{"id":278321,"date":"2026-04-23T22:22:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T02:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=278321"},"modified":"2026-04-23T22:22:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T02:22:13","slug":"first-round-draft-picks-team-by-team-analysis-of-best-and-worst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/04\/23\/first-round-draft-picks-team-by-team-analysis-of-best-and-worst\/","title":{"rendered":"First Round\u00a0 Draft Picks: Team by Team Analysis of Best and Worst All-Time"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The NFL Draft is not an exact science. First round picks impact teams for years, and in some cases, decades, both positively and negatively. Here is a look at each NFL team\u2019s best and worst first round pick.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>First Round Draft Picks: Team by Team Analysis of Best and Worst<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"1ffbae35d432d0d71911ca2a0b209fbb\" image-id=\"prsi1xHLBChC\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 5400px; aspect-ratio: 5400\/3598;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">*Analysis includes taking into consideration when the player was drafted and their overall value added and contribution to the team.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>AFC East<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/bills\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buffalo Bills<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Josh Allen<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: E.J. Manuel<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/dolphins\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Miami Dolphins<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Dan Marino<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Dion Jordan<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/patriots\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New England Patriots<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Richard Seymour<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: N&#8217;Keal Harry<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/jets\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New York Jets<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Darrelle Revis<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Zach Wilson<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>AFC North<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/ravens\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Baltimore Ravens<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Lamar Jackson<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Matt Elam<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/bengals\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cincinnati Bengals<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Joe Burrow<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: John Ross<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/browns\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cleveland Browns<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Myles Garrett<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Johnny Manziel<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/steelers\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pittsburgh Steelers<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Ben Roethlisberger<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Artie Burns<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>AFC South<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/texans\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Houston Texans<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: J.J. Watt<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Kevin Johnson<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/colts\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indianapolis Colts<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Andrew Luck<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Bj\u00f6rn Werner<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/jaguars\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jacksonville Jaguars<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Trevor Lawrence<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Dante Fowler Jr.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/titans\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tennessee Titans<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Derrick Henry<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Isaiah Wilson<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>AFC West<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/broncos\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Denver Broncos<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Von Miller<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Paxton Lynch<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/chiefs\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kansas City Chiefs<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Patrick Mahomes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Jonathan Baldwin<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/raiders\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Las Vegas Raiders<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Khalil Mack<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: JaMarcus Russell<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/raiders\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Los Angeles Chargers<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: LaDainian Tomlinson<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Ryan Leaf<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>NFC East<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/cowboys\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dallas Cowboys<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Tyron Smith<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Taco Charlton<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/giants\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New York Giants<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Eli Manning<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Ereck Flowers<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/eagles\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Philadelphia Eagles<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Fletcher Cox<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Jalen Reagor<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/washington-commanders\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Washington Commanders<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Sean Taylor<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Dwayne Haskins<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>NFC North<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/bears\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chicago Bears<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Brian Urlacher<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Mitchell Trubisky<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/lions\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Detroit Lions<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Calvin Johnson<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Charles Rogers<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/packers\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Green Bay Packers<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Aaron Rodgers<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Justin Harrell<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/vikings\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Minnesota Vikings<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Adrian Peterson<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Laquon Treadwell<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>NFC South<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/falcons\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Atlanta Falcons<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Julio Jones<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Takk McKinley<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/panthers\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Carolina Panthers<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Cam Newton<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Vernon Butler<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/saints\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New Orleans Saints<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Cameron Jordan<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Stephone Anthony<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/buccaneers\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Warren Sapp<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Vernon Hargreaves III<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>NFC West<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/cardinals\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Arizona Cardinals<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Larry Fitzgerald<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Josh Rosen<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/rams\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Los Angeles Rams<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Aaron Donald<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Greg Robinson<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/49ers\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">San Francisco 49ers<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Nick Bosa<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: Solomon Thomas<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/seahawks\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seattle Seahawks<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Best: Earl Thomas<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worst: L.J. Collier<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The NFL Draft is not an exact science. First round picks impact teams for years, and in some cases, decades, both positively and negatively. Here is a look at each NFL team\u2019s best and worst first round pick. First Round Draft Picks: Team by Team Analysis of Best and Worst *Analysis includes taking into consideration [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4925,"featured_media":278897,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":true,"sfio_embed_code":"<smartframe-embed customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBl0H3EL2n\" style=\"width: 100%;max-width: 3399px;aspect-ratio: 3399\/2550\"><\/smartframe-embed><!-- https:\/\/smartframe.io\/embedding-support -->","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1647],"tags":[5819,2599,1056,1472,1173,6249],"class_list":["post-278321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-draft","tag-joe-burrow","tag-josh-allen","tag-lamar-jackson","tag-myles-garrett","tag-nfl-draft","tag-trevor-lawrence"],"modified_by":"Mike Roberts","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4925"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278321"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":278900,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278321\/revisions\/278900"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}