NFL No. 1 Draft Picks

Having the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft is clearly a mixed blessing.

For one thing, barring a trade, it means you were the worst team in the league the previous season. For another, it gives you a chance to make the kind of mistake they’ll be talking about for, oh, say, a decade or more.

Of the last 10 players taken No. 1 overall, fewer than half could be considered legitimate success stories. Some simply lacked the talent to play at the next level. Others struggled to elevate what were already bad teams. One ended up in prison.

Being No. 1 is great on draft day and when it’s time to sign that first contract. After that, you’re on your own.

Here are the last 10 No. 1 picks, with our take on each:

2008 — Jake Long, OT, Michigan (Miami): Too soon to tell, but helping the rebuilding Dolphins won’t be an easy task.

2007 — JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU (Oakland): Played sparingly as a rookie. Then again, what do the Raiders know anymore?

2006 — Mario Williams, DE, North Carolina St.. (Houston): Among the league’s sack leaders in 2007, but he’ll never make Texans fans forget passing on Vince Young.

2005 — Alex Smith, QB, Utah (San Francisco): A “system” guy in college who has struggled to take the next step.

2004 — Eli Manning, QB, Mississippi (San Diego): Traded to Giants on draft day. Led New York to an upset of New England in the Super Bowl.

2003 – Carson Palmer, QB, Southern California (Cincinnati): One of the league’s most gifted passers.

2002 — David Carr, QB, Fresno St. (Houston): Took too many sacks with the Texans, who eventually gave up on him.

2001 – Michael Vick, QB, Virginia Tech, (Atlanta): Erratic and a question mark even before off-field troubles.

2000 — Courtney Brown, DE, Penn St. (Cleveland): Just 17 sacks in five ill-fated seasons with the Browns.

1999 — Tim Couch, QB, Kentucky (Cleveland): The team’s “quarterback of the future” was the first of back-to-back No. 1 busts for the luckless Browns.

Source: NFL.com