It’s been said that luck is the residue of design, but sometimes you just fall in a big vat of goodness and you have to tip your hat and thank the deity of your choice. More than once, every NFL has drafted a player whose on-field performance far outstrips his draft status.
It’s the inverse of the epic draft bust, really. The player can be undersized, unremarkable, relatively inexperienced or just inexplicably overlooked, but once he gets in the right system, amazing things can happen. In this list of every NFL team’s most remarkable draft steal, we have several Hall of Famers, some current players who will wear gold jackets when their careers are over, and players who changed their positions forever once given the chance to succeed.
It’s one of the most amazing things about the draft process, and something every team hopes will happen to them when the 2019 draft gets underway next week–to find the hidden gem after everyone else has passed him by.
NOTE: We’re starting with the era of the common AFL-NFL draft in 1967.
Arizona Cardinals: S Aeneas Williams
Selected 59th overall in the 1991 draft out of Southern, Williams became one of the best safeties in NFL history. He amassed 55 interceptions and 48 passes defensed over a 14-year career with the Cardinals and Rams. He was also a feared and productive tackler. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
Atlanta Falcons: DT Grady Jarrett
The list of defensive tackles taken later in their draft classes than their talent would indicate is long — from John Randle to Aaron Donald — and Jarrett is one of the most remarkable of those players. He wasn’t taken until the fifth round of the 2015 draft, but the 6-foot, 305-pound Clemson alum has been a dominant interior disruptor for the Falcons throughout his career. He’s put up 152 total pressures in four seasons, and his three-sack performance against the Patriots in Super Bowl LI was lost in Atlanta’s 28-3 meltdown.
Baltimore Ravens: G Marshal Yanda
He went from community college to a major program as a star at Iowa, but Yanda somehow lasted until the third round and 86th overall pick of the 2007 draft. All he’s done since then is to become an indispensable part of the Ravens’ offensive line, both at right guard and right tackle. Yanda has made seven Pro Bowls and has been named first-team All-Pro twice.
Buffalo Bills: WR Andre Reed
One of the reasons the Bills went to four straight Super Bowls in the early 1990s was the talent haul they put together in the years before. Reed was perhaps the biggest bargain. Selected in the fourth round of the 1985 draft out of Kutztown University, Reed totaled 951 receptions for 13,198 yards and 87 touchdowns in a 15-year career. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
Carolina Panthers: WR Steve Smith
A JuCo transfer from Santa Monica College to Utah, Smith lasted until the third round and 74th overall pick of the 2001 draft, perhaps because NFL evaluators didn’t have enough of a bead on him from two marginally productive years at a major college. Big mistake. Smith became one of the smartest, toughest and most productive receivers of his era, totaling 1,031 receptions for 14,731 yards and 81 touchdowns. Uncoverable at his peak, Smith has a gold jacket in his future.
Chicago Bears: DL Richard Dent
Remember when there was an eighth round in the draft? Dent does. So do the Bears, who somehow got one of the prime pieces of Buddy Ryan’s 46 defense in the eighth round and 203rd overall pick out of Tennessee State. A Hall of Fame inductee in 2011, Dent racked up 137.5 sacks in his career and was the best player on the 1985 Chicago team that may well have fielded the best defense in NFL history.
Cincinnati Bengals: QB Ken Anderson
Anderson lasted until the third round of the 1971 draft, where the Bengals took him with the 67th overall pick. Overlooked at Augustana, Anderson landed in the perfect place for his intelligence and ability to make things happen in the short-to-intermediate passing game — his primary offensive coach was Bill Walsh, who developed the bones of what became the West Coast offense in San Francisco with Anderson as his main man. Anderson was one of the most prolific quarterbacks in the NFL at his peak, leading the league in completion percentage, passing yards and passer rating several times.
Cleveland Browns: QB Brian Sipe
Sipe played well for Don Coryell at San Diego State, so you’d think the NFL would have been higher on his prospects. But he lasted until the 13th round of the 1972 draft, and he spent the first two seasons of his NFL career on the practice squad. Once he got a real shot, he did decently enough — he led the NFL in touchdown passes in 1979 with 28, though he also led the league in interceptions with 26. Injuries, a brutally competitive AFC Central through the 1970s and a jump to the USFL limited Sipe’s ultimate NFL prospects, but that’s not a bad bargain for a 13th-round flier pick.
Dallas Cowboys: RB Herschel Walker
The Cowboys selected Walker in the fifth round of the 1985 draft, suspecting that the former Heisman Trophy winner would be at loose ends following the demise of the USFL. It was a good bet — not only did Walker excel for the Cowboys from 1986 to 1989, but his subsequent trade to the Vikings gave Dallas the draft picks it needed to start assembling its 1990s dynasty.
