Throwback Thursday: All-Time #1 Team

The 2019 NFL Draft kicks off in Nashville in two weeks. With the draft always in mind this time of year here's an All-Time team made up of players taken #1 overall in their respective drafts. Fun stuff.

Quarterback
Peyton Manning (1998)

Manning takes a tough decision over John Elway, Troy Aikman, and Terry Bradshaw

Running back
Earl Campbell (1978)
O.J. Simpson (1969)

It would be nice to replace Simpson with Bill Dudley or Charley Trippi. On the field, Simpson was dynamite.

Receivers
Irving Fryar (1984)
Keyshawn Johnson (1996)

Tight end
Leon Hart (1950)

There weren't tight ends as we currently know them until the 1960s. Hart had all the skills to be a great one before there was a name for the position.

Tackles
Ron Yary (1968)
Orlando Pace (1997)

Guards
Ken Rice (1961)
Jake Long (2008)

Pickings are slim at guard. Rice is the only guard picked #1 and that was by the Buffalo Bills in the 1961 AFL Draft. Long gets moved from tackle to guard in order to fill a complete offensive line.

Center
Chuck Bednarik (1949)

Defensive ends
Lee Roy Selmon (1976)
Bruce Smith (1985)

There's a nice pair of ends.

Defensive tackles
Buck Buchanan (1963)
Russell Maryland (1991)

Linebackers
Chuck Bednarik (1949)
Tommy Nobis (1966)
Aundray Bruce (1988)

It was a bit of a surprise to see so few linebackers selected with the top pick. The third spot was tough to fill. Bruce edges Tom Cousineau on the basis of his 11-year career. Very sad. It's only fitting that Bednarik gets the nod on offense and defense.

No defensive backs have been selected with the top pick.

If it wasn't known before it's certainly known now, quarterbacks and running backs have been the most frequent #1 pick. Linemen, tackles on offense and ends on defense, have made their presence felt. With passing becoming the preferred method of moving the football the running back numbers at the top of the draft have been on the decline in recent years. The last back to be selected #1 was Ki-Janna Carter in 1995. Quarterbacks have been the top pick 15 times since then. Three offensive tackles, four defensive ends, and a receiver were the other top picks since Carter. With all of this passing in the NFL maybe we'll finally see some defensive backs taken #1 but I doubt it.