If you had to build up the best possible NFL team in each position for active players who weren’t first-round picks, what would it look like? Let’s just say a LOT stronger than you might think.
So, without further ado, let’s dive into the best active NFL player at every position who was a day two or three pick…starting on the offensive side of the ball.
Who are the best NFL players in each position who were not selected in the first round?
Quarterback: Dak Prescott
Nobody paid much attention when the Dallas Cowboys used a fourth-round pick — 135th overall — on Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott. They already had an established veteran and Pro Bowler in Tony Romo behind center, after all.
But when Romo suffered a compression fracture in his back during a preseason game, the Cowboys had no choice but to turn to Prescott. Fortunately for America’s Team, Dak was more than up for the challenge.
Prescott led the Cowboys to 13 wins and the NFC’s top seed in his 2016 rookie year, though they wound up falling to Aaron Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers.
Fast forward to 2024. Prescott is a three-time Pro Bowler who has led the Cowboys to four NFC East division crowns and one wild card berth. And hey, this dude absolutely crushed Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the GOAT’s final NFL game. That counts for something!
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Prescott’s tenure in Dallas has been largely defined by a lack of postseason success. But it’s hard to hate too much on a former fourth-round pick who has emerged as a top-10 quarterback, with 29,459 passing yards and 202 touchdowns through his first eight seasons.
Wide Receiver: Tyreek Hill
We’ll give a hat tip to Davante Adams and AJ Brown while we’re here, but you can’t go against Tyreek Hill in this spot. Not after his performances over the last two seasons.
The West Alabama product was a fifth-round pick — No. 165 overall — by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2016. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Hill has earned a Pro Bowl selection in each of his eight NFL campaigns, along with five First-team All-Pro selections. The future Hall of Famer played a vital role in Patrick Mahomes’ development, helping Kansas City to four AFC Championship games, two Super Bowl appearances, and a victory in Super Bowl 54.
And just when did you think his split from Mahomes would mark the end of Hill’s prime years? HA, he had his two best statistical seasons by hitting 119 receptions and over 1,700 yards receiving in 2022 and 2023.
Hill’s 1,799 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns led the NFL in 2023 in his position. Working alongside Tua Tagovailoa and fellow speedster Jaylen Waddle, the Miami Dolphins offense has been the NFL’s ultimate fireworks-filled offensive unit.
With a Super Bowl ring and a spot in Canton already assured, anything Hill accomplishes here is just gravy.
Tight End: Travis Kelce
This was a slam-dunk choice for us since Kelce is the best tight end in the NFL, anyway.
Hindsight is 20/20, but it remains absolutely stunning that Kelce was a third-round pick — 63rd overall — by the Chiefs back in 2013. And to think his older brother, Jason, also carved out a Hall of Fame career after being a later pick himself — a sixth-round choice of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2011.
All Travis has done is earn nine Pro Bowl nods while posting over 800 yards receiving every year since 2014. Oh, and he teamed up with Patrick Mahomes to form a dynasty in Kansas City — leading the team to Super Bowl titles in the 2019, 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Kelce is all but locked in as a Pro Football Hall of Famer. The NFL’s all-time leader in postseason receptions is just chasing additional records at his position and championships at this phase of his illustrious career.
Oh yeah, and congrats on winning Taylor Swift’s heart, dude. We knew you could do it!!!
Running Back: Derrick Henry
Another no-brainer for us here. Christian McCaffrey is the league’s best running back heading into 2024, but the 2017 first-round pick is not eligible for this list.
Henry, a two-time rushing champion, is the second-best running back in football right now. And he qualifies here as a former second-round pick — 45th overall — of the Tennessee Titans back in 2016.
It’s awfully difficult for today’s NFL running backs to build up Hall of Fame cases, but “King Henry” feels like a safe bet at this point. His numbers since 2018 are off-the-charts ridiculous, with 8,268 rushing yards and 80 rushing touchdowns.
Henry, who joined the legendary 2K club in 2020, finished second in rushing a year ago with 1,167 yards and 12 touchdowns. Only McCaffrey finished with more, tallying 1,459 yards rushing.
