| PITTSBURGHQB AARON RODGERS is making up for lost time. Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com: Aaron Rodgers didn’t sign with the Steelers until June 7, so he didn’t spend much time in Pittsburgh this offseason. He still isn’t there, but the quarterback has brought his new receivers with him to Malibu, California. Rodgers posted a photo on social media, posing with Scotty Miller, Ben Skowronek, Pat Freiermuth, Calvin Austin, DK Metcalf and Roman Wilson. The Steelers also posted a photo of the players on their social media account. Rodgers said last week on The Pat McAfee Show that he was inviting his wide receivers, tight ends and running backs to join him. “I know coming out to Malibu might not be that high on everybody’s list,” Rodgers told McAfee. “But we do have some guys coming out next week. So it’ll be fun to spend a little time with them.” Skowronek posted a video of Rodgers throwing him an alley-oop in a gym earlier today. Rodgers, 41, is “pretty sure” his first season in Pittsburgh will be his final NFL season. As it was, Rodgers had only one option this offseason to extend his career to a 21st season. He talked to the Giants and Vikings, but the Steelers were the only team that offered a contract. Rodgers will make his full $19.5 million this season only if the Steelers win their seventh Super Bowl.– – -Frank Schwab of YahooSports.com will be well into his single digits of his team countdown when we return in two weeks. Today, he has the Steelers at #20: Once a team is on the quarterback merry go round, it’s hard to get off it. Aaron Rodgers is almost assuredly not the exit ramp for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has already said this is likely to be his final season. It would be understandable for the Steelers to see the value in Rodgers as a one-year fix if they had a promising young quarterback in the pipeline or were Super Bowl contenders, but the former is definitely not true and the latter is a stretch at best. It’s simply the best the Steelers (and Rodgers) could do. It’s easy to be cynical about Rodgers, to wonder what took him so long to sign with the Steelers and how he’ll fit with a franchise that won’t kowtow to him and add his old cronies, as the Jets did. But there was no real reason for Rodgers to keep playing, other than his desire to see what he can accomplish with the Steelers. Rodgers doesn’t need the money. He took $13.7 million to sign with the Steelers, which is far less than market value. Rodgers has made more in career earnings than any player in NFL history. He definitely doesn’t need to add to his legacy. He long ago clinched a spot as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. He wants to get in one (?) more season, and do so for Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “I don’t need it. For my ego, I don’t need it to keep playing,” Rodgers said. “A lot of decisions that I’ve made over my career and life from strictly the ego — even if they turn out well — are always unfulfilling. “But the decisions made from the soul are usually pretty fulfilling. So this was a decision that was best for my soul. I felt like being here with coach and the guys they got here and the opportunity here was best for me. I’m excited to be here.” On the Steelers’ side, it allows them to put off finding a permanent solution at quarterback for another year. We’ve seen Rodgers waffle on retirement before, but the most likely outcome is his stay in Pittsburgh will be for one year. In the post-Ben Roethlisberger era, the Steelers have settled into being a team that barely gets over .500, sneaks into the playoffs and gets blown out once they’re there. Then they go looking for another temporary fix at quarterback. Rodgers turns 42 in December and he’s unlikely to raise the Steelers’ ceiling to make them a championship contender or even the best team in the AFC North. But once the quarterback carousel stopped spinning, Rodgers was the last viable quarterback option left and the Steelers were the only team that needed a starter. There wasn’t another reasonable choice, from either side. Maybe this works out like Brett Favre joining the Vikings after a season with the Jets, when he had maybe the best season of his career and nearly took Minnesota to a Super Bowl. The Steelers seem unlikely to completely collapse; we all know the history of Tomlin not having a losing season. The defense is still quite good, and the Steelers clearly thought cornerback Jalen Ramsey was an upgrade over safety Minkah Fitzpatrick when they swapped the two in an interesting midsummer trade. The offense might be better with the additions of star receiver DK Metcalf and tight end Jonnu Smith, drafting Kaleb Johnson could give a spark to the running game and perhaps a young offensive line will improve. The Steelers made the playoffs with Russell Wilson starting most of last season, and Rodgers is probably an upgrade even as he is about to turn 42. The Steelers are stuck in a rut. They’re cycling through unappealing options at quarterback, and that seems likely to continue next offseason. They have a coach with a Hall of Fame level résumé but many Steelers fans want him out because he hasn’t won a playoff game over the past eight seasons. The Steelers have not been bad enough to bottom out and draft a permanent answer at quarterback, and they haven’t been good