Being the #1 pick in the NFL draft offers pretty good bragging rights. Not to mention a huge paycheck. Teams spend endless hours, weeks, months in their war rooms, trying to figure out who to take, and wondering if it’ll be worth it.

One wrong pick can make or break a team. Think of where Indianapolis would be if they had picked Ryan Leaf over Peyton Manning. Even with all of the planning, some #1’s just aren’t all they are expected to be.

With the start of the NFL season coming up, here is a short breakdown of past picks, and whether they lived up to their #1 status or not.

1988 Atlanta - Aundray Bruce, LB, Auburn. Fell short of the #1 expectations.

1989 Dallas - Troy Aikman, QB, UCLA. 3 Super Bowl rings in 4 years.

1990 Indianapolis - Jeff George, QB, Illinois. Talented but disappointing.

1991 Dallas - Russell Maryland, DT, Miami-FL. Good #1 choice.

1992 Indianapolis - Steve Emtman, DT, Washington. Very good in a very short career.

1993 New England - Drew Bledsoe, QB, Washington State. Almost lived up to the hype.

1994 Cincinnati - Dan Wilkinson, DT, Ohio State. Didn’t live up to potential.

1995 Cincinnati - Ki-Jana Carter, RB, Penn State. Barely a career due to injury.

1996 NY Jets - Keyshawn Johnson, WR, USC. A good pick, for awhile anyway.

1997 St. Louis - Orlando Pace, OT, Ohio State. Lived up to his pick.

1998 Indianapolis - Peyton Manning, QB, Tennessee. Obviously worth it, a future Hall of Famer.

1999 Cleveland - Tim Couch, QB, Kentucky. Under the radar lately.

2000 Cleveland - Courtney Brown, DE, Penn State. Another one flying low.

2001 Atlanta - Michael Vick, QB, Virginia Tech. Talented, exciting, and in prison.

2002 Houston - David Carr, QB, Fresno State. High expectations and a start up team didn’t help.

2003 Cincinnati - Carson Palmer, QB, USC. Probably worth it, in time.

2004 San Diego - Eli Manning, QB, Mississippi. Screw San Diego, hello New York. Looks promising with a Super Bowl ring and MVP.

2005 San Francisco - Alex Smith, QB Utah. Give him a team to work with, then decide.

2006 Houston - Mario Williams, DE North Carolina State. Maybe overshadowed by the Reggie Bush thing.

2007 Oakland - JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU. Too soon to tell.

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1. by BlueWorkhorse on August 23rd, 2008 at 2:49 am

   I’d say Mario Williams is making the Texans look good after the whole fuss over them not picking Reggie Bush. Williams has been stellar for a young defensive player while Bush has been mediocre at best.

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