NFL Draft: The Greatest 1st Overall Picks Ever

O.J. Simpson . 5. player. 16. To this day it’s difficult to separate O.J. Simpson the football player from O.J. Simpson the man charged with double murder and convicted of kidnapping. As much as erasing him from history might sound nice, the fact remains there’s no way to mention NFL history without his name coming up. For a good period of time in the 1970s he was the best player in football. It’s a fact, no matter how much his haters try to deny it. Purely from that perspective, he belongs on this list. <p> </p> <p>Simpson was a star from the beginning. He made the first of his six Pro Bowls as a rookie in 1969 despite playing for a terrible Buffalo Bills team. Then in 1973 he turned in arguably the greatest season a running back has ever had. That was when he reached a milestone nobody thought possible, crossing the 2,000 yards rushing barrier with 2,003. To think he managed to do it in just 14 games is staggering. It won him league MVP honors and was the primary driving force behind his Hall of Fame entry after his playing days were over.</p>. RB. USC