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Talented players aren’t always recruited from free agency. The NFL Draft is one of the most popular ways to acquire new talent to a team roster. It involves a series of seven rounds of selections, allowing all NFL teams to choose which new rookie players they want to join their team. We’ve broken down every #1 pick from the first round of the NFL Draft over the last decade, including what school they played at and what team they got drafted to.
Jameis Winston is one of the many quarterbacks to be selected first overall in the NFL Draft (along with seven others on this list). The talented QB won the Heisman trophy in 2013 for Florida State before being drafted to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In his first year playing, he’d get selected for the Pro Bowl (2015). Now, Winston plays quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, with 23,867 passing and 1,271 rushing yards throughout his career.
Up next is Jared Goff, drafted as a quarterback for the LA Rams from the University of California back in 2016. Goff would soon make waves in the following years, making the Pro Bowl in 2017, 2018 and 2022. Goff is now the starting quarterback for the Detroit Lions and has accumulated 33,411 passing and 535 rushing yards in his career.
As one of two defensive ends drafted first overall in the last decade, Myles Garrett would be picked to play for the Cleveland Browns after having an exceptional college career at Texas A&M. He’d get selected for the Pro Bowls in 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, showcasing his unmatched defensive capabilities. Garret has played eight seasons for the Browns, committing 337 total tackles with 98.5 career sacks.
Back to the quarterbacks, Baker Mayfield was a top prospect drafted as quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, who has two first-overall picks in a row from 2017-2018. Mayfield won the Heisman Trophy in 2017 while playing for the University of Oklahoma before being drafted to the NFL in 2018. In addition to making the 2023 Pro Bowl, Mayfield, now QB for the Buccaneers, has totaled 23,366 passing yards and 1,052 rushing yards to date throughout his career. He has also demonstrated his arm strength by notching an NFL record for the longest completion in the history of the game, and though his career has been stop-start it has certainly had more highs than lows.
The 2018 Heisman Trophy winner, Kyler Murray, was the first 2019 NFL Draft pick, joining the Arizona Cardinals and earning Offensive Rookie of the Year after playing for the University of Oklahoma. In addition to his OROY award, he’d make back-to-back Pro Bowls in 2020 and 2021. After six seasons with the Cardinals, Murray has 18,250 passing yards and 2,876 rushing yards.
Joe Burrow was taken by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020 after a stellar college football career. Coming straight from LSU after winning the 2019 Heisman Trophy and the National Championship, Burrow would join the Bengals and make the Pro Bowl in 2022. Through five professional seasons with the Bengals, Burrow has reached 17,420 passing yards to go along with 765 rushing yards.
Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence was drafted as the starting quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021. He’d make the Pro Bowl one time so far in his career in 2022 while achieving 13,815 passing yards with 1,083 rushing yards.
With back-to-back first-overall picks, much like the 2017-2018 Cleveland Browns, the Jacksonville Jaguars acquired defensive end Travon Walker from the University of Georgia back in 2022. After three hard-fought seasons for Jacksonville, Walker has so far committed 145 total tackles, 72 of them solo, with 22 career sacks.
As one of the most recent first-overall NFL draft picks, Bryce Young would end his 2021 Heisman Trophy-winning season for the University of Alabama by getting drafted as the quarterback of the Carolina Panthers. So far in his career, Young has played 25 games, totaling 4,258 passing yards along with 361 rushing yards.
Winner of the 2022 Heisman Trophy from USC, Caleb Williams is the most recent draft pick taken first overall. Since joining the Chicago Bears, Williams has so far thrown for 2,612 total yards and rushed for 378, with 14 passing touchdowns so far in his 2024 season.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.