Greatest Draft Picks Ever My Opinion (1957-2009)

by Percy Harvin My Fav! on Nov 19, 2009 1:35 PM CST

The more and more you guys talk about Brad Childress' and Rick Speilmans love for stealing (ie. Adrian, Percy, Greenway) I decided to look into the greatest draft picks ever by each position 1-32 (Top 2)

In order to get to 75 words i'll let you know some things

All of this will be done by myself, I'm not just going to copy and paste. I also used NFL.com to help me with some of the picks that were just to close to call. There is either 2 or 3 for each of them. Two names mean top two. 3 Names mean way to close to call.

I will do 1-16 today, and 17-32 later on. Here we go Greatest Picks from 57-09 by position 1-16 after the jump.

1. John Elway QB Denver Broncos 1983/ Peyton Manning QB Indianapolis Colts 1998/ Ron Yary OT Minnesota Vikings 1968

2. Eric Dickerson RB Los Angeles Rams 1983/ Lawrence Taylor LB New York Giants

3. Dick Butkis LB Chicago Bears 1965/ Barry Sanders RB Detroit Lions 1989

4. Walter Payton RB Chicago Bears 1975/ John Hannah G New England Patriots 1973/ Gale Sayers RB Chicago Bears 1965

5. Deion Sanders CB Atlanta Falcons 1989/ Mike Haynes CB New England Patriots 1976

6. Jim Brown RB Cleveland Browns 1957/ Carl Eller DL Minnesota Vikings 1964

7. Adrian Peterson RB Minnesota Vikings/ Champ Bailey DB Washington Redskins

8. Larry Csonka RB Miami Dolphins 1968/ Ronnie Lott DB San Franciso 49ers 1981

9. Bruce Matthews OL Houston Oilers 1983/ Brian Urlacher Chicago Bears 2000

10. Marcus Allen RB Los Angeles Rams 1982/ Rod Woodson Pittsburg Steelers 1987

11. Michael Irvin WR Dallas Cowboys 1988/ Dwight Freeney Indiapolis Colts 2002

12. Chuck Foreman RB Minnesota Vikings 1973/ Warren Sapp DL Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1997

13. Tony Gonzalez TE Kansas City Chiefs 1997/ Kellen Winslow TE San Diego Chargers 1979/ Franco Harris RB Pittsburgh Steelers

14. Jim Kelly QB Buffalo Bills 1984/ Eddie George RB Houston Oilers 1996

15. Alan Page DL Minnesota Vikings 1967/ Jim Taylor FB Green Bay Packers 1958

16. Jerry Rice WR San Francisco 49ers 1985/ Bobby Bell LB/DE Kansas City Chiefs 1963

The ones with three names were the ones way to close to call, so I used http://www.nfl.com/draft/story?id=09000d5d80f92ef0&template=without-video-with-comments&confirm=true to help out. Other than that I just used Wikipedia and went through the drafts and decided.

Lemme know what you guys think.

Thanks for reading.

Have a great rest of the day.

Poll

How close was I with the first 16 picks?

1-5 Right

0 votes

6-10 Right

1 votes

11-15 Right

3 votes

I'm a stud like Percy, and I got all 16 Right

5 votes

9 votes | Poll has closed

This FanPost was created by a registered user of The Daily Norseman, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the site. However, since this is a community, that view is no less important.

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Comments

It hurts

To think that number 12. Chuck Foreman and Warren Sapp could both have been for the Minnesota Vikings.

To quote the immortal Goerge H. W. Bush, “If I had 90-90 hindsight…”

A good coach makes his team better, he doesn’t wait for a better team to make him look good.

by dwarg on Nov 19, 2009 1:45 PM CST reply actions

Sapp

was passed over because of “character” and being “undersized”…and I bristle every time I hear those terms used regarding any talented draft prospect. The difference between David Alexander and Warren Sapp is HUGE.

by KC Viking on Nov 19, 2009 7:46 PM CST up reply actions

"Gosh Darn!

There you go reminding me how we took Darin “Disco” Nelson over Marcus Allen.

PS. Subject line is subject to Gonzo’s request.

"What is best in life?"
"To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women."

by cryhavoc on Nov 19, 2009 1:55 PM CST reply actions

What's that mean?

Purple Haze is the worlds greatest Natural Resource.

by Percy Harvin My Fav! on Nov 19, 2009 1:56 PM CST up reply actions

Marcus Allen would not have signed

Marcus Allen had released a statement before the draft that he would sign with any team in the NFL, as long as it wasn’t the Vikings. The Vikings were going to draft him, but did not because based on that statement it would have been a wasted pick. Marcus Allen apparently thought Minnesota was too cold for him.