Denver Broncos: LB Karl Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg was taken by the Broncos out of Augustana University in the 12th round (the 310th overall pick) in the 1983 draft. Mecklenburg rewarded Denver’s faith in his potential with a 12-year career in which he made six Pro Bowls, was a three-time first-team All-Pro and collected 79 sacks and 1,118 tackles in 141 starts.
Detroit Lions: TE Charlie Sanders
Yet another Hall of Famer drafted far later than his talent would indicate, Sanders was available for the Lions at the 74th overall pick in the third round of the 1968 draft. A seven-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro, Sanders caught 336 passes for 4,817 yards and 31 touchdowns in an era when the tight end position wasn’t a bastion of offensive productivity.
Green Bay Packers: WR Donald Driver
The second-most prominent Alcorn State alum behind Steve McNair, Driver lasted until the seventh round of the 1999 draft, only to make every other team regret missing out on him by amassing 743 catches for 10,137 yards and 61 touchdowns.
Houston Texans: TE Owen Daniels
The Texans have only been around since 2002 and have had more than their share of high picks, but Daniels certainly qualifies as a steal. Selected in the fourth round of the 2006 draft out of Wisconsin, he became a highly valued part of offenses in Houston, Baltimore and Denver until his retirement in 2015.
Indianapolis Colts: DE Robert Mathis
One of the reasons former Bills, Panthers and Colts general manager Bill Polian seemed to have permanent ownership of the NFL Executive of the Year award was the ability he and his staffs had in identifying starting talent in the later rounds. That was certainly true when the Colts stole Mathis in the fifth round out of Alabama A&M in the 2003 draft, and saw Mathis record 123 sacks and make five Pro Bowls.
Jacksonville Jaguars: QB David Garrard
The Jaguars have been looking for a quarterback of Garrard’s caliber since he left the NFL after the 2010 season. Selected with the 108th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2002 draft out of East Carolina, Garrard didn’t get a real shot at a starting role until 2006, but when he was established as the main man, he had a four-year stretch the current Jags franchise would have loved to see from Blake Bortles, and are hoping to see from Nick Foles.
Kansas City Chiefs: G Will Shields
When the Chiefs took Shields in the third round of the 1993 draft out of Nebraska, they didn’t expect to get one of the best offensive linemen of his generation, but that’s exactly what happened. An ironman who didn’t miss a start from 1994 through the end of his career in 2006, Shields made 12 Pro Bowls and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015.
Los Angeles (San Diego) Chargers: QB Dan Fouts
The 1973 Chargers had two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks on their roster: Johnny Unitas, in his last NFL season, and Dan Fouts, in his first. Despite that, the team went 2-11-1, and it took a few years for the third-rounder from Oregon to figure it out. Once Don Coryell became the team’s head coach and offensive mastermind, Fouts became one of the most prolific quarterbacks in NFL history.
Los Angeles Rams: LB Kevin Greene
A walk-on at Auburn, Greene was selected in the fifth round of the 1985 draft by the Rams, and he was also taken by the USFL’s Birmingham Stallions. Once he got on the field for the Rams, Panthers, Steelers and 49ers over a 15-year career, Greene put together a Hall of Fame career with 160 career sacks.
Miami Dolphins: DB Jake Scott
The selection of Scott out of Georgia with the 159th overall pick in the seventh round of the 1970 draft was one of the most important parts of the roster construction that eventually led to the only undefeated team in NFL history. The MVP of Super Bowl VII, the game that ended that historic season in 1972, Scott was a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro who amassed 49 interceptions in his career as one of the first modern safeties.
Minnesota Vikings: WR Stefon Diggs
If Antonio Brown isn’t the best route-runner in the NFL right now, it’s because Diggs is. And still, it took until the fifth round of the 2015 draft before an NFL team decided to make him their own. It was a great decision for the Vikings, who have benefited immensely from his presence. Thought by many as a limited slot receiver based on his time at Maryland, Diggs has become one of the toughest men to cover in the NFL wherever he lines up.
New England Patriots: QB Tom Brady
Of course, Brady is the greatest draft steal in NFL annals, and it isn’t even close. With the 199th pick in the 2000 draft, the Patriots set themselves up with the greatest player at the most important position in the history of the game, winning six Super Bowls with Brady at the helm. Every NFL team hopes against hope that one of its late-round picks will pay off to this degree. Good luck with that.
New Orleans Saints: G Jahri Evans
Through the first few decades of their existence, the Saints didn’t do much in the way of value drafting — that’s why they didn’t have a winning season from their inception in 1967 through the 1986 season. But in recent years, that’s changed, and Evans, selected in the fourth round of the 2006 draft out of Division II Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania, was one of the best value picks. One of the most agile and mobile guards of his era, Evans is a six-time Pro Bowler and four-time first-team All-Pro.