enough to make a postseason run either. Rodgers doesn’t seem like he’ll make the Steelers that much worse or that much better. It’s just another season of the same, probably just creating a fuzzy memory for years down the road of “Oh right, Rodgers had that one season with the Steelers at the end.” Maybe it will turn out better than that for Rodgers and the Steelers. Then, the Steelers can start looking for another quarterback again. Offseason gradeMaybe the Steelers should have done more to land Sam Darnold, Geno Smith, Kirk Cousins or draft one of the quarterbacks they passed on in April. But for most of the offseason they seemed content with Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers will have a good alpha receiver to throw to, after the Steelers traded for DK Metcalf and signed him to a four-year, $132 million extension. The addition of Metcalf made George Pickens redundant, and the Steelers seemed tired of Pickens’ act, so he was traded to the Cowboys. Getting a No. 1 receiver has been an issue for the Steelers for a few seasons, and they did the right thing landing one. In late June, there was a surprising trade, with the Steelers acquiring cornerback Jalen Ramsey and tight end Jonnu Smith from the Dolphins for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and a late-round draft pick swap. The Smith addition seemed a bit duplicative because the Steelers were fine at tight end with Pat Freiermuth, and Ramsey for Fitzpatrick doesn’t seem like a huge upgrade either. But the Steelers obviously thought they got better. The other moves were not splashy. Cornerback Darius Slay Jr. and linebacker Malik Harrison were signed and should help the defense. There were no other expensive signings. The Steelers had two top-100 draft picks and used them on defensive tackle Derrick Harmon and running back Kaleb Johnson. Harmon can help a run defense that was shredded by the Ravens in the playoffs, and Johnson has a shot to beat out Jaylen Warren for lead back duties or get a significant share of a committee. Grade: B- Quarterback reportThere are four instances of a quarterback at 42 years or older attempting at least 100 passes and posting a passer rating above 76.6. All four of those seasons were by Tom Brady. Brady’s greatness in his mid-40s fooled everyone into thinking other aging quarterbacks could have success, but Brady is still the extreme outlier. Rodgers wasn’t as bad as you remember last season. Over his last 10 games he had 18 touchdowns, four interceptions and a 97 rating. Yet, history says that any 42-year-old quarterback (he turns 42 on Dec. 2) is at extreme risk of falling off a cliff. Over the first 105 seasons of NFL football, one player has bucked that trend. Rodgers is perhaps the most talented quarterback in history, so perhaps he can be the second quarterback ever to have a decent season at his age, but the Steelers are playing a risky game. BetMGM odds breakdownFrom Yahoo’s Ben Fawkes: “Aaron Rodgers finally signed with Pittsburgh, but oddsmakers had already baked in his presence as a starter, and the Steelers’ Super Bowl odds didn’t budge after the news. Pittsburgh has gone over its win total in five straight seasons, and a win total of 8.5 at BetMGM seems doable if Rodgers can stay healthy and perform at a league-average level. Still, what is the realistic ceiling for this team with Rodgers under center? The Steelers are an underdog (-170) to make the postseason and have the third-best odds to win the AFC North (+550).” Yahoo’s fantasy takeFrom Yahoo’s Scott Pianowski: “It’s not common for a non-injured player to lose a ton of fantasy value in early July, but that’s what happened to Jonnu Smith this week. The Dolphins featured him in a way that the Steelers likely will not, which means Smith probably returns to the useful-but-unspectacular player he was before 2024. Think back to the 50-582-3 line Smith produced with the 2023 Falcons — when Kyle Pitts was his teammate and Arthur Smith his OC — and that’s the neighborhood of what to expect this year. I had Smith as the TE7 before the trade; he’s now in the mid-teens. Smith and Pat Freiermuth are tight ends with different skill sets, but Freiermuth also loses with the trade — I’ve bumped him down to TE20.” Stat to rememberThere were seven NFL teams that had a PROE (pass rate over expectation) of less than -5.2% last season. Five of those teams had an elite running back (Ravens, Falcons, Packers, Colts, Eagles), and the Titans wanted to hide their quarterback. The Steelers were the other run-heavy team, at -6.3%. In 2023, the Falcons, coached by current Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, had by far the lowest PROE in the NFL at -9.7%, 3.2% lower than any other team. Atlanta, with Smith, was second-to-last in 2022. In other words, Smith wants to run the ball. He has never had a quarterback quite like Aaron Rodgers though. It will be an interesting dynamic to track. Rodgers has his preferences, such as little pre-snap motion and a very slow tempo. He has also never been a caretaker in a run-heavy offense (the Jets were fourth in PROE last season at 2.3%). Either Smith or Rodgers will have to evolve, and the relationship will be interesting to watch. “We didn’t bring Aaron in here and sign DK for all that money to go run the wishbone,” Smith told the Pittsburgh media. “You try to play to the strengths