Darin Nelson was a great Vikings player for many years.

by medicineball on Nov 19, 2009 2:05 PM CST up reply actions

Gonna sound like a jerk, but the truth is...

The only greatest thing Nelson did for the Vikings was dropping the friggin ball on the goal line in the NFC Championship game and being a great college RB. Other then that, he was a running, if you can call it that, train wreck. I was more then happy to see him go. Just under 4,500 yards in 10 seasons doesn’t even amount to half arsed.

"If you're gonna shoot, shoot, don't talk."
"That is the craziest sonofabitch I ever saw, how many more like him do you think are up there?"
"We have clearance Clearance. Roger Rodger, what's our vector Victor?"

by VikesFaninNM on Nov 19, 2009 3:36 PM CST up reply actions

If I remember correctly,

We passed on Allen because we didn’t know if he could catch out of the backfield. USC did not throw to him very much. It was Darrin Nelson (I spelled it correctly this time) that then said he did not want to come here. “because it’s to cold and we don’t have any good disco’s”. Then he eventually signed and the rest is history.

"What is best in life?"
"To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women."

by cryhavoc on Nov 19, 2009 3:54 PM CST up reply actions

didn't know if Marcus Allen could catch out of the backfield

WOW. A few draft-day minds really talked themselves out of the better answer, didn’t they?

by KC Viking on Nov 19, 2009 7:44 PM CST up reply actions

GOOD OLD #20

Darin Nelson sure caught my football watching eye “in the day”

Thanks for the reminder….

SKOL

by RickyBrune on Nov 19, 2009 11:06 PM CST up reply actions

Just goes to show

that there is talent up and down the draft board. I bet a million Internet dollars you don’t put Demetrious Underwood on your list, lol.

"We're used to Favre-a-palooza now. We're engulfed in Favre-a-palooza. It's not even Favre-a-palooza anymore. He's family now."

--Vikings TE Visanthe Shiancoe, on Brett Favre

by Ted Glover on Nov 19, 2009 4:46 PM CST reply actions

Dang, I completely forgot about that fiasco.

by VikesFaninNM on Nov 19, 2009 4:49 PM CST up reply actions

I can do a Greatest draft Bust list. lmao

Purple Haze is the worlds greatest Natural Resource.

by Percy Harvin My Fav! on Nov 19, 2009 4:54 PM CST up reply actions

Underwood

That guy was a beast in college, but who knew that he was so sick in the head? He probably did have the talent, truth told.

by KC Viking on Nov 19, 2009 7:45 PM CST up reply actions

Good list

There are a few I’d add or subtract, but that will always be true with lists like this.

1. Bruce Smith DE — More Pro Bowls than Peyton so far. Does Peyton have 7 more years left?
2. Marshall Faulk RB — I’d prefer him over Dickerson, and he had 1 more Pro Bowl year.
3. Add Anthony Munoz, OT.
4. Sub the G for OT Jonathan Ogden.
5. I think Haynes needs to be dropped in order to give some love to LT2 and Junior Seau (12 Pro Bowls!)
8. Add Willie Roaf OT…11 Pro Bowls!
14. Add Rueben Brown G (9 Pro Bowls)

Pro-Football-Reference.com has a draft query which may be helpful in addition to what you were using.

by KC Viking on Nov 19, 2009 8:15 PM CST reply actions

Missed the boat

The # 1 draft choice of all time in my opinion was Emmitt Smith.

A disastrous 1989 trade with the Dallas Cowboys that netted our Vikings Herschel Walker gave Dallas draft choices that were used to select future NFL superstars Emmitt Smith and Darren Woodson. Emmitt went on to be the all time NFL rushing leader; and the only running back to ever win a Super Bowl championship, the NFL Most Valuable Player award, the NFL rushing crown, and the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award all in the same season (1993).

I have hated Mike Lynn and the Cowboys ever since.

by Belarus on Nov 19, 2009 10:44 PM CST reply actions

He was actually number 17

Wait till my next post comes out.

Purple Haze is the worlds greatest Natural Resource.

by Percy Harvin My Fav! on Nov 20, 2009 10:17 AM CST up reply actions

Interesting list!

If you showed the Vikings draft pick position that year and who we did chose, it would add a lot more context to the “Uff! I could have had a V-8!” impact. Many of those guys were never available for us, which makes it kinda moot.

Ah, ah,
We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!
SKOL!

by DCPurple on Nov 20, 2009 10:25 AM CST reply actions