New York Giants: LB Harry Carson
Lawrence Taylor was the epicenter of Bill Parcells’ dominant Giants defense in the 1980s, but the second overall pick in the 1981 draft wasn’t the only star. Carson didn’t hit that roster with nearly the buzz — he was taken with the 105th overall pick in the fourth round of the 1976 draft — but the nine-time Pro Bowler was as good an inside linebacker as there was in his era.
New York Jets: DL Joe Klecko
A key member of the New York Sack Exchange in the early 1980s, Klecko had to wait until the sixth round of the 1977 draft before the Jets took him out of Temple. He played some semipro football before his time in college and also brought his boxing background to the field. In 1981, the year before the sack became an official NFL statistic, Klecko was credited with 20.5 quarterback takedowns, which would tie him for fourth in NFL history in a single season. He was a factor at end, defensive tackle and nose tackle throughout his career.
Oakland Raiders: LB Rod Martin
It was said of Al Davis in his prime that he could walk into a gymnasium full of athletes and tell you which one would be a great football player in a matter of seconds. That acumen allowed Davis to make several great value picks through his time as the Raiders’ main man, but it’s hard to top Martin, who the team took in the 12th round of the 1977 draft out of USC. Originally too small to be an NFL linebacker and too slow to be an NFL safety, Martin put on some weight and went about becoming a prototype ‘backer in the Raiders’ 3-4 base defenses. He had three interceptions in Oakland’s Super Bowl XV win over the Eagles and totaled 14 regular-season picks in his career.
Philadelphia Eagles: WR Harold Carmichael
A walk-on at Southern University who also focused on basketball and track, Carmichael was a relative afterthought in the 1971 draft, where the Eagles took him with the 161st overall pick in the seventh round. The 6-8, 225-pound Carmichael went on to catch 590 passes for 8.985 yards and 79 touchdowns over 14 seasons, racking up four Pro Bowl designations along the way.
Pittsburgh Steelers: WR Antonio Brown
Sorry about this one, Steelers fans. Hall of Fame center Mike Webster almost made it here after nine Pro Bowls as a fifth-rounder in 1974, but getting Brown with the 195th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2010 draft? That’s just ridiculous. Though he’s now with the Raiders, Brown had his best moments with Pittsburgh in a nine-year career, catching 837 passes for 11,207 yards and 74 touchdowns while establishing himself as the best route runner in the NFL.
San Francisco 49ers: QB Joe Montana
Before Tom Brady, this was the biggest draft steal of all time. The four-time Super Bowl champion was considered small and nonathletic coming out of Notre Dame — the 1970s was an era in which a lot of NFL teams valued big arms over everything else. But in 1979, new 49ers head coach Bill Walsh was looking for a quarterback who would take Walsh’s multidimensional philosophies about the passing game to the field, and he saw Montana as the perfect physical and mental manifestation of what became the West Coast offense. Taken with the 82nd overall pick in the third round of that draft, Montana wasted little time in proving Walsh right.
Seattle Seahawks: CB Richard Sherman
It’s certainly arguable that Russell Wilson should be here — when you get the guy who becomes the league’s highest-paid player with the 75th overall pick in the 2012 draft, that’s something else. But Sherman proved to be an even more radical bargain. Selected with the 154th overall pick in the fifth round of the 2011 draft out of Stanford, Sherman was a converted receiver and had not played in a defense that allowed him to be as aggressive as he wanted to be. The Seahawks took a flier on him, let him do his thing his way, and were rewarded with the NFL’s best shutdown cornerback for quite a few years after.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: DE Santana Dotson
The Buccaneers generally either blew their draft picks or let them succeed in other places in their early years, but Dotson was an exception. Taken with the 132nd overall pick in the fifth round of the 1992 draft out of Baylor, Dotson made an immediate impact with 10 sacks in his rookie campaign, and 23 total over four years. Dotson later became a rotational star on Green Bay’s defense, putting up 6.5 sacks in the team’s Super Bowl-winning season of 1996.
Tennessee Titans (Houston Oilers): DB Ken Houston
Houston attended Prairie View A&M and slipped through the cracks when NFL and AFL teams weren’t caught up with their scouting services for smaller black colleges. So he languished until the 214th overall pick in the ninth round of the 1967 draft, but became an immediate impact defender for the Oilers from 1967 through 1972, and Washington from 1973 through 1980. The 12-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986 with 49 interceptions for 898 yards and an incredible nine touchdowns.
Washington Redskins: RB Larry Brown
A blocking back taken in the eighth round of the 1969 draft out of Kansas State, Brown frustrated then-Washington head coach Vince Lombardi because he wasn’t aggressive enough to the line of scrimmage. But when Lombardi discovered that Brown was hard of hearing and set him up with a hearing aid that allowed him to hear the cadences, that was all the rookie needed. He led the NFL in rushing yards with 1,125 in 1970 and amassed 5,875 rushing yards and 35 rushing touchdowns on 1,530 carries over eight seasons.