of your team.” Burning question How much longer will the Steelers defense maintain its level?As is the case with their quarterback, the Steelers might have to worry about an age cliff with some of their defensive stars. The Steelers had the fifth-oldest defense (27.7) in the NFL last season in terms of snap-weighted age, according to their team site. Some of the Steelers’ star defensive players are at an age in which some concern needs to creep in. Defensive lineman Cameron Heyward is 36 years old, new cornerback addition Darius Slay Jr. is 34, outside linebacker T.J. Watt and new cornerback Jalen Ramsey will both turn 31 this season. There aren’t many signs that any of those players are ready to fall off, but the Steelers probably couldn’t afford the hit if any of them do. Best-case scenarioNobody assumed Brett Favre would lead the Vikings to the brink of winning an NFC championship when he joined them in 2009 for his age-40 season. There are so many parallels between Favre and Aaron Rodgers, why not add one more? The Steelers don’t seem like a Super Bowl contender, but they did go 10-7 with mediocre quarterback play last season. If Rodgers can consistently play at his level from the second half of last season, maybe there’s some magic left. The Steelers aren’t built around Rodgers anyway. They can win games by running the ball and playing defense. Rodgers doesn’t need to carry the offense, just do his job. He’s probably capable of that, especially with DK Metcalf aboard. The Steelers aren’t the Jets; they’re a rock-solid franchise that is used to winning. Maybe this Rodgers experiment works out pretty well. The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since they beat the Chiefs at the end of the 2016 season, about three months before Patrick Mahomes was drafted. Breaking that streak would be a positive step, and perhaps end the annual offseason calls for Steelers ownership to replace Mike Tomlin. Nightmare scenarioThere’s a chance Aaron Rodgers adds his name to that list of great players who had a sad end in a strange jersey to end their careers. There is almost no history of non-Tom Brady quarterbacks being even passable at age 42. But Rodgers hitting rock bottom and the Steelers following him down the standings to Mike Tomlin’s first losing season isn’t even the worst outcome. If that happens, there are plenty of interesting quarterback prospects at the top of the 2026 NFL Draft and the Steelers definitely could use one. What might be worse is Rodgers being just below average and the Steelers falling off just a bit to 8-9, which would leave them out of the playoffs and out of the top 10 of the draft. Then, next offseason the Steelers go back to trolling the waters of past-their-prime quarterbacks to see who’s available as another short-term option. A 38-year-old Kirk Cousins for 2026 interest anyone? The crystal ball saysFor all the wait, hoopla and hype, Aaron Rodgers’ brief time in Pittsburgh might not be that interesting. The Steelers have established what they are since Ben Roethlisberger retired (and even in his last season), and that’s as a middle-of-the-road team hoping to get one of the final spots in the playoffs, with an uncompetitive one-and-done stay in the postseason. There’s probably no NFL team with a smaller gap between its ceiling and floor. Rodgers is very unlikely to have some throwback MVP-level season either. An average season from Rodgers — which would be better than every other quarterback his age aside from Tom Brady — seems like the most plausible outcome. When you put an average quarterback on an average team, you’re probably getting an average result. For all of the headlines that preceded Rodgers signing with the Steelers, we’ll be left wondering if it was all worth it. |
| BEST DRAFT PICKS AT EACH NUMBERED PICKAn interesting exercise by Ben Solak of ESPN.com. He selects the best player ever taken with a specific pick. We are going to give you Rounds 1-2 (picks 1-64). To see Rounds 3-7, go here I’ve spent the past month or so looking at every draft pick since the common draft era began (1967) and using the modern seven-round format (Nos. 1-262) to answer that very question: Who was the best player taken at this draft slot? Plenty of “Oh, I remember him!” moments … and plenty of impossible decisions. How I went about things: I took “best” to mean some combination of “most talented” and “most successful.” As is always the challenge in debating the bestness of football players, any argument that exclusively looks at Super Bowl wins and All-Pro nods is insufficient and lacks context. Similarly, any argument that leans solely on individual player stats and film impressions is lacking as well. I generally tried to use historical accolades to contextualize career-long production. Peak season performance and single-season record-setting also mattered to me; this isn’t just a measure of who played the longest but also who played … well, the best. And of course, rings matter because rings always matter. But there’s no formula here. There’s my read on each pick, levied as fairly as I could make it. Disagreement is expected. In order to be the best draft pick, you kind of have to play for the team that drafted you. I only used this rule to the water’s edge — I’m not dumb enough to knock Brett Favre because he was drafted by the Falcons. But when it came to