The NFL draft can be either the most rewarding or disappointing part of every offseason. So many times we see teams really do their homework and go with the guy they know will be a star. Sometimes though us fans are left scratching our heads contemplating what the font office was even thinking.
That’s why were going to go over The Most Shocking Pick In Every NFL Draft Since 2000
2000: Sebastian Janikowski (Pick #18)
Taking a kicker within the first three rounds is already hard enough to justify but taking one eighteenth overall is insane. It’s hard to imagine what the Raiders were thinking with this one. It’s something that no team in today’s game would even consider doing.
2001: Jamar Fletcher (Pick #26)
At the time it didn’t make much sense for the Dolphins to be going after another corner. They had two elite corners in Patrick Surtain and Sam Madison who were both very early in their careers. Drafting who you think is the best player available makes sense in most cases but not here.
2002: Levi Jones (Pick #10)
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It’s not common that a pick is so crazy that analysts are left laughing on camera when giving their reactions but that is exactly what Mel Kiper Jr. did when the Bengals had their pick announced. Jones was definitely a first round talent but certainly not a top 10 guy available.
2003: Troy Polamalu (Pick #16)
This pick comes as a surprise just because Polamalu was clearly the best safety in the class. So to see him fall to the middle of the first round wasn’t expected. Especially since he proved to be such a dominant player in his days at USC.
2004: Philip Rivers (Pick #4)
The whole situation between Eli Manning and the San Diego Chargers would lead to a swap between players when The Giants would draft Phgilip Rivers and swap the two players. Honestly the whole situation became very unordinary and left many fans shocked that a player could so easily force their way off a team.
2005: Aaron Rodgers (Pick #24)
With Hall of Fame quarterback still at the helm entering his age 36 seasons the Packers took Rodgers with the 24th pick. It was a selection nobody could have thought would happen due to Rodgers’ projection of being drafted much sooner and Green Bay not necessarily being in the position for a new quarterback.
2006: Mario Williams (Pick #1)
Williams was a surprising pick because of the people who came after him. Most notably this draft class had Reggie Bush who put together one of the greatest college careers of all time while also looking like he held the tools to be successful at the next level.
2007: Ted Ginn Jr. (Pick #9)
It’s rare to see a wide receiver be taken so high in the draft and especially one whose physical attributes don’t jump off the board. Standing at just 5’11” he was almost the counterpart to fellow receiver Calvin Johnson taken second overall in the same draft class.
2008: Vernon Gholston (Pick #6)
It was his raw athleticism that brought the jets to taking Gholston with a top 10 pick in the draft. He certainly showed he could put together a great workout but his film showed that teams didn’t know if they were gonna get somebody who can replicate that in game scenarios.
2009: Darius Heyward-Bey (Pick #7)
Heyqrd-Bey wasn’t someone that blew you away with his college stats but in total Raides fashion they had to have the guy who ran a 4.3 second 40-yard dash. It’s not even like the rest of his combine results were blowing other players out of the water.
2010: Tim Tebow (Pick #25)
How Tebow was drafted in the first round is baffling to almost any NFL fan at the time. What shouldn’t surprise most is that one of the main factors into the BRoncos drafting Tebow was Josh McDaniels. It’s hard to imagine that anyone would have thought he’d be their franchise guy.
2011: Christian Ponder (Pick #12)
This was certainly a reach for the Minnesota Vikings. They were in desperate need of someone to take over now that Favre was gone and they made an equally desperate move. We can’t ignore the fact though that 2011 was a pretty weak draft if you were looking for a QB.
2012: Bruce Irvin (Pick #15)
Coming into the 1012 draft it felt pretty consensus that Irving would be a second round pick in the mid to late 40s. So imagine what most thought when he was taken in the first half of the first round. If it wasn’t for a strong combine he never would have sniffed the first round.
2013: Eric Fisher (Pick #1)
The 2013 draft class is so unforgettable because of how bad it was. The Chiefs took Fisher number one and the most surprising thing was that they didn’t trade back to acquire more capital. Anybody who was picked first overall would have been put on this list.
2014: Sammy Watkins (Pick #4)
The way the draft is approached in today’s day and age tells you don’t spend a top five pick on a receiver unless they’re a freak of nature like Calvin Johnsons. The Bills didn’t use that logic in 2014 and went out and got Watkins much higher than most predicted him.
2015: Jameis Winston (Pick #1)
The biggest question coming into this year’s draft was whether Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston would go number one overall. As we know it would become Winston who most thought it would be but if either of those guys were taken with the pick they’d make the list just because of how large a debate it was at the time.
2016: Roberto Aguayo (Pick #59)
Taking a kicker in the second round could be smart if you guarantee he makes at least 95% of all field goals and extra points in his career. It really just makes no sense spending such a high pick on that position when there’s clearly great talent still on the board.
2017: Mitchell Trubisky (Pick #2)
The Bears traded everything they could think of to move up and draft who they hoped was their quarterback of the future. It was a desperation pick though as there was no clear feeling that he was even a top 30 player coming in.
2018: Lamar Jackson (Pick #32)
Jackson had such an amazing college career but might have been undervalued being in a draft class that featured five first round quarterbacks. It’s not as though everyone knew he was going to be one of the best out of those five but it;s more surprising it took until the 32nd pick for someone to take a chance on him.
2019: Clelin Ferrell (Pick #4)
Just another pick that makes it because of how large a reach it was. He definitely had the talent to go in the mid to late first round but didn’t belong in the top five.
2020: Jordan Love (Pick #26)
Aaron Rodgers was fresh off back to back MVP season when Green Bay took Love with their first round pick. It looked like Rodgers was hitting a second prime so imagine what every NFL fan thought when his replacement seemed to come in a few years too early.
2021: Alex Leatherwood (Pick #17)
There were much higher rated tackle prospects up for grabs when the Raiders took a shot on Leatherwood. It’s a move that at the time and still now leaves people confused on what Las Vegas saw.
2022: Travon Walker (Pick #1)
There’s probably nothing more stressful than being the team who has the number one pick in the draft. It’s an opportunity that could change a franchise around but when the Jaguars took Walker it left many puzzled as he might not have even been a top three edge rusher in his class.
2023: Will Levis (Pick #33)
Many people expected Levis to be a first round pick due to the quarterback class being a little underwhelming. When he fell to the Titans in the second round a lot of people felt like Tennessee got really good value on someone who might not have been scouted properly.
