List of second overall NFL draft picks explained
This is a list of second overall National Football League (NFL) draft picks. The NFL draft is an annual sports draft in which National Football League teams select newly eligible players for their rosters. Seven Heisman Trophy winners have been selected with the pick: Glenn Davis (1946), Billy Vessels (1952), John David Crow (1957), Reggie Bush (2006), Robert Griffin III (2012), Marcus Mariota (2014), and Jayden Daniels (2024). 12 have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Sid Luckman (1939), George McAfee (1940), Les Richter (1952), Bob Brown (1964), Tom Mack (1966), Randy White (1975), Tony Dorsett (1977), Lawrence Taylor (1981), Eric Dickerson (1983), Marshall Faulk (1994), Calvin Johnson (2007), and Julius Peppers (2002), with defensive end Ndamukong Suh (2010) and linebacker Von Miller (2011) being on the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team.[1] The universities with the most players selected at two are Notre Dame with six, Texas A&M with five, and Baylor, Michigan State, North Carolina, Ohio State, and USC with four each. The Cleveland / St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams have had nine selections at the spot, the most in the NFL.
List
A total of 40 second overall picks have received Pro Bowl Honors. Of those, 11 have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Sid Luckman (1939), George McAfee (1940), Les Richter (1952), Bob Brown (1964), Tom Mack (1966), Randy White (1975), Tony Dorsett (1977), Lawrence Taylor (1981), Eric Dickerson (1983), Marshall Faulk (1994), and Calvin Johnson (2007).[2] In 2012, Sports Illustrated chose Taylor as the best player selected second overall.[3] Seven Heisman Trophy winners have been selected at the spot: Glenn Davis (1946), Billy Vessels (1952), John David Crow (1957), Reggie Bush (2006), Robert Griffin III (2012), Marcus Mariota (2014), and Jayden Daniels (2024). Notable draft busts selected include Lam Jones (1980), Tony Mandarich (1989), Blair Thomas (1990), Ryan Leaf (1998), Charles Rogers (2003), and Jason Smith (2009).[4] [5] [6]
List of second overall picks| Year | Name | Position | College | NFL team | Notes |
|---|
| | Quarterback | | | College Football Hall of Fame |
| | Back | | | |
| 1938 | | Back | | Philadelphia Eagles | |
| 1939 | Sid Luckman‡ | Quarterback | | Chicago Bears | Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| 1940 | George McAfee‡ | Halfback | | Philadelphia Eagles | Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| 1941 | | Fullback | | Chicago Cardinals | College Football Hall of Fame |
| 1942 | | Halfback | | Cleveland Rams | Appeared in only 10 NFL games, 3 as a starter |
| 1943 | Joe Muha | Fullback | | Philadelphia Eagles | 2x All-Pro |
| 1944 | Pat Harder | Fullback | | Chicago Cardinals | 3× first-team All-Pro; College Football Hall of Fame |
| 1945 | | Back | | Pittsburgh Steelers | Appeared in only 13 NFL games, 7 as a starter |
| 1946 | Dub Jones | Halfback | LSU | Chicago Cardinals | 2× AAFC champion, 3× NFL champion |
| 1947 | Glenn Davis | Halfback | | Detroit Lions | Heisman Trophy (1946) |
| 1948 | | Halfback | | New York Giants | College Football Hall of Fame |
| 1949 | | Quarterback | | | College Football Hall of Fame |
| 1950 | Adrian Burk | Quarterback | | Baltimore Colts | 2× Pro Bowl |
| 1951 | | Quarterback | Notre Dame | Chicago Bears | College Football Hall of Fame |
| 1952 | Les Richter‡ | Linebacker | | New York Yanks | Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| 1953 | | Halfback | Oklahoma | Baltimore Colts | Heisman Trophy (1952) |
| 1954 | | Quarterback | Arkansas | Chicago Cardinals | |
