Has any NFL team picked #1 overall three years in a row? Jaguars aiming to avoid owning dubious record
The Jacksonville Jaguars have been in a slump recently. They appear light-years away from their 2017 form where they made it to the AFC Championship game and almost the Super Bowl itself.
In the last two seasons combined, the Jagaurs have a combined record of 4-29. They went 1-15 in 2020 and 3-14 in 2021. This awarded them consecutive first-overall picks in the 2021 and 2022 NFL drafts.
Last year was a particularly bad one for Jacksonville as aside from the struggles on the field, former head coach Urba Meyer was the source of several scandals. From getting too familiar with a woman at a party to kicking Josh Lambeau while the kicker was stretching, it was hardly surprising that Meyer didn't last the season.
No team in NFL history has ever had the first-overall pick three seasons in a row. The Jaguars could become the first frachise to do so if they aren't careful.
The #Jaguars have clinched the No. 1 overall pick with their loss and the #Jets win. The new Jax GM will embark on a thorough study of the draft class to find the best player. Could be anyone... https://t.co/OqFmlk6kx1
If it all goes wrong and they lose most of their games, hopefully at least one other team this season will have it worse. Fans of the franchise deserve better than this, and from the ashes of last year's debacle, a better team will hopefully appear.
They will be led in 2022 by Doug Pederson, the head coach responsible for the Philadelphia Eagles' first Super Bowl victory, and the hope for the Jaguars is that the worst is now behind them.
Teams with back-to-back first-overall picks including the Jaguars
Since the modern-day draft, there have been four teams (five times) that have selected first-overall in consecutive years.
The 1976-77 Tampa Bay Buccaneers became the first team in the modern era to earn back-to-back number one overall picks.
They used their 1976 first-round pick on defensive end Lee Roy Selmon. The Buccaneers went 0-14 and selected star USC running back Ricky Bell with the first overall pick of the draft the next season.
The 1994-95 Cincinnati Bengals used their first pick in 1994 to select Ohio State defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson. Wilkinson was the reigning Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year and Co-Defensive Player of the Year.
A year later, they found themselves picking number one again as they traded their fifth-overall pick to the Panthers for the first-overall pick. They used that pick on running back Ki-Jana Carter.
The 1999-2000 Cleveland Browns held the first overall pick in the 1999 NFL draft. The team was returning to the league and were considered an expansion team.
They were given the first pick in the draft with which they selected All-American quarterback Tim Couch. Couch didn't play much that season due to a broken thumb and the Browns finished 2-14
They then selected defensive end Courtney Brown to help their pass rush with the first-overall pick in the 2000 NFL draft.
The Cleveland Browns have been one of the worst franchises in the last 20 years and they showed that in 2017 and 2018. The Browns went 1-15 in 2016 and selected defensive end Myles Garrett with the first overall pick. Garrett has lived up to his potential and terrorizes opposing quarterbacks.
The very next year, they drafted quarterback Baker Mayfield's number one overall.
With the first pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns select Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma twitter.com/Browns/status/…
The 2020-2021 Jaguars are obviously the most recent team to have back-to-back number one overall picks.
In 2020, they used their number-one overall pick on Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence had a rather underwhelming rookie campaign, but that was due to poor offensive line play, poor coaching, players getting injured and the media storm surrounding Urban Meyer.
This past April, they went on the opposite side of the ball and selected Georgia defensive end Travon Walker as the first-overall pick. Walker had an insane day at the combine and the Jaguars didn't want to pass on his potential.
It will be fascinating to see the dawn of this new era in Jacksonville. Will they rise up and perform, or will they make history as the only franchise to pick first for three consecutive years in the NFL draft?