splitting hairs, the spirit of the exercise implies that the player was talented and the team that drafted him was successful because of the pick. Lifers for one franchise got an edge over career journeymen. There isn’t a bump for QB value (unless it was inescapable). Again, the specifics of the exercise established a guardrail. Is “best draft pick” the same as “most valuable draft pick?” If that feels like a pointless distinction, understand that I had to make it in order to solve several ties. I’m interested in finding the best player regardless of position, which means that safeties can beat quarterbacks, and guards can beat pass rushers. Only in cases of the blatantly obvious (see: Purdy, Brock) did I let the expanded impact of the quarterback position affect my choice. I am 28 years old. I did my best with the stars of the 1970s and 1980s, but please do not interpret any mischaracterizations of the historical GOATs as any ageist propaganda. When I’m being deliberately anti-throwbacks, I’ll make it very clear, I promise. Enough of that. Let’s get to the picks. I wrote on the top 100 here, and then also picked out a few outside the top 100 to discuss further. Here are the best selections ever at each slot. Round 1 1. Peyton Manning, QB (1998)Fourteen Hall of Famers have been selected with the first overall pick since the draft began in 1936, including Bruce Smith, Orlando Pace, John Elway, Terry Bradshaw and Earl Campbell. (By the time Myles Garrett is done, we’ll be well on our way to the 15th.) As such, selecting a winner for the best No. 1 pick ever is the splitting of fine hairs, but Peyton Manning gets my nod. Five MVPs, two Super Bowl championships (with two different teams) and still-standing records for single-season passing touchdowns (55) and single-season passing yardage (5,477) is an impossible résumé to knock. 2. Lawrence Taylor, OLB (1981)The best defensive player of all time is also the best second overall pick of all time. Taylor is one of two defensive players to ever win league MVP (in 1986, joining defensive tackle Alan Page in 1971), and that rarefied air all but cements him over contenders such as Marshall Faulk, Julius Peppers and Calvin Johnson. Modern contenders such as Von Miller, Saquon Barkley and Nick Bosa are excellent in their time but don’t hold a candle to L.T., who finished his 13-year career with 142 sacks. 3. Barry Sanders, RB (1989)The pick at No. 3 was one of the most challenging of the early selections. Both Anthony Munoz and Joe Thomas are Hall of Famers for their longevity — not just for career length but also for sticking it out with one squad (mostly). Sanders, in comparison, retired earlier than some expected and could have cleared Walter Payton’s career rushing record had he kept it chugging (he finished with 15,269 yards, 1,457 behind Payton). I gave the edge to Sanders for his stylistic impact on the game and his lasting impact on Detroit football; he is still the best Lion in history, whereas neither Munoz nor Thomas is the best Bengal or Brown, respectively. But this was close. 4. Walter Payton, RB (1975)Impossible to argue anyone over Sweetness when you consider his impact both on and off the field. Put another way: Guys with awards named after them tend to be the best draft pick at their slot ever, even without mentioning his 16,726 rushing yards. All due respect to Charles Woodson, Derrick Thomas and Mean Joe Greene. 5. Deion Sanders, CB (1989)It’s a loaded fifth pick (Junior Seau, LaDainian Tomlinson, Jalen Ramsey and Ja’Marr Chase), but Sanders gets the nod for his unique place as a two-way player (not to mention his two rings — one of which came in his Defensive Player of the Year season — and his six first-team All-Pro appearances). Does he also get a bump for providing excellent return on a sixth-round draft pick in the MLB draft? Who’s to say? 6. Walter Jones, OT (1997)A first ballot Hall of Famer and one of the best offensive linemen of all time, Jones just beat out a glut of receivers taken with the sixth overall pick (Tim Brown, Julio Jones, James Lofton and Torry Holt). I would hear arguments for the first two; I would not hear arguments for the latter two. Walter Jones is one of only four Seahawks with his number retired and is probably the greatest Seahawk in history. 7. Adrian Peterson, RB (2007)The last non-quarterback to win the MVP award, Peterson led the league in rushing yardage three times in his career: 2008, 2012 and 2015. That’s a testament to both his excellence — the next most recent players with at least three seasons of league-leading production are Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith — and his longevity. Three times over an eight-year span! “All Day” was my pick over Champ Bailey, but watch out for Josh Allen. He and Peterson have the same number of MVP trophies and Super Bowl appearances … for now. 8. Ronnie Lott, S (1981)A four-time Super Bowl champion with the 49ers and eight-time first-team All-Pro, Lott is one of the most decorated players in history. He also benefits from lighter competition than many of the other top-10 picks; also under consideration were Willie Roaf, Mike Munchak and Larry Csonka. 