College fans don’t have much to fight over during the NFL draft. That’s a total lie, because college fans can always find stuff to fight over. Fighting over draft picks themselves has gone on for decades, and schools like to brag about them as they happen.
Expect Texas A&M to be added to this list of schools that’ve had at least one No. 1 pick, with defensive end Myles Garrett the likely choice for the Cleveland Browns.
All-time NFL draft first overall picks
Year | Name | Position | College | Team |
---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Name | Position | College | Team |
1944 | Angelo Bertelli | QB | Notre Dame | Boston Yanks |
1946 | Frank Dancewicz | QB | Notre Dame | Boston Yanks |
1950 | Leon Hart | E | Notre Dame | Lions |
1957 | Paul Hornung | HB | Notre Dame | Packers |
1972 | Walt Patulski | DE | Notre Dame | Bills |
1968 | Ron Yary | T | USC | Vikings |
1969 | O.J. Simpson | RB | USC | Bills |
1977 | Ricky Bell | RB | USC | Buccaneers |
1996 | Keyshawn Johnson | WR | USC | Jets |
2003 | Carson Palmer | QB | USC | Bengals |
1965 | Tucker Frederickson | RB | Auburn | Giants |
1986 | Bo Jackson | RB | Auburn | Buccaneers |
1988 | Aundray Bruce | LB | Auburn | Falcons |
2011 | Cam Newton | QB | Auburn | Panthers |
1943 | Frank Sinkwich | HB | Georgia | Lions |
1945 | Charley Trippi | HB | Georgia | Cardinals |
1953 | Harry Babcock | E | Georgia | 49ers |
2009 | Matthew Stafford | QB | Georgia | Lions |
1954 | Bobby Garrett | QB | Stanford | Browns |
1971 | Jim Plunkett | QB | Stanford | Patriots |
1983 | John Elway | QB | Stanford | Colts |
2012 | Andrew Luck | QB | Stanford | Colts |
1979 | Tom Cousineau | LB | Ohio State | Bills |
1994 | Dan Wilkinson | DT | Ohio State | Bengals |
1997 | Orlando Pace | T | Ohio State | Rams |
1976 | Lee Roy Selmon | DE | Oklahoma | Buccaneers |
1980 | Billy Sims | RB | Oklahoma | Lions |
2010 | Sam Bradford | QB | Oklahoma | Rams |
1966 | Tommy Nobis | LB | Texas | Falcons |
1978 | Earl Campbell | RB | Texas | Oilers |
1982 | Kenneth Sims | DE | Texas | Patriots |
1975 | Steve Bartkowski | QB | California | Falcons |
2016 | Jared Goff | QB | California | Rams |
1960 | Billy Cannon | RB | LSU | Rams |
2007 | JaMarcus Russell | QB | LSU | Raiders |
1987 | Vinny Testaverde | QB | Miami | Buccaneers |
1991 | Russell Maryland | DT | Miami | Cowboys |
1941 | Tom Harmon | HB | Michigan | Bears |
2008 | Jake Long | T | Michigan | Dolphins |
1937 | Sam Francis | FB | Nebraska | Eagles |
1984 | Irving Fryar | WR | Nebraska | Patriots |
1995 | Ki-Jana Carter | RB | Penn State | Bengals |
2000 | Courtney Brown | DE | Penn State | Browns |
1981 | George Rogers | RB | South | Saints |
2014 | Jadeveon Clowney | DE | South | Texans |
1940 | George Cafego | HB | Tennessee | Cardinals |
1998 | Peyton Manning | QB | Tennessee | Colts |
1985 | Bruce Smith | DE | Virginia Tech | Bills |
2001 | Michael Vick | QB | Virginia Tech | Falcons |
1948 | Harry Gilmer | QB | Alabama | Washington |
2013 | Eric Fisher | T | Central Michigan | Chiefs |
1936 | Jay Berwanger | HB | Chicago | Eagles |
1956 | Gary Glick | DB | Colorado State | Steelers |
2015 | Jameis Winston | QB | Florida State | Buccaneers |
2002 | David Carr | QB | Fresno State | Texans |
1990 | Jeff George | QB | Illinois | Colts |
1938 | Corbett Davis | FB | Indiana | Rams |
1959 | Randy Duncan | QB | Iowa | Packers |
1999 | Tim Couch | QB | Kentucky | Browns |
1970 | Terry Bradshaw | QB | Louisiana Tech | Steelers |
1967 | Bubba Smith | DE | Michigan State | Colts |
2006 | Mario Williams | DE | NC State | Texans |
1947 | Bob Fenimore | HB | Oklahoma State | Bears |
2004 | Eli Manning | QB | Ole Miss | Chargers |
1955 | George Shaw | QB | Oregon | Colts |
1963 | Terry Baker | QB | Oregon State | Rams |
1949 | Chuck Bednarik | C, LB | Penn | Eagles |
1958 | King Hill | QB | Rice | Cardinals |
1951 | Kyle Rote | HB | SMU | Giants |
1962 | Ernie Davis | RB | Syracuse | Washington |
1973 | John Matuszak | DE | Tampa | Oilers |
1939 | Ki Aldrich | C | TCU | Cardinals |
1974 | Ed Jones | DE | Tennessee State | Cowboys |
1964 | Dave Parks | WR | Texas Tech | 49ers |
1961 | Tommy Mason | RB | Tulane | Vikings |
1989 | Troy Aikman | QB | UCLA | Cowboys |
2005 | Alex Smith | QB | Utah | 49ers |
1952 | Bill Wade | QB | Vanderbilt | Rams |
1942 | Bill Dudley | HB | Virginia | Steelers |
1992 | Steve Emtman | DT | Washington | Colts |
1993 | Drew Bledsoe | QB | Washington State | Patriots |
2017 | Myles Garrett | DE | Texas A&M | Browns |
So yeah, Chicago, which stopped playing football in 1939, has as many all-time No. 1s as Alabama. We have to treasure the things Bama isn’t great at because there are so few of them.
Here are the leaders by college:
Five
Been a while! Only Carson Palmer and Keyshawn Johnson since the 1970s for either of these rivals; the former’s one of the NFL’s oldest players, and the latter’s kid is now in college.
- Notre Dame
- USC
Four
Gonna be a long time before anybody touches Stanford’s list of four No. 1 QBs.
- Auburn
- Georgia
- Stanford
Three
The next No. 1 by either the Sooners or Longhorns will involve rivalry bragging rights, meaning much fanfare.
- Ohio State
- Oklahoma
- Texas
Two
The saddest sentence in American English: “Billy Cannon and JaMarcus Russell.”
- Cal
- LSU
- Miami
- Michigan
- Nebraska
- Penn State
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Virginia Tech