What Happened to Every #1 Pick from 1980-1999?

national football league selection meeting is now in session between 1980 and the turn of the century the nfl exploded in popularity the draft blossomed from a behind the closed doors function to a seventh round made for tv event give me a break that's why the colts are picking second every year in the draft who in the hell is mel keiper in a way the biggest mockery i've ever seen in my entire life we could create a fence down i would trade him right now so let's take a look back at every number one pick of this era what happened to those 20 players we've seen super bowl heroes absolute flops and everything in between to start there's billy sims taken first by the lions in 1980 sims time in detroit was as promising as it was brief in many ways the predecessor to barry sanders this number 20 stormed out of the gates and into opposing secondaries in his very first game sims racked up 153 yards and three scores and billy sims wide open there he goes the magnificent billy sims go for his third touchdown is he ever for real he would earn rookie of the year honors rushing for 1300 yards and leading all running backs with 631 receiving yards and 16 total touchdowns the former heisman winner garnered pro bowl nods in each of his first three seasons in 1983 he became a household name when he served up one of history's most entertaining first downs what's up field hurdles over a couple of people oh my goodness did you see that he hit steve brown with what looked like a karate kick that year sims helped catapult the lions to their second straight post season but sadly a brutal knee injury stopped him in his tracks the 29 year old retired after just five seasons in 1981 the saints selected another heisman rusher atop the draft george rogers hit the nfl in stride leading the league with 1674 rushing yards a then rookie record and still a franchise best he added 13 touchdowns compiling rookie of the year and all pro honors [Applause] rogers he's going to take it all away for the touchdown after a historic rookie year roger's production would falter he posted another thousand yard season but the saints shipped him off to washington in 1985. there he'd rebound with a stellar campaign for joe gibbs rogers rushed for over 1200 yards and paced the league with 18 scores in 1986 he'd played just one more nfl season winning super bowl 22 with washington our second sims in three years kenneth sims was new england's top choice in 1982 confident in their veteran quarterback steve grogan the patriots opted to bolster their defense with the rookie pass rusher led by their highly prized youngsters the patriots racked up six sacks of houston quarterback archie manning while he fit the mold of the team's new defensive minded approach sims never blossomed he reached his peak in 1985 with a career-high five and a half sacks as the pats appeared in their first ever super bowl but when stars like mark gastineau lawrence taylor and even his own teammate andre tippett were racking up 15 sacks a year sims production just didn't cut it he registered just 74 games and 17 sacks over eight seasons in new england baltimore selects as the first choice in the draft quarterback john elway of stanford john elway played his entire career in denver but in 1983 he was selected first overall by the baltimore colts the cream of the crop in the famed quarterback draft of 83 elway leveraged his way to the broncos beginning one of football's most legendary tenures in just his third season he led the league in game-winning drives while throwing for nearly 3 900 yards in year four his broncos were headed to the super bowl elway leads the broncos 98 yards touchdown mark jackson by his fifth season he was league mvp and the broncos were again conference champions but it would take a decade before the future hall of famer reached the pinnacle of pro football against the packers in super bowl 32 elway made sure he got his lombardi [Applause] line for a first down how bad does john elway want to win this football game differs going to win it this one's for john the 38 year old would go back to back punctuating his career as super bowl mvp in 1984 the usfl threw a wrench in draft plans snagging future stars like steve young and reggie white just months prior so the patriots used their top pick on irving fryer a pretty solid alternative while he lacked elway's accolades his longevity and consistency was just as impressive by his second year friar was a pro bowler leading the team with seven touchdown catches and pacing the league with two punt return scores then in 1986 he supplied perhaps the play of the season final play eason throws it up it's hanging up in the end zone they're all up in the air and it's a touchdown the patriots have a touchdown it's caught in the end zone irving fryer has the the nebraska product spent nine solid years with the pats but at age 30 his best production was yet to come he played three seasons in both miami and philly posting consecutive thousand yard pro bowl seasons for both teams [Music] [Applause] fryer retire is the only player to score a touchdown in 17 straight seasons and the only player to catch a touchdown from 19 different quarterbacks another number one pick joined the afc east when the bills drafted bruce smith in 1985. in year two smith exploded into a bonafide sackmaster he amassed 15 sacks in 86 the first of five straight seasons with at least 11 sacks in 1990 smith delivered a season for the ages netting 19 sacks and forcing four fumbles as the nfl defensive player of the year meanwhile the bills nearly captured a super bowl title [Applause] bruce smith and the big guy was just getting started the future hall of famer played 217 games over his 15 years in buffalo smith was defensive player of the year twice and earned eight first-team all-pro selections [Applause] he's got the record he's got the record smith's 200 career sacks remain the most in nfl