After a special eight-year run with the Tennessee Titans, Henry left and took his talents to the Baltimore Ravens. Finally, the future Hall of Famer can chase Super Bowls again — with the league’s best dual-threat QB, Lamar Jackson, no less.
Offensive Tackle: Jordan Mailata
If you want to find a franchise offensive tackle, you’re better off just grabbing one early in the draft.
Trent Williams, Lane Johnson, Tristan Wirfs, Penei Sewell, Laremy Tunsil, Tyron Smith, and Rashawn Slater headline the NFL’s top two tiers of offensive tackles. And they were all first-round draft picks.
One exception there is Eagles star Jordan Mailata, a former rugby star who was drafted in the seventh round — 233rd overall — in 2018. Folks didn’t pay much attention to the move at the time, but Mailata has gradually developed into one of football’s premier offensive tackles.
Or, as we like to say, the best active non-first-round pick offensive tackle.
Mailata finished the 2023 season as Pro Football Focus’ third-highest graded offensive tackle at 84.8., behind only Williams and Sewell. Only four tackles topped his run-blocking grade of 83.9, too.
Mailata was also second in ESPN’s run block win rate rankings for offensive tackles in 2023 with an 80 percent win rate. Only teammate Lane Johnson finished with a better win rate at 82 percent.
The penalties will need to be cleaned up, as PFF has him down for 15 infractions over the last two years. But he’s as good as it gets in run-blocking and keeps improving as a pass-blocker.
With Jason Kelce gone, it’s time to put more respect on Mailata’s name on that Philadelphia offensive line.
Also Read: 10 NFL Players Who Could Save Their Careers With These Position Changes
Center: Creed Humphrey
Jason Kelce’s retirement made this an easy call. Truth be told, only Detroit Lions star and 2018 first-round pick Frank Ragnow has a legitimate case for being the league’s No. 1 center over Creed Humphrey.
Alas, Humphrey was NOT a first-round pick, so he gets this spot by default.
The Chiefs’ o-line underwent a giant makeover after being humiliated in the Super Bowl 55 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That included the additions of Orlando Brown Jr. and Joe Thuney, but perhaps the most impactful move was the Humphrey selection at No. 63 overall.
A key cog in the Chiefs’ back-to-back Super Bowl championship-winning seasons, Humphrey is the NFL’s most well-rounded center. He’s a machine in the run-blocking game but is practically unstoppable in pass-blocking.
Humphrey allowed just one sack in the 2021 season and ZERO in 2022 before seeing that number increase to four in 2023. Still, only five sacks through three seasons? We ain’t complaining.
Also, ESPN had Humphrey graded as their No. 2 interior offensive line in pass block win rate at 98 percent. Only teammate Joe Thuney finished better with a near-perfect 99 pass block win rate.
Guard: Joe Thuney
Hey, look! Another Kansas City Chiefs star.
Quite frankly, there’s no debating this position in the NFL. The only guards who you could argue are better than Thuney are Zack Martin, Chris Lindstrom, and Quenton Nelson…all former first-round picks.
Thuney was a third-round pick of the New England Patriots at No. 78 overall in 2016. He helped the Pats to Super Bowl championships in the 2016 and 2018 seasons before eventually leaving for greener pastures in 2020 free agency.
Thuney signed a mammoth five-year deal with the Chiefs worth $80 million. And the Chiefs’ o-line has been practically unbeatable ever since.
Like Creed Humphrey, Thuney has played a massive role in the Chiefs’ dynastic run. The four-time Super Bowl champion earned his first career first-team all-pro nod in 2023.
Thuney has only allowed four sacks since joining Kansas City. And as we just noted, he was at the top of ESPN’s pass block win rate among interior defensive linemen last year.
Man, it’s nice being Patrick Mahomes. Huh?
Defensive End: Maxx Crosby
Not much has gone right for the Las Vegas Raiders over the past two decades, and that’s largely due to years of terrible drafting.