| 1955 | | End | Oklahoma | Chicago Cardinals | |
| 1956 | Earl Morrall | Quarterback | Michigan State | San Francisco 49ers | 3× Super Bowl champion, NFL Most Valuable Player (1968) |
| 1957 | Jon Arnett | Halfback | USC | Los Angeles Rams | College Football Hall of Fame; 5× Pro Bowl |
| 1958 | John David Crow | Halfback | Texas A&M | Chicago Cardinals | Heisman Trophy (1957) |
| 1959 | Dick Bass | Fullback | Pacific Tigers | Los Angeles Rams | 3× Pro Bowl |
| 1960 | | Quarterback | Notre Dame | St. Louis Cardinals | |
| 1961 | Norm Snead | Quarterback | Wake Forest | Washington Redskins | 4× Pro Bowl |
| 1962 | | Quarterback | NC State | Los Angeles Rams | College Football Hall of Fame; 4× Pro Bowl, NFL Most Valuable Player (1969) |
| 1963 | Jerry Stovall | Defensive back | LSU | St. Louis Cardinals | 3× Pro Bowl |
| 1964 | Bob Brown‡ | Offensive tackle | Nebraska | Philadelphia Eagles | Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| 1965 | Ken Willard | Fullback | North Carolina | San Francisco 49ers | 4× Pro Bowl |
| 1966 | Tom Mack‡ | Offensive guard | Michigan | Los Angeles Rams | Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| 1967 | | Running back | Michigan State | Minnesota Vikings | College Football Hall of Fame |
| 1968 | | Center | Tennessee | Cincinnati Bengals | College Football Hall of Fame |
| 1969 | George Kunz | Offensive tackle | Notre Dame | Atlanta Falcons | 8× Pro Bowl |
| 1970 | Mike McCoy | Defensive tackle | Notre Dame | Green Bay Packers | |
| 1971 | Archie Manning | Quarterback | Ole Miss | New Orleans Saints | 2× Pro Bowl |
| 1972 | Sherman White | Defensive end | California | Cincinnati Bengals | |
| 1973 | | Quarterback | LSU | Baltimore Colts | Pro Bowl (1976), NFL Most Valuable Player (1976) |
| 1974 | Bo Matthews | Running back | Colorado | San Diego Chargers | |
| 1975 | Randy White‡ | Defensive tackle | Maryland | Dallas Cowboys | Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| 1976 | Steve Niehaus | Defensive tackle | Notre Dame | Seattle Seahawks | NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year (1976) |
| 1977 | Tony Dorsett‡ | Running back | Pittsburgh | Dallas Cowboys | Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| 1978 | Art Still | Defensive end | Kentucky | Kansas City Chiefs | 4× Pro Bowl |
| 1979 | Mike Bell | Defensive end | Colorado State | Kansas City Chiefs | |
| 1980 | Lam Jones | Wide receiver | Texas | New York Jets | |
| 1981 | Lawrence Taylor‡ | Linebacker | North Carolina | New York Giants | Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| 1982 | Johnie Cooks | Linebacker | Mississippi State | Baltimore Colts | |
| 1983 | Eric Dickerson‡ | Running back | SMU | Los Angeles Rams | Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| 1984 | Dean Steinkuhler | Tackle | Nebraska | Houston Oilers | Outland Trophy (1983) |
| 1985 | Bill Fralic | Offensive guard | Pittsburgh | Atlanta Falcons | 4× Pro Bowl |
| 1986 | Tony Casillas | Defensive tackle | Oklahoma | Atlanta Falcons | College Football Hall of Fame |
| 1987 | Cornelius Bennett | Linebacker | Alabama | Indianapolis Colts | 5× Pro Bowl |
| 1988 | Neil Smith | Defensive end | Nebraska | Kansas City Chiefs | NFL 1990s All-Decade Team, 6× Pro Bowl |
| 1989 | Tony Mandarich | Tackle | Michigan State | Green Bay Packers | |
| 1990 | Blair Thomas | Running back | Penn State | New York Jets | |
| 1991 | Eric Turner | Defensive back | UCLA | Cleveland Browns | 2× Pro Bowl |
| 1992 | | Linebacker | Texas A&M | Indianapolis Colts | |
| 1993 | | Quarterback | Notre Dame | Seattle Seahawks | |
