The "Best" Player in the draft

[The Gipper]

It was brought up elsewhere as to who the best non QB may be in this draft...and that question spurred me into doing this lengthy list....which is simply:  Who has been considered the best players to come out a draft.  Here I am going back to the common draft that began in 1967 forward.   And I am using a simple ..though not infallible measuring stick:   The PFR  Career Production Average. So, whether or not you may believe these are the best players to come out of a draft...they are least considered the most productive according to one measure.   So, here they are year, name....and draft position...to give us some idea about that:

1967 Alan Page  #15

1968 Ron Yary  #1

1969 Ted Hendricks #33

1970 Terry Bradshaw #1

1971 Ken Anderson #67

1972 Franco Harris  #13

1973 Dan Fouts #64

1974 Mike Webster #125

1975 Walter Payton #4

1976 Mike Haynes #5

1977 Tony Dorsett #2

1978 James Lofton #6

1979 Joe Montana #82

1980 Anthony Munoz #3

1981 Lawrence Taylor #2

1982 Marcus Allen # 10

1983  Dan Marino #27  (just a couple of points ahead of Elway...##1

1984 Boomer Esiason #38

1985 Jerry Rice #16

1986 Pat Swilling #60

1987 Rod Woodson #10

1988 Randall McDaniel #19

1989 Barry Sanders #3

1990 tie  Junior Seay #5   Emmit Smith #17

1991 Brett Favre #33

1992 Jimmy Smith WR  #36

1993 Michael Strahan #40

1994 Marshall Faulk #2

1995 Derricks Brooks #28

1996 Ray Lewis #26

1997 Jason Taylor  #73....Akron Zip!!

1998 Peyton Manning #1

1999 Edgerrin James #4

2000 Tom Brady  #199

2001 Drew Brees #32

2002 Julius Peppers #2

2003 Carson Palmer #1

2004 Phillip Rivers #4

2005 Aaron Rodgers #24

2006 Jahri Evans #108

2007 Patrick Willis #11

2008 Matt Ryan #3

2009 Matt Stafford #1

2010 Ndamakong Suh  #2

2011 Cam Newton #1

2012 Russell Wilson #48

2013 Leveon Bell #48

2014 Aaron Donald #13

2015 tie Jameis Winston #1 and David Johnson #86

2016 tie  Ezekial Elliot  #4  and Dak Prescott #135

 

Note:  Stats on this are only through 2016....no 2017 stats included.  Obviously that could change these names some for the past several years...plus there is nothing on this year's rookie crop.

Note: bold means HOF.

[The Gipper]

Notes:  The #1 overall pick is in the #1 position 7 times....and all QBs except Ron Yary.    Several of these could likely be removed from this perch as they are still young: Newton, Stafford, Winston (likely has been)

In addition to the 7 #1 picks.....7 others taken in the top 5 of a draft come out as "best" for those years. 

Four players who were drafted higher than #100 are the "best":  Mike Webster,  Jahri Evans,  Tom Brady...and Prescott after one year.

Of all these players....36 of them would have been taken in the first round of a 32 pick first round (though a couple were not actually first rounders when they were selected due to fewer teams...e.g. Drew Brees)

And only 17 were selected below #32 so as to be lower than first round today.  So the "best" player of a draft is twice as likely to come from a first round choice as below that.

[MLD Woody]

Peyton is #1 for career production average since 1960, damn

 

(I wanted to see how close Woodson was. Same Draft)

[The Gipper]

10 minutes ago, MLD Woody said:

Peyton is #1 for career production average since 1960, damn

 

(I wanted to see how close Woodson was. Same Draft)

Woodson was #1 for 1987

[Nero]

I count 15 non first rounders... In 50 years? That's 30%

I guess it makes sense that we picked 3 times in first round last year instead of 2, lol.

[tiamat63]

53 minutes ago, The Gipper said:

Woodson was #1 for 1987

Wrong woodson 

[The Gipper]

15 hours ago, tiamat63 said:

Wrong woodson 

Oh, OK,    Darren...of the Cowboys.