The Carolina Panthers will be picking at No. 16 overall when the NFL draft kicks off at the end of the month. Usually, the most impactful players are taken in the top 10 picks, but every year there are exceptions to the rule. Franchise quarterbacks, sack champions and elite cover cornerbacks have all been found long after the big names have all come off the board.
Let’s take a moment to recognize some of the top players who have been picked at this spot in NFL draft history. Here are the three best.
1. WR Jerry Rice
Accolades: 13 Pro Bowls, 10 All-Pros, 3 Super Bowl wins, Hall of Fame
There have been plenty of more talented players at the wide receiver position over the years. None of them have come close to matching Jerry Rice’s production. Rice played in a stunning 303 regular season games in his NFL career and and 29 more in the playoffs. He ranks first all time in receptions (1,549) and touchdown catches (197) and is unlikely to be unseated any time soon.
2. S Troy Polamalu
Accolades: 8 Pro Bowls, 4 All-Pros, 2 Super Bowl wins, DPOY
With Mike Adams moving on, the Panthers will have to find a new starting safety to pair with Eric Reid in this year’s draft. If they can land one anywhere close to Polamalu’s ability, they will have hit a grand slam. Polamalu was one of the most tenacious defensive backs in NFL history and Pittsburgh’s defense has not been the same since his retirement in 2014.
3. OLB Ryan Kerrigan
Accolades: 4 Pro Bowls, All-Rookie team, 84.5 sacks, 25 forced fumbles
Carolina also has to find another strong edge rusher to add to a rotation that lost Julius Peppers and was not very good to begin with. Washington got a monstrous one at No. 16 overall in the 2011 draft with Kerrigan. Since he was picked, Kerrigan has posted at least 7.5 sacks in every single season. That kind of consistency is exactly what teams hope to get in a first-round pick. Kerrigan is arguably the most underrated edge rusher in the league right now.
