2022 NFL Draft Outlook: Ranking the Best NFL Draft Steals Of All Time
The 2022 NFL draft was a historic one and we hope you were able to cash in on your NFL bets this year?
Defensive end Trevon Walker and Aidan Hutchinson were selected top two overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions respectively. This marked the first time since 2000 that two defensive players were selected as the top two picks and only the third time ever. In addition, five of the six top overall picks were defensive players, the second most selection of any draft class after the six.
As we all know, teams look to recruit impact players, usually in the first or second round. While we’ve seen top picks like Peyton Manning and Terry Bradshaw evolve into some of the greatest players the league has ever seen, some bottom picks have also morphed into football greats.
It’s rare to find Hall of Fame-worthy players in the bottom rounds, but when this happens, it’s usually a big jackpot. This is why we’ve decided to rank the top five draft steals of all time:
Kurt Warner
Draft status: undrafted (1994)
It’s crazy to think that every team missed this guy during the 1994 NFL draft. How in the world did this happen? Comparing his career highlights with the no 1 overall pick makes this even more of a big steal.
Warner has one of the most inspiring stories in all of the sports. He went from making less than $6 per hour, working at a grocery store, to earning millions of dollars during his playing career.
He won the Super Bowl XXXIV and was named both league and Super Bowl MVP while playing for the St. Louis Rams, six years after signing with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent. He would later win two more league MVPs and become a 4× Pro Bowler during his twelve-year career.
Warner was inducted into the Pro Bowl Hall of Fame in 2017. Talk about going from zero to 100.
Terrell Davis
Draft status: selected 196th overall by the Denver Broncos
Many might argue that Davis shouldn’t crack the top five because he only played seven seasons. But when you boast stats like him despite struggling with injuries, why not?
Davis is a 2× Super Bowl Champion, Super Bowl MVP, NFL MVP, 3× Pro Bowl, and 2× Offensive Player of the Year. He made 3 First-team All-Pro and was the league’s rushing touchdown leader for two consecutive seasons (1997 and 1998).
He finished his career with 7,607 rushing yards and 65 rushing touchdowns. We cannot forget his 1997 heroics when he registered 8 touchdowns in a single season, a record he holds to this day. This is widely regarded as the greatest postseason performance by a running back in league history.
Davis became a Hall of Famer in 2017 to cap off a short, yet incredible career. Pretty much astonishing for a sixth-round pick.
Shannon Sharpe
Draft status: selected 192nd overall by the Denver Broncos (1992)
Uncle Shay is widely regarded as one of the best tight ends the league has ever seen. But did you know that he wasn’t selected until the 7th round during the 1992 NFL draft? Now you do.
Sharpe made eight trips to the Pro Bowl and registered 10,060 yards, 815 receptions, and 62 touchdowns after 12 seasons. He retired as the all-time leader in all three metrics but has since been surpassed by Tony Gonzalez and Jason Witten.
Sharpe has three Super Bowl rings to show for his illustrious career. He was named First-Team All-Pro on four occasions and became a Hall of Famer in 2011.
Joe Montana
Draft status: selected 82nd overall by the San Francisco 49ers (1979).
At the time of his retirement, Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw are tied for second-most Super Bowl wins by a quarterback (4). Bradshaw was selected first overall and many expected him to have a legendary career. The same cannot be said about Montana.
Teams passed on Montana and had to wait until the third round to hear his name. He spent 14 seasons with the 49ers and was named league MVP twice.
Montana became the first quarterback to win three Super Bowl MVPs, after leading the 49ers to their second consecutive Super Bowl championship and fourth in nine years.
He has the highest passer rating in Super Bowl history (127.8) and his record for most passes without interceptions still holds to this day (122 passes in 4 Super Bowl games).
Tom Brady
Draft status: selected 199th overall by the New England Patriots (2000)
Talk about a diamond in the rough! Tom Brady tops our list of draft steals without question. Who would have thought that a sixth-round draft pick will end up being the best quarterback of all time?
Tom holds multiple records and almost every major QB record. He is the only player with seven Super Bowl rings and 10 Super Bowl appearances. No other quarterback has more career wins, regular-season wins, and playoff wins. He became the only player to win a Super Bowl MVP with two different franchises.
Brady remains the only player with a Super Bowl win in the 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s. Even as he continues to shatter NFL records, we can’t get over the fact that he wasn’t selected until the sixth round.