9. Bruce Matthews, OT (1983)Matthews made 14 Pro Bowls over his 19-year NFL career, which is frankly ludicrous. He played all across the offensive line, long-snapped for special teams and spent his entire career on just one team (even if that team changed names and locations, from the Houston Oilers to the Tennessee Titans, during his career). But despite his glowing résumé, it wasn’t easy taking Matthews over Brian Urlacher. 10. Patrick Mahomes, QB (2017)Our first active player is Mahomes, who somehow easily clears Rod Woodson, Terrell Suggs and Marcus Allen despite being maybe halfway through his career. A two-time MVP, three-time Super Bowl champ and three-time Super Bowl MVP, Mahomes will likely build a compelling argument for being the greatest quarterback ever by the time his career is done. 11. J.J. Watt, DE/OLB (2011)It was a little tricky to take Watt over Hall of Famers like Michael Irvin and Patrick Willis — until you remember that Watt will be a first-ballot lock. Injuries robbed us of a real race between Watt and Aaron Donald for best modern defensive player. From 2012 to 2015, Watt earned four consecutive first-team All-Pro nods and won three Defensive Player of the Year awards. He was building an all-time résumé and should be remembered as an all-time player. 12. Warren Sapp, DT (1995)The only Hall of Famer selected with the 12th overall pick (so far), Sapp was one of those rare defensive tackles who could accumulate sacks from the interior. He has a Defensive Player of the Year award and a Lombardi Trophy on his shelf. How much longer can he hold off Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons, though? It depends on the hardware Parsons collects over his own career. 13. Aaron Donald, DT (2014)Donald was actually not the slam dunk that I thought he would be here, as Tony Gonzalez — owner of just about every career tight end production record you can think of — put up a good fight. As it is, Donald played 10 seasons and made eight first-team All-Pros, which is about as dominant as dominant gets. His 20.5 sacks in 2018 remains a towering, almost unachievable figure for a defensive tackle. 14. Darrelle Revis, CB (2007)This is very unfair, but here it goes: If Jim Kelly had won a Super Bowl, he probably beats Revis out. But he didn’t, and Revis did. Kelly also didn’t collect as many All-Pro appearances as Revis did (four), and he didn’t have an island named after him, either. While Kelly was certainly more valuable than Revis because of the position he played, I tried not to overweight quarterbacks and just look at the best player picked. Revis was the best player. Close one, though! 15. Alan Page, DT (1967)The lone Hall of Famer selected with the 15th pick and our oldest player in Round 1, Page rocks. He was the only defensive player to win MVP besides Lawrence Taylor, and he did it before him. He went to Notre Dame and the University of Minnesota after retirement, got his law degree and became an associate justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court. This shouldn’t really matter in the “best draft pick” debate, but it makes it an even more fun pick. 16. Jerry Rice, WR (1985)Do I need to explain why Rice is the best 16th pick in history? I don’t, but Rice is the all-time leader in receptions (1,549), receiving yards (22,895) and receiving touchdowns (197). Pour one out for Zack Martin, who would be an easy winner at a lot of other spots on this list — but not here. 17. Emmitt Smith, RB (1990)The leader for career rushing yards by almost 2,000 yards takes the top spot here. Just how incredible are Smith’s 18,355 rushing yards? Derrick Henry — who is 19th in career rushing yardage but ninth with 84 rushing yards per game over his career — would need to maintain his career average over another five seasons to catch Smith. 18. Art Monk, WR (1980)A quieter group of options here — the biggest contenders were Joe Flacco, Marcus Peters and Maurkice Pouncey — makes the only Hall of Famer an easy choice. Three rings certainly helps, though Monk made only two All-Pro teams. Guess that’s the struggle of playing at the same time as Jerry Rice, Steve Largent, Sterling Sharpe and Andre Reed. 19. Marvin Harrison, WR (1996)When Harrison snagged 143 passes in 2002, he broke Herman Moore’s record (123 in 1995). That’s a 20-catch leap in just seven years, and Harrison’s number stood all the way until 2019, when Michael Thomas cleared him with 149. In his heyday with Peyton Manning, Harrison had eight straight seasons of 1,000 receiving yards, had eight straight seasons of at least 10 receiving touchdowns and made eight straight All-Pro teams. Pretty good! 20. Jack Youngblood, DE (1971)What a great name for a pass rusher. Youngblood was a Rams lifer with eight All-Pro nominations and a retired jersey. His longevity just barely gives him the nod over another Hall of Famer, Steve Atwater, a legendary Broncos safety and winner of two Super Bowls. I flip-flopped on this one for a while. 