Crosby, of course, is a notable exception. The Raiders struck gold when they drafted him in round four at No. 106 overall back in 2019.
The three-time Pro Bowler has racked up 52 sacks, 88 tackles for loss, 18 pass breakups, and nine forced fumbles since turning pro. In that five-year period, only four players have had more sacks than Crosby.
Defensive Tackle: Chris Jones
HA! Did you think we were done with Kansas City Chiefs entries?
Aaron Donald’s retirement leaves zero debate about the best defensive tackle in football.
The five-time Pro Bowler has been the backbone of a Kansas City Chiefs defense that has won three of the last five Super Bowls. This hulking 6-foot-6 giant has racked up 67 sacks since his 2018 breakout year — fourth-most among all NFLers.
If Jones retired right now, he’d be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Not bad for a guy who was the 37th overall pick in 2016.
Off-Ball Linebacker: Fred Warner
The San Francisco 49ers struck gold — and we ain’t talking about their team name — when they drafted Warner in the third round at No. 70 overall.
Warner and Nick Bosa have formed one of the best defensive duos in all of football, guiding the 9ers to four NFC Championship Game appearances and two trips to the Super Bowl. Warner is already a three-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team all-pro who’s on a Hall of Fame trajectory of his own.
Outside Linebacker: Matthew Judon
You look at all of the best outside linebackers in the game right now, and you’ll see that practically all of them are former first-round picks.
Slim pickings here, but it’s hard to go against New England Patriots star Matthew Judon. He’s yet another proud member of the 2016 NFL Draft class who achieved superstardom in his position despite being a non-first-round pick.
The Baltimore Ravens selected Judon in the fifth round at No. 146 overall. The Grand Valley State product has recorded seven-plus sacks in five of his first eight NFL seasons, including a career-high 15.5 in the 2022 season.
Since Judon joined the Patriots in 2021, only nine players have tallied more sacks than his total of 32.
Cornerback: Jaylon Johnson
This entry will come as a surprise to some, but Johnson was absolutely lights-out for the Chicago Bears in 2023. And again, keep in mind that the vast majority of top-tier NFL cornerbacks today were day-one picks.
Johnson was the No. 50 pick of the Bears in 2020. After three up-and-down seasons, he put it all together with a 2023 breakout year.
Johnson had four interceptions and ten pass breakups. He finished 2023 as PFF’s No. 2 corner behind only Ahmad ‘Sauce Gardner,’ finishing with an insane coverage grade of 91.0.
The Bears rewarded Johnson with a lucrative four-year contract extension worth $76 million. Based on his career year in 2023, that feels like a move that will be worth every single penny in the Windy City.
Free Safety: Jessie Bates III
Bates had a roller-coaster of a five-year run with the Cincinnati Bengals, but his career year with the Atlanta Falcons in 2023 landed him in this spot.
The No. 54 pick of the 2018 NFL Draft earned his second career second-team all-pro nod in 2023, as well as his first Pro Bowl selection in his position. In year one with Atlanta, Bates recorded six interceptions, 11 pass breakups, and three forced fumbles at his position.
As well, Bates finished with a 90.2 coverage grade at PFF — second-best among safeties. And according to Pro Football Reference, he allowed just a 67.1 passer rating when targeted in 2023.
Quite frankly, we have no reason to believe he can’t repeat or even top last season here in 2024.
Strong Safety: Talanoa Hufanga
The 49ers hit the jackpot again with a late-round pick, selecting USC safety Talanoa Hufanga in round five at No. 180 overall in 2021.
Hufanga broke out in 2022 with four interceptions, nine pass breakups, and two forced fumbles en route to first-team all-pro and Pro Bowl nods. Unfortunately, Hufanga’s excellent 2023 season ended abruptly when he suffered a torn ACL.
The 49er defense wasn’t the same after Hufanga’s injury. And you can’t help but wonder if his presence would have been the difference-maker in the Super Bowl 58 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
That’s all in the past now. The bottom line is that the 49ers have the league’s best strong safety…just as we all predicted when they used a fifth-round pick on him three years ago.
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