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Get Scouted Scouting CareersThe 2017 National Football League draft will begin tonight with the first round picks starting at 8:00 p.m., EST. Over the years there have been many memorable moments. Some draft picks have turned out to be epic fails, while others are great NFL draft steals.
We’ve compiled a list of the top 5 NFL draft steals for players still in the league.
Here are our Top 5-
5- Jimmy Graham
Graham is our pick for the best NFL draft steals at number five. He was drafted in 2010 by the New Orleans Saints in the 3rd round as the 95th pick overall.
The interesting part about Graham is that he played basketball at the University of Miami from 2005-2009. He took graduate classes and played football at Miami for 1 season. In his only year of college football, he had 17 receptions for 215 yards and five touchdowns.
Graham has made a name for himself in the NFL, playing five seasons for the Saints and the last 2 for the Seahawks. He has 6,280 career yards as a tight end.
4- Russell Wilson
Another football player that was a huge steal for the Seahawks was Russell Wilson in 2012. He was the 75th pick overall in the 3rd round, which is why he is fourth in our top five best steals. Although Wilson isn’t the best QB in the league (Tom Brady), he still has proven his worth.
In college, Wilson played at North Carolina State University but finished his career at the University of Wisconsin. At Wisconsin, Wilson set the single-season passing efficiency record for the Badgers with 191.8. He won the 2011 Big Ten Championship title and the 2012 Rose Bowl.
The biggest reason Wilson was the 6th drafted quarterback in the 2012 NFL draft was mostly due to his size. The number one quarterback selected was Andrew Luck.
However, Wilson won the 2013 Super Bowl and was the 2012 NFL Rookie of the Year. So he has made an impact even though he was a late draft pick.
3- Richard Sherman
Sherman is our 3rd best NFL draft steal. He was drafted in 2011 by the Seattle Seahawks as the 154th pick overall in the fifth round.
At Stanford, Sherman played a receiver for two years and then finished his collegiate career as a cornerback. In 2006, Sherman led the Cardinals receivers and was named a Freshman All-American. In his final two years at Stanford, he had 112 tackles and six interceptions as the Cardinals cornerback.
He has played in 6 NFL seasons and in every game the Seahawks have played since 2011. Over the last few seasons, he has been ranked in the top 3 for the cornerback position in the NFL. And he is one of the toughest CB’s to pass on because of his tracking and tackling abilities.
Why is Sherman our 3rd pick? Because he was the 23rd CB drafted in 2011 and he’s the top in the NFL today.
2- Antonio Brown
Brown is also another big name player in the NFL. He is arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL today. Back in 2010, he was drafted in the sixth round as the 195th pick overall. Initially, the Steelers believed he would be able to compete for a spot on special teams.
In college, Brown played for the University of Central Michigan, and he holds many records. He holds the single-season reception record with 110. He’s the 4th in school history for yards with 3,199 and 3rd in school history for touchdowns with 22.
Brown, quickly proved his worth and his abilities. So far in his 7-year NFL career, he has recorded 8,377 yards to date for the Steelers. He has been the best receiver in the league for the last three seasons, closely followed by Julio Jones and A.J. Green.
In fact, Brown is our second pick because he leads Green and Jones, who were the 4th and 7th overall pick in the 2011 draft. Just one year after Brown was drafted.
1- Tom Brady
Brady is the obvious number one pick for the best draft steal. In the 2000 draft, he was picked 199th overall, in the sixth round, after six other quarterbacks. The most decorated quarterback of all time with 5 Super Bowl rings, 7 Super Bowl appearances, two-time MVP of the league just to list a few of his accomplishments.
What makes him the best steal of all time is that six other quarterbacks were drafted before him and combined he has more wins, playoff appearances, and Super Bowl titles.
Brady played for the University of Michigan and was on the 1997 National Championship team. However, he did not play in that game. His stats at Michigan were not all that impressive, which is why he was not a high draft pick.
But clearly, almost twenty years later, the Patriots had the best NFL steal of all time with Tom Brady in 2000.
There are many other NFL draft steals out there, but these are our top 5 amongst current NFL players.
With the draft starting tonight at 8:00 EST and going through Sunday, April 30, it will be interesting to see who will the best 2017 NFL draft steals.
National Scouting Report is dedicated to finding scholarship opportunities for athletes who possess the talent, desire, and motivation to compete at the collegiate level. We’ve helped connect thousands of athletes with their perfect college.
Historicly shortsighted. No consideration for people like Deacon Jones or Joe Montana.
Although Deacon James and Joe Montana are definitely in the top 10 for biggest NFL draft steals we focused on the modern era and kept our list short. But thanks for the input!