| 1994 | Marshall Faulk‡ | Running back | San Diego State | Indianapolis Colts | Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| 1995 | Tony Boselli‡ | Tackle | USC | Jacksonville Jaguars | Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| 1996 | Kevin Hardy | Linebacker | Illinois | Jacksonville Jaguars | Pro Bowl (1999) |
| 1997 | | Defensive tackle | USC | Oakland Raiders | 2× Pro Bowl |
| 1998 | Ryan Leaf | Quarterback | Washington State | San Diego Chargers | |
| 1999 | Donovan McNabb | Quarterback | Syracuse | Philadelphia Eagles | 6× Pro Bowl |
| 2000 | LaVar Arrington | Linebacker | Penn State | Washington Redskins | Bednarik Award (1999), 3× Pro Bowl |
| 2001 | Leonard Davis | Guard | Texas | Arizona Cardinals | 3× Pro Bowl |
| 2002 | Julius Peppers‡ | Defensive end | North Carolina | Carolina Panthers | Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| 2003 | Charles Rogers | Wide receiver | Michigan State | | Biletnikoff Award (2002) |
| 2004 | Robert Gallery | Offensive tackle | Iowa | Oakland Raiders | Outland Trophy (2003) |
| 2005 | Ronnie Brown | Running back | Auburn | Miami Dolphins | Pro Bowl (2008) |
| 2006 | Reggie Bush | Running back | USC | New Orleans Saints | Heisman Trophy (2005) |
| 2007 | Calvin Johnson‡ | Wide receiver | Georgia Tech | | Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| 2008 | Chris Long | Defensive end | Virginia | St. Louis Rams | 2× Super Bowl champion, Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year (2018) |
| 2009 | Jason Smith | Offensive tackle | Baylor | St. Louis Rams | |
| 2010 | Ndamukong Suh | Defensive tackle | Nebraska | Detroit Lions | NFL 2010s All-Decade Team; 5× Pro Bowl |
| 2011 | Von Miller | Linebacker | Texas A&M | Denver Broncos | 2× Super Bowl champion, NFL 2010s All-Decade Team; 8× Pro Bowl |
| 2012 | Robert Griffin III | Quarterback | Baylor | Washington Redskins | Heisman Trophy (2011), Offensive Rookie of the Year, Pro Bowl (2012) |
| 2013 | Luke Joeckel | Offensive tackle | Texas A&M | Jacksonville Jaguars | Outland Trophy (2012) |
| 2014 | Greg Robinson | Offensive tackle | Auburn | St. Louis Rams | |
| 2015 | Marcus Mariota | Quarterback | Oregon | Tennessee Titans | Heisman Trophy (2014) |
| 2016 | Carson Wentz | Quarterback | North Dakota State | | Bert Bell Award (2017), Pro Bowl (2017) |
| 2017 | Mitchell Trubisky | Quarterback | North Carolina | | Pro Bowl (2018) |
| 2018 | Saquon Barkley | Running back | Penn State | | Offensive Rookie of the Year, 2x Pro Bowl |
| 2019 | Nick Bosa | Defensive end | Ohio State | | Defensive Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year (2022), 4× Pro Bowl |
| 2020 | Chase Young | Defensive end | Ohio State | | Defensive Rookie of the Year, Pro Bowl (2020) |
| 2021 | Zach Wilson | Quarterback | BYU | New York Jets | |
| 2022 | Aidan Hutchinson | Defensive end | Michigan | Detroit Lions | Pro Bowl (2023) |
| 2023 | C. J. Stroud | Quarterback | Ohio State | Houston Texans | Offensive Rookie of the Year, Pro Bowl (2023) |
| 2024 | Jayden Daniels | Quarterback | LSU | Washington Commanders | Heisman Trophy (2023) | |
See also
Notes and References
- News: In the NFL draft, the Number 2 pick isn't always worth keeping. The Washington Post. April 15, 2020.
- News: NFL Draft history: Multiple running backs, but only one HOF quarterback taken with second pick. Tulsa World. April 21, 2020.
- Best of the Firsts, No. 2: Lawrence Taylor. Sports Illustrated. Chris Burke. April 4, 2012.
- Web site: No. 2 Overall Picks In NFL Draft: A Surprising Amount Of Busts . ThePostGame. Jill R. Dorson . September 20, 2016.
- News: NFL Draft: Boons & busts at No. 2. The Florida Times-Union. April 15, 2013.
- News: No. 2 pick in NFL Draft doesn't bring a sure thing. The Tennessean. Jim Wyatt. April 29, 2014.