21. Randy Moss, WR (1998)Moss’ dominance came not in the form of yardage (26th all time in receiving yards per game), but in scoring (his 156 TD receptions are second all-time). He led the league in receiving touchdowns five times and set the single-season record with his 23 scores for the Patriots in 2007. He gets the bump for 22. Justin Jefferson, WR (2020)Thank goodness there were no Hall of Famers to snub with the 22nd pick, making Jefferson an even easier selection for me. Never forget that Jefferson holds the record for most receiving yards through two seasons of a player’s career (3,016) — as well as through three seasons (4,825), four seasons (5,899) and five seasons (7,432). Guess which record he’ll hold at the end of this year? 23. Ty Law, CB (1995)Law doesn’t have the personal accolades that some other winners do — only two All-Pro appearances — but he did win three Super Bowls with the Patriots and played famously important roles across those playoff runs, including his Super Bowl XXXVI pick-six. 24. Ed Reed, S (2002)I picked Reed over Aaron Rodgers here, which is likely my most controversial selection. Safety is an impossible position to rack up counting stats — the whole point is that you’re away from the ball — yet Reed accumulated 64 picks in only 174 games. That’s second all-time and easily the best of the modern era. Listen to guys like Bill Belichick and Peyton Manning talk about Reed, and it becomes easy to call him the best safety of all time; I’m pretty confident he is, even over Ronnie Lott. And I think the best safety ever clears a quarterback who wasn’t ever the best of his era, despite his four MVPs. 25. Dont’a Hightower, LB (2012)No Hall of Famers at pick No. 25 leaves us choosing between Hightower, Ted Washington and Stanley Morgan. Hightower has championship rings with the Patriots, and I have such wonderful memories of him as one of the last great thumpers at linebacker in the modern NFL, so I gave him the edge. 26. Ray Lewis, LB (1996)Pretty easy selection here, as Lewis is arguably the best off-ball linebacker in NFL history. Thirteen Pro Bowls in 17 seasons with 10 All-Pro considerations (seven on the first team) and a Super Bowl MVP to boot. What more is there to say? 27. Dan Marino, QB (1983)Another wildly easy selection for me. Marino doesn’t have the hardware of the historically elite quarterbacks — only one MVP, no rings, etc. — but he was as talented as any of them. Marino led the league in passing yardage five times, which is behind only Drew Brees’ seven seasons as the most prolific, and he was the first to ever clear 5,000 yards in a season. He did it back in 1984, when illegal contact was considered legal contact, too. 28. Derrick Brooks, LB (1995)A Buccaneers lifer, Brooks won the Super Bowl in the same season he won Defensive Player of the Year (2002). It was the first Super Bowl for the Tampa Bay franchise. He was a first-ballot Hall of Famer. The Buccaneers have only three jerseys officially retired, and his No. 55 is one of them. Brooks is not just the best 28th overall pick, but he’s also the best example of how you win on this list. What a pick. 29. Steve Wisniewski, G (1989)An odd one here, as Wisniewski was drafted by the Cowboys but was then almost immediately traded to the Raiders, with whom he made eight All-Pro teams over a 13-year career. The Wiz started 215 of a possible 217 games in his career with the Raiders as well — ridiculous availability. Congrats to the Cowboys (I guess?) for drafting him! 30. Eric Allen, CB (1988)The lone Hall of Famer taken with the 30th overall pick, Allen was still tough for me to choose over Reggie Wayne and T.J. Watt. Wayne has been up for the Hall six times and has yet to be inducted, which feels unjust but is the reality. And Watt has a good résumé so far for the Hall of Fame but needs to keep his career production up, especially since his lack of postseason impact in Pittsburgh hurts him. So I gave it to Allen, who will grab his gold jacket in August as the leading corner of the Gang Green defense. 31. Cameron Heyward, DT (2011)I was willing to take an active player over a Hall of Famer here, giving Heyward the nod over fellow defensive tackle Curley Culp (yes, you read that name right). Culp was a productive Chief and Oiler in the 1970s, though he was initially a Broncos draft pick. Heyward is approaching his 15th season with the Steelers, is a Walter Payton Man of the Year and should go down as one of the best Steelers of all time — an incredibly tough list to make. 32. Drew Brees, QB (2001)Picking between Brees and Lamar Jackson was agonizing, so I chickened out and picked the guy whose career is over, and as such requires no prognostication. While Brees never won a regular-season MVP, he did win a Super Bowl and a Super Bowl MVP, and I imagine Jackson would trade his two MVPs for Lombardi hardware right about now. This pick might flip by next season, though … Round 2 33. Brett Favre, QB (1991)The 33rd pick has produced four Hall of Famers, but Isaac Bruce, Fred Dean and Ted Hendricks can’t clear the value of Favre, a three-time MVP and one of the league’s most electric passers ever. An excellent draft pick by the Falcons, though they reaped absolutely none of what they sowed. 34. Jack Ham, LB (1971)A member of the 1970s Steelers, Ham has four rings, which pushes him above another 70s great — Lions CB Lem Barney — for the pick here. Making the first team All-Pro squad six consecutive seasons also helps, too. 35. Joel Bitonio, G (2014)There are a few good active players here, including Andy Dalton and Zach Ertz. But Bitonio looks like a Browns lifer, has made five All-Pro lists and might be considered the best guard of the past decade of football if not for Zack Martin being, you know … the best guard of the past decade of football. 