Top 10 NFL Players Taken One Pick Before Superstars in the NFL Draft
There have been many cases where teams miss out on superstar players in the draft. The NFL is no different, but it stings even more when the player taken right after your pick turns out to be a much bigger star.Here are ten examples of players who were drafted just before a superstar.
Ethan Horton was taken one pick ahead of Jerry Rice in the 1985 Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. It would be one of the few mistakes made by the Chiefs, as Rice would become the greatest receiver of all time.
One pick after the Cowboys drafted Troy Aikman overall, the Packers had the second pick. They were smitten by Tony Mandarich, who was seen as the best offensive lineman in college and appeared on an SI cover. That's why they took him.
What they missed out on was the next pick from Detroit, who took Barry Sanders, a Hall-of-Famer. Mandarich, on the other hand, was a bust.
*Took steroids
Somehow, the Lions decided to pass on a sliding Randy Moss in 1998 and instead took a cornerback named Terry Fair. Wanting flair for the dramatic, Terry didn't have it and wasn't on Ric Flair's level.
Meanwhile, Randy Moss went on to Canton as a Hall of Famer after being drafted by the Minnesota Vikings. He also had stints in New England, Oakland, and San Francisco.
JaMarcus Trenell Russell is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at LSU, where he finished 21–4 as a starter and was named MVP of the 2007 Sugar Bowl. Russell was drafted by the Oakland Raiders with the first overall pick in the 2007 draft. He was out of the NFL after... read more One of the biggest busts in history only adds to his legacy when not only was he drafted first overall by the Raiders, but he was drafted one pick ahead of Calvin Johnson. Come on, Oakland, missed picks like that are why you're in Vegas now.
The Bengals took John Ross with their first-round pick in 2017, thinking nothing could make their situation worse. Well, pick number ten was Kansas City, and boy, did the Chiefs strike gold with Patrick Mahomes.
One pick after the Chargers took Eli Manning (who later went to the Giants), the Raiders drafted tackle Robert Gallery. I wonder what Arizona could do with pick number three. How about draft this wideout named Larry Fitzgerald?
Yeah, the Cardinals clearly got the better of the two picks.
The Texans figured they needed defensive help in 2004, so they drafted Robinson. Well, they did have a quarterback who was getting hit all the time. The Steelers would take some quarterback named Ben Roethlisberger.
Dan Wilkinson was taken first overall in the 1994 NFL Draft and would be one of the biggest busts of all time. Next up, the Indianapolis Colts drafted Marshall Faulk, who would go on to have a Hall-of-Fame career, with the bulk of it being with the Rams.
Just before the Colts drafted the greatest receiver in franchise history, the Rams picked one of their worst receivers in history. Darn it, Rams! You had the right plan, but the wrong guy.
Blaine Williamson Gabbert is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League. The Jaguars might've needed a defensive player but opted for a quarterback, and they took Blaine Gabbert. Nothing wrong with that, right? Well, there was a problem. Houston took J.J. Watt with the next pick.