Ranking The 10 Greatest NFL Draft 1st Rounds of All-Time

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Apr 28, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General view of 2016 NFL Draft logo at Los Angeles Rams draft party at L.A. Live. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

The entire landscape matters when it comes to the NFL draft, but often the best way to gauge how strong a class is centers on the 1st round.

That has always been where the meat of the premier talent can be found. The richer the crop, the more exciting the league would become in the years to follow. This begs the question. There have been plenty of great overall drafts, but do the rankings change at all when it’s reserved to just the 1st round of action? People might be surprised how much changes in that regard. Before listing out the top 10 all-time in league history, here are a few that just missed the cut.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

1952 Draft

Getting four Hall of Famers in the first 11 picks of a 13-team draft is pretty good, no? Frank Gifford, the New York Giants icon headlined the group along with two other great running backs in Hugh McElhenny and Ollie Matson. It would’ve done better had there been a bit more star power.

1964 Draft

For total number of Hall of Fame players, the 1964 drat reigns supreme. The 1st round though wasn’t quite strong enough to get over the hump. It was a tremendous wide receiver year with Paul Warfield and Charlie Taylor, along with Vikings great pass rusher Carl Eller.

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1967 Draft

Alan Page? Bob Griese? Gene Upshaw? Not only three of the best players of the 1970s and Hall of Famers. They also reflected the greatness off the field too. Page became a judge, Upshaw head of the Players Union and Griese a fair and honest commentator for ESPN and NBC.

1969 Draft

One could say the birth of the Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty became in this draft with the arrival of the legendary “Mean” Joe Greene. He was joined by O.J. Simpson. While a terrible man later in life, he rewrote the record books at running back including the first ever 2,000-yard season.

1975 Draft

How can a draft that featured the late, great Walter Payton not be on the list? Especially when he had help from the terrifying Randy White. The problem is the star power dries up fairly quickly after them. Plenty of good players, but few ones that stood the test of time like those two.

1978 Draft

It seems fitting that the year which ushered in the rule changes that would alter offensive football forever brought in two offensive pillar. There was the rampaging running back Earl Campbell and speedy vertical wide receiver James Lofton. Not enough championship success held them back.

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