36. Kevin Mawae, C (1994)A 16-year pro, Mawae sailed off into the sunset, blocking for Chris Johnson’s 2,000-yard season in his final NFL campaign. Mawae was an All-Pro-caliber starter at center for three teams (Seahawks, Jets and Titans) and the only Hall of Famer at this spot. Easy pick. 37. Chris Jones, DT (2016)I struggled between Jones and Randall Cunningham, who had a larger impact on the league than his stats would indicate, given his position as the herald of dual-threat quarterbacking. But Jones has strung together three straight first-team All-Pro nods and was an integral contributor to the Chiefs’ three rings. This was super close, though. 38. Mike Singletary, LB (1981)One of the best linebackers in NFL history, Singletary was a Bears lifer, accumulating seven first-team All-Pro recognitions and two Defensive Player of the Year awards in a 12-year career. Only six players ever repeated as DPOY, which surprised me. What a player. 39. Ed White, G (1969)The hardest hairs to split in compiling this list were between two players whose best play predated my existence. Such was the case between White, who played 17 seasons for the Vikings and Chargers, and Darryl Talley, a Bills pass rusher who retired the year before I was born. White had a couple more Pro Bowl honors, so he gets the pick here. 40. Michael Strahan, DE (1993)The little 8-year-old Eagles fan in me still resents Strahan, who terrorized Donovan McNabb and my beloved Birds for years. I really wanted to pick Thurman Thomas here — an MVP winner at running back whose number is retired in Buffalo. But Strahan’s 22.5-sack season in 2001, his final-season performance in the Giants’ magical Super Bowl XLII run … it’s just too tough to argue against. 41. Andre Tippett, OLB (1982)Tippett’s total of 100 sacks is far and away the best in Patriots franchise history and will likely stand as such for a long time. He made four consecutive All-Pro teams in his heyday, helped power the Patriots to their first Super Bowl appearance in 1985 and is enshrined in the Hall. No-brainer. 42. Rob Gronkowski, TE (2010)Four Super Bowl rings. Four first-team All-Pro appearances. A uniquely dominant prime as a pass-catching tight end with elite blocking ability. Gronk’s career was too short to measure as far as career statistics are concerned, but you can’t tell me he wasn’t one of the three or four best to ever play the position. 43. Dan Dierdorf, OT (1971)The only Hall of Famer selected at No. 43, Dierdorf spent all 13 seasons of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals and grabbed six All-Pro acknowledgements. This draft slot is uniquely bad for current players — recent 43rd overall picks include Joe Tippmann, Cole Kmet, Jahlani Tavai, Kerryon Johnson, Sidney Jones IV, Benardrick McKinney and Stephen Hill. 44. Dermontti Dawson, G (1988)Much like Dierdorf, Dawson is the lone Hall of Famer taken at his pick, spent all 13 years of his career with one team (Steelers) and made six All-Pro teams (though all of Dawson’s were first team). Long-tenured offensive linemen will appear more and more on this list as we go. 45. Derrick Henry, RB (2016)It takes a lot for me to select an active player over a Hall of Famer (Dave Casper, a tight end selected by the Raiders in 1974). But Henry is a truly unique player. He has an Offensive Player of the Year award, is one of nine backs to produce a 2,000-yard season and will likely break into the top 10 of career rushing yards this season. The top five is in reach if he stays healthy for another few years. And if he can get a ring in Baltimore … 46. Jack Lambert, LB (1974)Jack Ham was our selection at No. 34, and his running mate Lambert gets the call at No. 46 for his four Super Bowl rings and double defensive hardware — both Rookie of the Year (1974) and Player of the Year (1976). One of the best players to miss this list in any round is unfortunately Cowboys guard Larry Allen. Allen would have won easily in over half of the spots on this list — just not this one. 47. Bobby Wagner, LB (2012)Wagner made an All-Pro list in 2014 and hasn’t stopped making them since, spanning 11 straight seasons. Preposterous consistency and longevity. Wagner should end up a Hall of Fame player for his career success, but don’t sleep on the fact that he’s only 221 tackles behind Ray Lewis for the most combined tackles in NFL history. If Wagner plays two more healthy, productive seasons 48. LeRoy Butler, S (1990)There were three Hall of Famers to choose from here, including Howie Long and Dwight Stephenson. However, neither Long nor Stephenson invented a touchdown celebration (the Lambeau Leap), and that sort of thing matters to me when I’m splitting hairs in the second round. A Super Bowl ring and four first-team All-Pro nods help, too. 49. Roger Craig, RB (1983)Craig wins largely on the back of two seasons: his 1988 Offensive Player of the Year campaign, in which he totaled more than 2,000 scrimmage yards and powered the 49ers to a Super Bowl win; and his 1985 season, in which he exceeded 2,000 scrimmage yards by evenly splitting his production on the ground (1,050) and through the air (1,016). That’s the first 1,000/1,000 season in NFL history. Pretty nifty! 