he was never quite the same guy after that — certainly nowhere near the explosive Penn State star who inspired the Bengals to take him before anyone else at the ‘95 draft. He retired at age 31 with just 1,144 career rushing yards.

The USC standout’s braggadocio never quite seemed commensurate with his actual ability, though Keyshawn did earn three Pro Bowl trips and helped the Bucs win Super Bowl XXXVII. Our preening millennials of today can surely resonate with Johnson’s infamous “Just give me the damn ball!” maxim.

The giant from Ohio State was an immovable force for many years in the league. He went to the Pro Bowl his first seven years in the NFL. His finest hour came in Super Bowl XXXIV, however, when he gave Kurt Warner all the time he needed to work his magic against the Titans.

Things have worked out pretty well, I’d say, for both Manning and the Colts. Peyton outdueled Rex Grossman and the Bears (thank goodness; that would have been a grave injustice indeed if Rex Grossman was a Super Bowl-winning QB instead of Manning) to lead the Colts to a win in a soggy Super Bowl XLI. Manning was a five-time MVP, a beloved spokesperson for Double Stuff Oreos and did more than enough to seal his place as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, particularly after riding off into the sunset with another Super Bowl victory as QB of the Denver Broncos.

Outside of Patriots fans, no one likes to play the ‘What if?’ game, though you can’t help but wonder how different life might have been for Browns fans had they taken a pass on Tim Couch in the 1999 draft (and fellow mega-bust Courtney Brown the next year). Couch muddled through five mostly terrible seasons with the Browns before they finally gave up on him. Meanwhile, later picks in the 1999 draft like Donovan McNabb, Edgerrin James and Champ Bailey went on to have tremendous careers elsewhere.

Injuries decimated the career of this once-ferocious pass rusher. He compiled a mere 19 sacks and 156 tackles before suffering a torn ACL that ended his career at only 28 years of age. Brown became another huge bust for the Browns just one year after the Tim Couch draft debacle.

After a stellar run at Virginia Tech — where he proved to be one of the most exciting athletes planet Earth has ever seen — Vick was the obvious No. 1 overall pick for the Falcons in 2001. Vick led the Falcons to an NFC Championship Game and racked up a number of unforgettable highlight-film scrambles but ultimately derailed his career by getting busted for operating a dog-fighting ring. He did continue his career as a journeyman through 2015.

When he was selected first overall in the 2002 draft, the Fresno State sensation was supposed to be the cornerstone of the brand-new Houston Texans franchise. Things didn’t work out so well. Carr was nearly sacked to death during his rocky tenure in Houston and never really panned out. The Texans let him go after the 2006 season.

When healthy, Palmer has been an excellent NFL quarterback and certainly worthy of his No. 1 pick status — "when healthy" being the big caveat here. Palmer had a solid run with the Bengals but ended up parting ways in ugly fashion. Since then, he has continued plying his tantalizing yet injury-prone wares about the league.

Eli Manning strutted into the NFL by stating his refusal to play for the Chargers, so he was swapped for Philip Rivers on draft day. Manning has gone on to have an illustrious career with the Giants, earning four Pro Bowl selections and engineering two remarkable Super Bowl wins over heavily favored Tom Brady-led Patriot teams. He’s also an interception machine, but I guess multiple Super Bowl winners can heave it up as much as they want.

Smith was brilliant in college, thriving at the helm of Urban Meyer’s spread offense at Utah. While he has found some success in the NFL (he made the Pro Bowl in 2013 and 2016), his pedestrian arm strength and bland overall skill set have relegated him to a perennial state of quarterback purgatory. Whether in San Francisco or Kansas City, everyone has always seems eager to find a replacement for the former No. 1 pick.

Everyone was up in arms when the Texans took the freakishly athletic defensive end from N.C. State instead of Reggie Bush in the 2006 draft. Williams has turned out to be a good player, albeit not the destiny-altering superstar you hope for with a No. 1 pick, but he's bounced around as well. But hey, at least they didn’t take Matt Leinart 10th overall (smooth move, Cardinals).

“I’ve never seen anyone throw a football that far!” This seems to be the extent of the scouting report that was done on Russell prior to the 2007 draft. His raw talent was admittedly tantalizing coming out of LSU. He was big, athletic, and my goodness that arm! Unfortunately for the Raiders, taking Russell will probably go down in history as the worst waste of a No. 1 draft pick — ever. He lasted only three seasons before getting the heave-ho from Oakland.

The post-Dan Marino Dolphins have been wandering in a QB-less desert since the legend’s retirement after the 1999 season, so there was no shortage of weeping and gnashing of teeth when they made Jake Long the first guy off the board in 2007. The beefy tackle did make four consecutive Pro Bowls, though he didn’t exactly lead the Dolphins to any sort of promised land. Long-suffering Dolphins fans can’t help but wonder what might’ve been had they taken the likes of Calvin Johnson, Adrian Peterson, Marshawn Lynch or Darrelle Revis in 2007.

The Lions pinned their hopes on the cannon-armed Stafford to turn their woes around in 2009. He’s delivered, for the most part, putting up some big numbers thanks to a fruitful partnership with the football-catching cyborg known as Megatron, though he’s yet to find success in the playoffs and no longer has the retired Johnson at his disposal.

The Rams gave Bradford an unprecedented amount of money to be their quarterback. Things started off well enough, with Bradford being named Rookie of the Year in 2010, though he’s been banged up or inactive pretty much ever since. He’s now with the Vikings after a brief stint with the Eagles, where he has perhaps one last shot to prove the doubters wrong and justify being the first guy off the board at the 2010 draft.

Fresh off willing Auburn to a bruising, brilliant national title run, Carolina picked Cam as its man in 2011. Newton’s had a pretty turbulent ride so far, showing flashes of brilliance but also taking an absolute beating from NFL defenses. The talent is there, but how much abuse can he withstand, particularly after following up his MVP 2015 campaign by getting battered in 2016?

Luck has been as good as advertised so far, though like Newton, the hits have done damage to his health. Well worth the price of enduring a 1-15 season with Curtis Painter under center, the Colts seem to have found a quarterback who can do it all — though sustained success has eluded the team with Luck under center.

After earning First-Team All-American honors at Central Michigan in 2012, Fisher became the first player from the MAC to be selected No. 1 overall at the 2013 draft. He’s struggled mightily so far in protecting Alex Smith, and he’s certainly not done much in regard to helping the Chiefs win games. He did improve last season, though nowhere near justifying being the first overall pick.

Clowney had his rookie year cut short by injuries, but let’s all hope this freak of nature gets healthy so he can do his QB-destroying, RB-annihilating thing for years to come. He made his first Pro Bowl in 2016 and hopes to build on that with a healthy J.J. Watt with him in 2017.

As a freshman at Florida State, Jameis Winston won the Heisman Trophy and a national championship. Following another productive season as a redshirt sophomore, Winston went No. 1 overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He made the Pro Bowl as a rookie and went 9-7 in 2016.

With the move to Los Angeles, the Rams wanted a quarterback to be the face of the franchise. The jury is out on whether or not Goff is that QB. Despite going No. 1 overall, Goff rode the pine the first half of the season as he watched fellow rookies Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz impress from the start. Goff started seven games as a rookie, going 0-7 with five touchdowns to seven interceptions. L.A. will hand over the reigns to Goff full time in 2017.