No. 1 draft picks in NFL history: Ward, Burrow, Goff, more

The 2026 NFL Draft will take place on April 23, with Fernando Mendozapredicted to be chosen No. 1 by the Las Vegas Raiders.

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Here's a complete list of players drafted No. 1 overall throughout NFL history.

• 1936: HB Jay Berwanger, Chicago (Philadelphia Eagles)


• 1937: FB Sam Francis, Nebraska (Philadelphia Eagles)


• 1938: FB Corbett Davis, Indiana (Cleveland Rams)


• 1939: C Ki Aldrich, TCU (Chicago Cardinals)


• 1940: HB George Cafego, Tennessee (Chicago Cardinals)


• 1941: HB Tom Harmon, Michigan (Chicago Bears)


• 1942: HB Bill Dudley, Virginia (Pittsburgh Steelers)


• 1943: HB Frank Sinkwich, Georgia (Detroit Lions)


• 1944: QB Angelo Bertelli, Notre Dame (Boston Yanks)


• 1945: HB Charley Trippi, Georgia (Chicago Cardinals)


• 1946: QB Frank Dancewicz, Notre Dame (Boston Yanks)


• 1947: HB Bob Fenimore, Oklahoma A&M (Chicago Bears)


• 1948: HB/WR Harry Gilmer, Alabama (Washington Redskins)


• 1949: C/LB Chuck Bednarik, Penn (Philadelphia Eagles)


• 1950: OE Leon Hart, Notre Dame (Detroit Lions)


• 1951: HB Kyle Rote, SMU (New York Giants)


• 1952: QB Bill Wade, Vanderbilt (Los Angeles Rams)


• 1953: OE Harry Babcock, Georgia (San Francisco 49ers)


• 1954: QB Bobby Garrett, Stanford (Cleveland Browns)


• 1955: QB George Shaw, Oregon (Baltimore Colts)


• 1956: DB Gary Glick, Colorado A&M (Pittsburgh Steelers)


• 1957: HB Paul Hornung, Notre Dame (Green Bay Packers)


• 1958: QB King Hill, Rice (Chicago Cardinals)


• 1959: QB Randy Duncan, Iowa (Green Bay Packers)


• 1960: HB Billy Cannon, LSU (Los Angeles Rams)


• 1961: HB Tommy Mason, Tulane (Minnesota Vikings)


• 1962: HB Ernie Davis, Syracuse (Washington Redskins)


• 1963: QB Terry Baker, Oregon State (Los Angeles Rams)


• 1964: WR Dave Parks, Texas Tech (San Francisco 49ers)


• 1965: HB Tucker Frederickson, Auburn (New York Giants)


• 1966: LB Tommy Nobis, Texas (Atlanta Falcons)


• 1967: DE Bubba Smith, Michigan State (Baltimore Colts)


• 1968: OT Ron Yary, USC (Minnesota Vikings)


• 1969: HB O.J. Simpson, USC (Buffalo Bills)


• 1970: QB Terry Bradshaw, Louisiana Tech (Pittsburgh Steelers)


• 1971: QB Jim Plunkett, Stanford (New England Patriots)


• 1972: DE Walt Patulski, Notre Dame (Buffalo Bills)


• 1973: DE John Matuszak, Tampa (Houston Oilers)


• 1974: DE Ed Jones, Tennessee State (Dallas Cowboys)


• 1975: QB Steve Bartkowski, Cal (Atlanta Falcons)


• 1976: DE Lee Roy Selmon, Oklahoma (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)


• 1977: HB Ricky Bell, USC (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)


• 1978: HB Earl Campbell, Texas (Houston Oilers)


• 1979: LB Tom Cousineau, Ohio State (Buffalo Bills)


• 1980: HB Billy Sims, Oklahoma (Detroit Lions)


• 1981: HB George Rogers, South Carolina (New Orleans Saints)


• 1982: DE Kenneth Sims, Texas (New England Patriots)


• 1983: QB John Elway, Stanford (Baltimore Colts)


• 1984: WR Irving Fryar, Nebraska (New England Patriots)


• 1985: DE Bruce Smith, Virginia Tech (Buffalo Bills)


• 1986: HB Bo Jackson, Auburn (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)


• 1987: QB Vinny Testaverde, Miami (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)


• 1988: LB Aundray Bruce, Auburn (Atlanta Falcons)


• 1989: QB Troy Aikman, UCLA (Dallas Cowboys)


• 1990: QB Jeff George, Illinois (Indianapolis Colts)


• 1991: DT Russell Maryland, Miami (Dallas Cowboys)


• 1992: DE Steve Emtman, Washington (Indianapolis Colts)


• 1993: QB Drew Bledsoe, Washington State (New England Patriots)


• 1994: DT Dan Wilkinson, Ohio State (Cincinnati Bengals)


• 1995: HB Ki-Jana Carter, Penn State (Cincinnati Bengals)


• 1996: WR Keyshawn Johnson, USC (New York Jets)


• 1997: OT Orlando Pace, Ohio State (St. Louis Rams)


• 1998: QB Peyton Manning, Tennessee (Indianapolis Colts)


• 1999: QB Tim Couch, Kentucky (Cleveland Browns)


• 2000: DE Courtney Brown, Penn State (Cleveland Browns)


• 2001: QB Michael Vick, Virginia Tech (Atlanta Falcons)


• 2002: QB David Carr, Fresno State (Houston Texans)


• 2003: QB Carson Palmer, USC (Cincinnati Bengals)


• 2004: QB Eli Manning, Ole Miss (San Diego Chargers)


• 2005: QB Alex Smith, Utah (San Francisco 49ers)


• 2006: DE Mario Williams, North Carolina State (Houston Texans)


• 2007: QB JaMarcus Russell, LSU (Oakland Raiders)


• 2008: OT Jake Long, Michigan (Miami Dolphins)


• 2009: QB Matthew Stafford, Georgia (Detroit Lions)


• 2010: QB Sam Bradford, Oklahoma (St. Louis Rams)


• 2011: QB Cam Newton, Auburn (Carolina Panthers)


• 2012: QB Andrew Luck, Stanford (Indianapolis Colts)


• 2013: OT Eric Fisher, Central Michigan (Kansas City Chiefs)


• 2014: DE Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina (Houston Texans)


• 2015: QB Jameis Winston, Florida State (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)


• 2016: QB Jared Goff, Cal (Los Angeles Rams)


• 2017: DE Myles Garrett, Texas A&M (Cleveland Browns)


• 2018: QB Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma (Cleveland Browns)


• 2019: QB Kyler Murray, Oklahoma (Arizona Cardinals)


• 2020: QB Joe Burrow, LSU (Cincinnati Bengals)


• 2021: QB Trevor Lawrence, Clemson (Jacksonville Jaguars)


• 2022: DE Travon Walker, Georgia (Jacksonville Jaguars)


• 2023: QB Bryce Young, Alabama (Carolina Panthers)


• 2024: QB Caleb Williams, USC (Chicago Bears)


• 2025: QB Cam Ward, Miami (Tennessee Titans)

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