On Thursday, ESPN’s Ben Solak published an exhaustive list on ESPN.com, where he selected the best player chosen at every single draft slot in the history of the NFL Draft.
For example, he listed Peyton Manning (1998) as the greatest No. 1 pick in NFL Draft history, edging out the likes of Bruce Smith (1985), Orlando Pace (1997), John Elway (1983), Terry Bradshaw (1970) and Earl Campbell (1978).
At No. 2 he selected Lawrence Taylor (1981), and at No. 3 he selected Barry Sanders (1989).
Sure, this content might seem out of season with this year’s draft concluding on April 26, but evergreen stuff like this is perfect to carry us through the “dead period” of the NFL calendar.
If you’re a draft nerd like me, I highly recommend giving Solak’s list a read. It’s a fun project, and will give you some fun debates to bring to the July 4th cookout this weekend (I, too, would select Ed Reed over Aaron Rodgers as the greatest 24th pick of all-time).
There were, of course, a bevy of Patriots making the list, with undisputed GOAT Tom Brady unsurprisingly landing as the best pick No. 199 of all-time.
“It was a close one between Brady and Ephraim Salaam, a 13-year journeyman at right tackle,” wrote Solak with a heavy layer of sarcasm. “But I decided to give it to the greatest football player of all time and his seven Super Bowl rings, five Super Bowl MVPs and litany of statistical records.”
Throughout the list of picks 1 through 262, Solak ranked 12 different Patriots draft picks as being the best players ever selected at their respective slots:
No. 23 - Ty Law (1995)
No. 25 - Dont’a Hightower (2012)
No. 41 - Andre Tippett (1982)
No. 42 - Rob Gronkowski (2010)
No. 78 - Joe Thuney (2016)
No. 87 - Tim Goad (1988)
No. 116 - Steve Grogan (1975)
No. 124 - Ben Coates (1991)
No. 164 - Dan Koppen (2003)
No. 198 - Troy Brown (1993)
No. 199 - Tom Brady (2000)
No. 232 - Julian Edelman (2009)
Of those 12, I was most surprised to see Hightower’s name within the rankings. Not to say he wasn’t a great player, but given how highly he was drafted back in 2012, I figured there may have been someone with a gold jacket available to select in that slot.
But as it turns out, all the best players taken at No. 25 all-time played meaningful football in Foxborough.
“No Hall of Famers at pick No. 25 leaves us choosing between Hightower, Ted Washington and Stanley Morgan,” Solak wrote. “Hightower has championship rings with the Patriots, and I have such wonderful memories of him as one of the last great thumpers at linebacker in the modern NFL, so I gave him the edge.”
More than a few former Patriots drafted by other teams appeared on the list, including Darrelle Revis (2007) controversially being selected ahead of Jim Kelly (1983) for the No. 14 slot. Other former Patriots included Randy Moss (1998) at No. 21 by the Vikings, Larry Centers (1990) at No. 115 by the Cardinals, and Rodney Harrison (1994) at No. 145 by the Chargers.
Both Boston College and Harvard had representation on the list as well, with Matt Hasselbeck (1998) at No. 187 and Tom Nalen (1994) at No. 218 for the Eagles, along with Matt Birk (1998) at No. 173 and Ryan Fitzpatrick (2005) at No. 250 for the Crimson.