history he would retire in 2003 at the age of 40. bo jackson's career was as quick powerful and extraordinary as the player himself in 1986 the bucks selected jackson first overall but he declined their offer opting to play baseball full-time the next year he was eventually re-drafted by the raiders in the seventh round their gamble paid off [Music] [Applause] the multi-sport phenom had just 555 touches in his four-year career but it feels like we remember most of them as a rookie he played just seven games while averaging a ridiculous seven yards a carry who can forget his iconic 221-yard night in seattle beau versus the boss on monday night football and full jackson to the 20 and out in front and only one man easily can't run him down he had the angle but there goes bo and nobody catches beau touchdown he may not stop that tacoma when beau had the ball it just didn't seem fair despite sharing a backfield with marcus allen jackson was a pro bowler in 1990 and the raiders were a force but in their first round win over the bengals jackson suffered a devastating hip injury he wouldn't play another game and retired at age 28. on the other end of the durability spectrum there's vinnie testaverdi tampa drafted first again in 1987 and this time their top choice stuck around like really stuck around vinnie's career spanned 21 seasons seven teams and four different u.s presidents [Applause] this is edwards touchdown minnesota while the miami product was durable he was also a little erratic he threw a league high 35 interceptions his second season and followed that up with 22 more the following year but his accuracy would steadily improve after six years in tampa and three in cleveland testaverdi earned his first pro bowl in baltimore throwing for 4 100 yards and 33 scores two years later he landed with the jets hitting his stride under bill parcells he was a pro bowler in 98 and entered jets lore with a wild comeback in 2000. how did he catch that one [Applause] yes [Applause] and it is juggled and taught he'd retire winning 42 percent of his games but throwing for over 46 000 yards and 275 touchdowns the falcons selected linebacker andre bruce with their first pick in 1988 the auburn stud impressed as a rookie totaling 70 tackles six sacks two forced fumbles and two interceptions berlin being chased and on the rollout is tackled in a loss and it was andre bruce but his production waned as did his snap count over the next few years bruce had some off-field issues lost his starting role and even saw his position change the falcons tried bruce out at tight end to squeeze production out of him that didn't work so bruce hit free agency heading to the raiders after the 91 season the number one pick never reached his potential as a lawrence taylor type impact player but he did play 11 nfl seasons appearing in 150 games by 1989 the cowboys were reeling enter troy aikman the top pick in the 89 draft aikman was nothing short of a godsend he struggled at first going 0-11 as rookie year but when emmett smith arrived the following season aikman locked in by 1992 the cowboys were champions again diving touchdown oh what a play [Applause] during that 92 season aikman notched career highs in passing yards and touchdowns he threw a record 89 straight playoff passes without an interception and was named super bowl mvp the next season he was the league's most accurate passer completing 69 of his passes as dallas won back-to-back titles no quarterback won more games from 91 to 96 he went to six straight pro bowls and won three titles as the unquestioned leader of america's team they win their third in four years the future hall of famer retired as the cowboys all-time passing leader in 1990 rocket armed quarterback jeff george landed in indianapolis with high expectations but the top prospect would have a bumpy ride despite signing the most lucrative rookie deal at the time george struggled mightily in his first three seasons for the colts he threw just 33 touchdowns to 40 interceptions and went 12 and 26 as a starter here's a throw on first down it's picked off and the patriots might tie the game george has not been sacked yet today look at this chris a second defensive touchdown eventually george was shipped to atlanta where he helped the falcons earn a playoff berth in 95. two years later he was in oakland where he led the league in passing they pick up the blitz and george throws it downfield caught jet touchdown the illinois product threw for a league high 3917 yards and 29 scores but the raiders finished 4 and 12. in 1999 george put together a memorable season in his lone year with the vikings taking over for randall cunningham in week 7 the 32 year old went 8-2 and led minnesota to a playoff win the number one pick turned journeyman played for five teams in 12 seasons going 46 and 78 as a starter russell maryland was a perfect match for the 90s cowboys their top pick in 91 the miami prospect never emerged as a superstar talent but he had his moments [Applause] as a rookie he recorded four and a half sacks and forced three fumbles russell was an interior presence on a rock-solid dallas defense he played at least 12 games in each of their super bowl seasons and earned his lone pro bowl appearance in 93. maryland didn't quite live up to his top billing but he stuck around after his stint in dallas he would miss just one game over his final five seasons the colts again found themselves choosing first in 1992 this time they went with defensive end steve antman the washington star led the huskies to an undefeated championship season and finished fourth in heisman voting at first it seemed like a home run pick intercepted look at him this is steven at 6-4 200 [Applause] [Music] indy would be marred by injury the 6-4 lineman finished each of his first three seasons on the ir logging just 14 total games in 95 he left the colts and enjoyed two injury-free years in miami but his career lasted just six seasons by 1998 