5 greatest first round picks in NFL Draft history
Players selected in the first round of the NFL Draft almost always enter the league with extremely high expectations. These prospects are chosen with high draft picks in the hopes they become generational players able to turn an entire franchise around.
When first-rounders exceed their expectations, they can be among the greatest to ever play the game. Here are five of those players from NFL history.
Best first round NFL Draft picks of all time
#5 - rodgers" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
Aaron Rodgers has a somewhat controversial NFL draft day story. He infamously wanted to be chosen by the San Francisco 49ers with the top pick of the 2005 NFL Draft, but they went with Alex Smith instead.
Rodgers ended up slipping all the way to the 24th pick, where he was selected by the Green Bay Packers despite already having Brett Favre on their roster.
Things worked out just fine for Aaron Rodgers, who eventually got his opportunity after sitting behind Brett Favre to start his career. Rodgers has won four NFL MVP awards, the second-most of all time, along with one Super Bowl ring.
John Elway is the best QB to ever only play for one team and John Elway is a better all-time QB than Aaron Rodgers is. Stop it. Elway went to FIVE Super Bowls and he carried 3 rosters that would have had no business being in the Super Bowl without Elway. twitter.com/DaireCarragher… https://t.co/weSlsm3O1p
#4 - John Elway, Denver Broncos
John Elway also has a bit of a controversial draft day story. He was selected by the Baltimore Colts with the first overall pick in the 1983 NFL Draft, but infamously refused to join the team.
He threatened to leave the NFL to play professional baseball if he wasn't traded, and it worked, as the Colts dealt him to the Denver Broncos.
Elway put together one of the greatest careers of all time with the Broncos. He appeared in five Super Bowls and won two of them, one of which he was the named the game's MVP. He also won one regular-season MVP.