Top 10 NFL draft slides of all-time
In the NFL draft, the majority of the top players are picked close to their pre-draft projection, but occasionally, players are selected later than expected.
Usually, they drop by a few picks but on rare occasions, they are selected more than 10 to15 picks below their projection and sometime even a round or two later than expected.
Situations like these can either put a chip on the player's shoulder and they end up proving teams wrong or it makes them doubt their own ability, which leads to them never fulfilling their potential.
Below, we list the top 10 slides of all-time in the NFL draft.
The Most Famous NFL Draft Slides of All-Time
#10 - Thurman Thomas, RB, 1988
Thurman Thomas was supposed to be a top 10 pick, but due to an ACL tear in college, teams got cold feet and he ultimately fell to 40th overall. He went on to play in 182 games and rushed for over 12,000 yards and 65 touchdowns.
#9 - Warren Sapp, DT, 1995
Warren Sapp was projected to be a top-five pick but slipped back to 12th overall after reports of his marijuana usage emerged. He went on to play 198 games and recorded 96.5 sacks, 440 solo tackles and 19 forced fumbles.
#8 - Dez Bryant, WR, 2010
Dez Bryant was projected to be a top-ten pick in the 2010 NFL draft but ended up slipping to 24th overall. The Dallas Cowboys were elated to be able to pick him that late in the first round and Bryant repaid them with eight seasons of steady production.
The wide receiver has played in 119 games and recorded 537 catches for 7506 yards and 75 touchdowns in his NFL career.
#7 - Jimmy Clausen, QB, 2010
Jimmy Clausen was expected to be selected in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft but ultimately fell to 48th overall. The teams that passed on the quarterback were proven right as he went on to play in just 21 games, posting a 1-13 record as a starter. He completed only 54% of his passes for 2520 yards, seven touchdowns with 14 interceptions.
#6 - DeSean Jackson, WR, 2008
The electrifying DeSean Jackson was predicted to go in the first round of the 2008 NFL draft but fell to the second round before being selected with the 49th overall pick by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Six wide receivers were picked before Jackson in the NFL draft, but none managed to record more receiving yards than him. In 160 games, Jackson has 612 catches for over 10,000 yards and 56 touchdowns. Jackson will be playing in his 14th season in 2021.