this number one pick was out of the league before tom brady took over the league the pats had this guy alexo long ball man is open tipson touchdown it's over after a near decade of disappointment new england drafted drew bledsoe to do one thing slang it bledsoe led the league in passing in 94 throwing for a then franchise record 4555 yards the number one pick also led the nfl in pass attempts for three consecutive seasons touchdown new england wins behind bledsoe new england was playoff bound for the first time in seven seasons even earning a super bowl berth in 1996. in 2001 he inked a then record contract only for a sideline hit to open the door for the tom brady era but the 30 year old bounced back signing with the bills a year later throws got a man there peerless price and then for the touchdown unbelievable fearless price from bledsoe he earned another pro bowl appearance with buffalo in 2002 and spent his final two years in dallas bledsoe retired in 2006 with the seventh most passing yards in nfl history the reeling bengals nabbed dan wilkinson first overall in the 94 draft and while the d lineman was never a star his 13-year career was anything but a bust wilkinson was a consistent pass rusher and run stopper playing all but three games for the bengals he totaled at least five sacks in each of his four seasons in cincy in 1998 wilkinson landed in washington where he'd continue to make an impact the 340 pounder notched a career high in tackles and played the most snaps of any interior defensive lineman 95 dan wilkinson daryl green is with him wilkinson scores a touchdown after five years in dc wilkinson signed in detroit but never quite regained his footing he'd play a single season in miami before calling it quits after the 06 nfl season the bengals picked first again in 95 trading up for the best running back prospect in the draft the cincinnati bengals have selected running back from penn state to johnna carter number one pick kajana carter didn't even make it to opening week suffering a season-ending knee injury in the pre-season he'd make his nfl debut a season later and showed flashes of brilliance carter scored 16 total touchdowns in his first two years of game action but he just couldn't stay healthy carter played sparingly for washington and new orleans before hanging it up in o4 appearing in just 59 total games ufc star keyshawn johnson topped the draft board in 1996 just the third and most recent wide receiver to go first overall the arrival of johnson and head coach bill parcells was a shot in the arm for a jet squad that hadn't won a division title since 1969. touchdown to keyshawn johnson in three seasons the mean green went from one and 15 to 12 and four with keyshawn playing a big part in the turnaround johnson scored 24 touchdowns in his first three seasons making back-to-back pro bowls in 98 and 99 the outspoken star would end up getting traded to tampa where he secured a super bowl title in 2002 quick throw johnson touchdown tampa bay johnson reunited with parcells in dallas for two more solid seasons in all number 19 posted at least 800 yards in all but one of his 11 campaigns teams expect two things out of their coveted number one pick production and consistency and man did orlando pace deliver the first offensive lineman to top the draft in 29 years pace was a stalwart on the rams offense for 12 seasons the 6-7 325 pound stud paved the way for three consecutive mvp campaigns as the greatest show on turf rolled through the nfl st louis the gateway to the west is now the gateway to the best football team in the world between 1999 and 2005 he was named to seven straight pro bowls while the rams made five playoff appearances including a super bowl title the indianapolis colts select quarterback university of tennessee peyton manning peyton manning's career speaks for itself and his tenure with the colts is about as legendary as it gets the record they thought would never be broken has been broken manning led indy to eight division titles compiled a record four mvps and seemingly broke every passing record while guiding the colts to a lombardi trophy in 2006. the colts of indianapolis went super bowl 41. he threw for at least 3 700 yards and 25 touchdowns in each of his first 13 seasons without missing a single game even if number 18 retired after his neck injury in 2010 he'd still be considered one of the best quarterbacks of all time instead he capped off his career in denver like only a legend could peyton manning has become the nfl's all-time leader in career touchdown passes payton climbed atop nearly every passing category won his fifth mvp and rode into the sunset with his second lombardi trophy here's a very special moment the number one draft choice and number one overall pick tim couch is in at quarterback to finish up our list we have tim couch after a three-year hiatus the reactivated browns used their top pick on the kentucky gunslinger in the 99 draft compared to our last two names couch certainly is a bust but his time in cleveland was a little more nuanced sure he played just five seasons and won just 37 percent of his starts but he also battled injuries in a patchwork roster that didn't give him much to work with he was sacked a league high 56 times as a rookie still he provided the dog pound with some memorable moments couch long high ball lots of guys going for it fight in the end zone it's tied by the browns the cleveland browns have won the game out of 56 yacht pass looking long he's got time is this like new orleans the young qb even guided the browns to a playoff berth in 2002 before injuries eventually cost him his starting job couch lasted just five seasons in cleveland never playing another down after 2003.

Channel: NFL Throwback

Views: 248,365

Keywords: nfl, american football, nfl history, nfl highlights, nfl vault, nfl throwback

Id: jsR4BVQtDR8

Length: 21min 35sec (1295 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 20 2022