While we’re at it, here’s a list of every first round pick in New England Patriots history, stretching from 1960 to 2025:
1960. Gerhard Schwedes - HB, Syracuse (Territorial)
1961. Tommy Mason - RB, Tulane (No. 2)
1962. Garry Collins - WR, Maryland (No. 6)
1963. Art Graham - WR, Boston College (No. 7)
1964. Jack Concannon - QB, Boston College (No. 1)
1965. Jerry Rush - DT, Michigan State (No. 7)
1966. Karl Singer - T, Purdue (No. 3)
1967. John Charles - DB, Purdue (No. 21)
1968. Dennis Byrd - DE, North Carolina State (No. 6)
1969. Ron Sellers - WR, Florida State (No. 6)
1970. Phil Olsen - DT, Utah State (No. 4)
1971. Jim Plunkett - QB, Stanford (No. 1)
1972. No Pick
1973. John Hannah - G, Alabama (No. 4)
1973. Sam Cunningham - RB, USC (No. 11)
1973. Darryl Stingley - WR, Purdue (No. 19)
1974. No Pick
1975. Russ Francis - TE, Oregon (No. 16)
1976. Mike Haynes - CB, Arizona (No. 5)
1976. Pete Brock - C, Colorado (No. 12)
1976. Tim Fox - DB, Ohio State (No. 21)
1977. Raymond Clayborn - CB, Texas (No. 16)
1977. Stanley Morgan - WR, Tennessee (No. 25)
1978. Bob Cryder - G, Alabama (No. 18)
1979. Rick Sanford - DB, South Carolina (No. 25)
1980. Roland James - DB, Tennessee (No. 14)
1980. Vagas Ferguson - RB, Notre Dame (No. 25)
1981. Brian Holloway - T, Stanford (No. 19)
1982. Kenneth Sims - DE, Texas (No. 1)
1982. Lester Williams - NT, Miami (No. 27)
1983. Tony Eason - QB, Illinois (No. 15)
1984. Irving Fryar - WR, Nebraska (No. 1)
1985. Trevor Matich - C, BYU (No. 28)
1986. Reggie Dupard - RB, SMU (No. 26)
1987. Bruce Armstrong - T, Louisville (No. 23)
1988. John Stephens - RB, Northwestern (No. 17)
1989. Hart Lee Dykes - WR, Oklahoma State (No. 16)
1990. Chris Singleton - LB, Arizona (No. 8)
1990. Ray Agnew - DE, North Carolina State (No. 10)
1991. Pat Harlow - T, USC (No. 11)
1991. Leonard Russell - RB, Arizona State (No. 14)
1992. Eugene Chung - G, Virginia Tech (No. 13)
1993. Drew Bledsoe - QB, Washington State (No. 1)
1994. Willie McGinest - DE, USC (No. 4)
1995. Ty Law - CB, Michigan (No. 23)
1996. Terry Glenn - WR, Ohio State (No. 7)
1997. Chris Canty - DB, Kansas State (No. 29)
1998. Robert Edwards - RB, Georgia (No. 18)
1998. Tebucky Jones - DB, Syracuse (No. 22)
1999. Damien Woody - C, Boston College (No. 17)
1999. Andy Katzenmoyer - LB, Ohio State (No. 28)
2000. No Pick (traded to Jets for some head coach named Bill Belichick?)
2001. Richard Seymour - DE, Georgia (No. 6)
2002. Daniel Graham - TE, Colorado (No. 21)
2003. Ty Warren - DE, Texas A&M (No. 13)
2004. Vince Wilfork - NT, Miami (No. 21)
2004. Benjamin Watson - TE, Georgia (No. 32)
2005. Logan Mankins - G, Fresno State (No. 32)
2006. Laurence Maroney - RB, Minnesota (No. 21)
2007. Brandon Meriweather - DB, Miami (No. 24)
2008. Jerod Mayo - LB, Tennessee (No. 10)
2009. No Pick
2010. Devin McCourty - DB, Rutgers (No. 27)
2011. Nate Solder - T, Colorado (No. 17)
2012. Chandler Jones - DE, Syracuse (No. 21)
2012. Dont’a Hightower - LB, Alabama (No. 25)
2013. No Pick
2014. Dominique Easley - DT, Florida (No. 29)
2015. Malcom Brown - DT, Texas (No. 32)
2016. No Pick
2017. No Pick
2018. Isaiah Wynn - T, Georgia (No. 23)
2018. Sony Michel - RB, Georgia (No. 31)
2019. N’Keal Harry - WR, Arizona State (No. 32)
2020. No Pick
2021. Mac Jones - QB, Alabama (No. 15)
2022. Cole Strange - G, UT Chattanooga (No. 29)
2023. Christian Gonzalez - CB, Oregon (No. 17)
2024. Drake Maye - QB, North Carolina (No. 3)
2025. Will Campbell - T, LSU (No. 4)