50. Willie Lanier, LB (1967)A classic apples to oranges comparison here, picking between Lanier — a ’70s middle linebacker with eight All-Pros and a Super Bowl IV victory — and Calais Campbell, who is playing his ball 40 years after Lanier. Campbell’s argument is longevity, whereas Lanier was dominant in his time. The official Hall of Fame site tells me his nickname was literally “Contact.” That’s sick. 51. Rickey Jackson, LB (1981)A similar debate here as the pick above, with Jackson — one Super Bowl ring, five All-Pro teams — facing off against A.J. Brown, who might become one of the great wide receivers of this era. Again, I lean to the established Hall of Famer, but five of Brown’s six seasons have cleared 1,000 yards. If he keeps that up for another five seasons, his résumé will hold up. 52. Ken Stabler, QB (1968)Even without a QB bump, “The Snake” would be the best of this group. He delivered the first Super Bowl victory for a legendary Oakland Raiders franchise and won an MVP award. He also has an iconic play in his belt — the Ghost to the Post — which doesn’t really matter here, but bears mentioning because it’s such a great play name. 53. Mel Blount, CB (1970)A weirdly stacked pick, with Blount — a Hall of Famer, a four-time Super Bowl champion and the 1975 Defensive Player of the Year — fending off active players Davante Adams and Jalen Hurts. Adams has the individual accolades (three-time first-team All-Pro) without the team success, and Hurts has the opposite. This pick is one to watch for the next couple of seasons. 54. Anquan Boldin, WR (2003)Boldin is our first pick to never make an All-Pro team, and I debated handing this spot to Jessie Bates III instead. But Boldin is such a classic underappreciated guy: 14-year career, seven seasons with more than 1,000 receiving yards, success with several different teams and a Super Bowl ring. He was tough, big, physical and talented. I loved him, so I picked him. 55. Andrew Whitworth, OT (2006)Whitworth played 239 games over 16 seasons (wow!), and he needed all 16 of those seasons to get his ring with the Rams. Whit worked his way into a dominant back half of his career, making his first Pro Bowl at 31 and first All-Pro team at 34. The Bengals, who drafted him, will appreciate him for his 11 seasons of quality play, and the Rams enjoyed his strong sunset. 56. Osi Umenyiora, DE (2003)Umenyiora wasn’t consistently dominant, but his peaks made him the pick at No. 56. In the 2007 Super Bowl season, Umenyiora was quieter in the postseason but excellent in the regular season, with 13 sacks and a Pro Bowl. In the 2011 Super Bowl season, he was quieter in the regular season but dominant in the playoffs — 3.5 sacks over four games. Key roles in big seasons can make the difference in this exercise. 57. Devin Hester, KR/PR (2006)I’ll always be a Hester apologist. I love that he’s in the Hall of Fame, and I impugn anybody who says they’d rather take Mark Stepnoski or Rob Havenstein with the 57th pick over Hester, owner of 20 total return touchdowns. His electric, field-flipping potential is more than just valuable — it’s super cool and super fun. 58. Lavonte David, LB (2012)David probably won’t be a Hall of Famer by virtue of average awards and accolades (three All-Pros, one Pro Bowl), but I will slot him firmly in my personal Hall of Very Good and sing his praises whenever given the chance. A Buccaneers lifer with high productivity on the ball (70 passes defensed since entering the league), David has been an era-defining player who led several different Tampa Bay defenses. 59. Aeneas Williams, CB (1991)Williams’ 55 career picks has him in the top 20 of all time, and he made eight Pro Bowls — seven as a corner and one as a safety, speaking to his versatility. He’s the lone Hall of Famer here without much competition, so an easy selection for me. 60. Pat Swilling, OLB (1986)The 1991 Defensive Player of the Year and a five-time All-Pro, Swilling was a bit of a journeyman (played for the Saints, Lions and Raiders), but he was at his best for the team that drafted him. One wild note from a 2011 column by an up-and-coming writer named Adam Schefter: Swilling has the most playoff losses (six) with no wins of any player in NFL history. 61. Brian Dawkins, S (1996)Dawkins has all the pieces to be a selection in this exercise. He did most of his damage with the team that drafted him, was consistently dominant over a long stretch (he made his first Pro Bowl in 1999 and last one in 2011) and was an iconic player in Philadelphia. The gold jacket certainly helps, as well. 62. Tony Hill, WR (1977)With respect to Hill, pick No. 62 is easily the worst pick we’ve run into so far. Hill is a three-time Pro Bowler with one ring; his best season had 1,113 yards. His strongest competition is Brian O’Neill, the current right tackle for the Vikings, and Jimmy Garoppolo. It’s starting to get bleak! 63. Travis Kelce, TE (2013)A Hall of Fame lock, Kelce likely won’t end his career with tight end production records. He’s still four Pro Bowls, 300 catches, 3,000 yards and 34 touchdowns behind Tony Gonzalez, but he’ll easily clear him in Super Bowl championships. Kelce also gets a bump for his defining role as Patrick Mahomes’ primary target and for being one of the leading figures in the story of the 2020s in the NFL. 64. Dan Fouts, QB (1973)Fouts is the only 64th pick with a gold jacket, which gives him an easy inside track. How about four straight seasons leading the league in passing yardage and an entire career spent quarterbacking the San Diego Chargers? Pretty good player for our final second-round pick. (He was technically a third-round pick due to there being fewer teams in 1973, but whatever.) |
