Every year, we often approach the NFL draft with great excitement and hope that it will yield a wealth of talent, but that’s not usually the case.
Let’s examine the best and bottom NFL draft classes throughout the past 20 years (2004–2023) ahead of the 2024 draft. Using exceptional skill, Pro Bowl/All-Pro selections and overall impact on the game, we have compiled a subjective ranking of the top and worst draft classes of the past 20 years.
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Five best NFL Draft classes of the last 20 years
#5 2010 draft class
The 2010 NFL Draft boasted what may have been the greatest trio of defensive tackles ever selected in the same class.
Geno Atkins was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round, while Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy were taken by the Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, respectively, in the top five. Together, the three of them made 19 Pro Bowl teams.
Defensive tackle wasn’t the only position with plenty of talent in the 2010 NFL Draft class. There was also a deep crop of edge-rushers. It’s also frequently recognized as the year tight end talents like Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski joined the NFL. Talented wide receivers like Antonio Brown were also in plentiful supply.
However, quarterbacks were not represented well in the 2010 draft class; first-overall pick Sam Bradford, for example, fell short of expectations despite being the highest-drafted player.
Bradford was unquestionably not the draft class’s greatest value. Colt McCoy, Jimmy Clausen and Tim Tebow were a few other quarterbacks who also failed to make an impression.
#4 2012 draft class
The NFL Draft of 2012 was one of the best in a long time, led by two exceptional college quarterbacks, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. Even before they were chosen, the draft class had the makings of an outstanding group, and it delivered.
Both Luck (picked first overall) and Griffin (chosen second overall) displayed exceptional skill early on before serious injuries derailed their careers. The 2012 draft class is still among the best in recent memory despite the fact that those two didn’t have as lengthy careers in the league as they would have liked.
Other than Luck and Griffin, the quarterback class in the draft was highly rated. Players like Kirk Cousins, Nick Foles, Russell Wilson, Ryan Tannehill and Russell Cousins were selected to the Pro Bowl.
Along with its quarterbacks, the draft featured a number of players who would go on to prove themselves as Hall of Fame-worthy during their careers. They included defensive standouts Luke Kuechly and Stephon Gilmore, as well as Johnny Hekker, Bobby Wagner, Fletcher Cox, T. Y. Hilton, Lavonte David, Chandler Jones and Justin Tucker.
#3 2004 draft class
Eli Manning (No. 1 to the San Diego Chargers), Philip Rivers (No. 4 to the New York Giants) and Ben Roethlisberger (No. 11 to the Pittsburgh Steelers) were taken among the top 15 players in the 2004 draft class, making it one of the best quarterback groups of the recent past.
Not to mention, two more excellent players made the top-five: renowned wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (No. 3 to the Arizona Cardinals) and phenomenal safety Sean Taylor (No. 5 to the Washington Redskins).
Both Manning and Roethlisberger went on to win two Super Bowls, with Manning beating the New England Patriots, led by Tom Brady in both games.
#2 2007 draft class
JaMarcus Russell, the first overall pick of the 2007 draft class, is most likely remembered for being one of the biggest draft flops in league history despite being predicted early to be the best quarterback to enter the league in a long time.
Even though Russell had a lackluster run in the league, the 2007 draft class was still outstanding as a whole. One of the all-time great wide receivers, Calvin Johnson, well known by his nickname Megatron, was among the draft class’s wide receivers. He was admitted into the Hall of Fame in 2021.
At the same time, Joe Thomas, an offensive tackle taken at No. 3 overall, just after Megatron, qualified for the Hall of Fame in 2023 and was elected the same year.
The Minnesota Vikings selected Adrian Peterson later in the top-10 of that year’s draft. Peterson went on to win the MVP award in 2012 while making seven Pro Bowls.
For many years, Darrelle Revis, Patrick Willis and Marshawn Lynch were the most skilled or among the finest at their respective positions. They all went on to be part of Super Bowl teams.
#1 2011 draft class
One might say that some of the players in the first round of the 2011 draft were among the greatest in their respective positions at the height of their playing days based on their performance.
The group includes six players from the 2010 All-Decade Team: Watt, Miller, Cameron Jordan, Julio Jones, Patrick Peterson and Tyron Smith. It also includes Cam Newton, a one-time league MVP, J.J. Watt, a three-time defensive player of the year winner, and Von Miller, a one-time MVP of the Super Bowl.
Apart from winning Rookie of the Year awards, Cam Newton and Von Miller, the top two picks from that draft, faced off in Super Bowl 50 while representing their respective clubs, a feat that was unprecedented in the league.
Many talented players were selected outside of the first round, including Colin Kaepernick, who was selected by the San Francisco 49ers, and Andy Dalton, who was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals.
There were other talented players selected in the later stages of the draft: Marcus Cannon was selected by the New England Patriots in the fifth round, Justin Houston was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round, and Jason Kelce, who announced his retirement from the league this offseason, was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the sixth round.
Five worst NFL Draft classes of the last 20 years
#5 2015 draft class
There has probably never been a worse first round of the NFL Draft than the 2015 one. Only seven of the 32 players chosen in the first round were still with the team that drafted them in their sixth season.
There was a lot of excitement about the class before the draft, but relatively few of the candidates went on to become stalwarts. There were two obvious candidates in that draft class to take the first overall pick: Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston.
A few years after being drafted, both of these quarterbacks were reduced to backup roles in the NFL despite having numerous opportunities to prove themselves.
#4 2008 draft class
The 2008 draft will be remembered as one of the worst in the past 20 years, not just for a few clubs but for the whole league.
While some of the players in that draft class — Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Chris Johnson, Jordy Nelson and DeSean Jackson — have had solid careers, the class was fairly unimpressive overall.
#3 2006 draft class
The 2006 NFL Draft class was predicted to be very successful, as players like Vince Young, Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush were considered top prospects.
While several of these players showed glimpses of genius, many members of the 2006 draft class were viewed as disappointments a few years into their careers, and many others never really took off.
Comparing that class to other classes, their grade is further deducted due to the lack of exceptional players from the skilled position groups.
#2 2009 draft class
The 2009 draft class featured a number of players with underwhelming careers, even though Matthew Stafford, the number one overall choice, has done rather well for himself since joining the league.
Six years after the draft, just five first-round selections were still with the clubs that had selected them. Only three of those players (Brandon Pettigrew, Brian Cushing and Matthew Stafford) were selected in the top-25.
Furthermore, 27 of the 256 players selected in the 2009 NFL Draft never participated in an NFL regular season game.
Percy Harvin, who was selected to the Pro Bowl and won Offensive Rookie of the Year with the Minnesota Vikings in the same season, was arguably the best receiver selected in that draft, but those were the only awards he ever received.
#1 2013 draft class
It’s reasonable to argue that the 2013 draft is the worst in the past 20 years after eleven years.
Eight of the first 10 players selected in the 2013 NFL Draft were out of the league 10 years later. Lane Johnson was picked fourth overall by the Philadelphia Eagles and has been selected to four Pro Bowls, which is more than the combined total of the other nine players selected in the top-10.
Some outstanding players, like Le’Veon Bell, Travis Kelce, Tyrann Mathieu and Eddie Lacy, were selected in that draft, but the class is largely replete with disappointments and misses.
