NFL Draft: Ranking the Best and Worst Teams at Picking Players
The NFL has changed dramatically over the past five years.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes went from an unknown to unstoppable. Tom Brady—finally—retired. The Bengals are an annual force. It’s a world upside down.
So how did everything change, and where is the league going? We attempted to gauge answers for both of those questions.
We wanted to look at which teams not only have found quality players in the draft over the past five seasons, but which teams have turned those talents into wins. In our quest to reward draft successes while weighing playoff advancement, we created a points system to bring order to chaos.
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Points system
- Each first-team All-Pro season: 5 points
- Each second-team All-Pro season: 3 points
- Each season as primary starter (per PFR: 1 point)
- Each regular-season win: 1 point
- Each wild-card win or bye week: 2 points
- Each divisional win: 3 points
- Each conference title: 4 points
- Each Super Bowl victory: 5 points
Burrow, Surtain and Jefferson are three of the best draft picks over the past five years.
Jay Biggerstaff/USA TODAY Sports (Burrow); Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports (Surtain); Jeffrey Becker/USA TODAY Sports (Jefferson)
An important note: A player no longer on his original team doesn’t count toward the point total as he’s not a piece of the future. However, if he has played only for his original team and remained a free agent as of April 6, his points count.
Lastly, undrafted free agents aren’t part of the equation. It’s only players who were picked in the draft.
1
Kansas City Chiefs
129 total points, 23 draft points
Humphrey was taken with the 63rd pick in the 2021 draft, helping solidify the Chiefs' offensive line and protect franchise quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Denny Medley/USA TODAY Sports
- Starting seasons: 20
- First-team All-Pro: 0
- Second-team All-Pro: 1
- Wild-card wins or bye: 5
- Divisional wins: 5
- Conference titles: 3
- Super Bowl wins: 2
Best picks: C Creed Humphrey, LB Nick Bolton, CB L’Jarius Sneed
The Chiefs have drafted only one All-Pro over the past five seasons, but they’ve hit on numerous high-end starters to complement quarterback Patrick Mahomes and coach Andy Reid. Obviously, much of Kansas City’s score was driven by postseason success, which included last season’s Super Bowl run … helped along by eight contributing rookies.
2
3
4
5
6
7
Buffalo Bills
The Bills traded up in the 2018 draft to select Allen with the No. 7 pick.
Mark Konezny/USA TODAY Sports
89 TP / 27 DP
- Starting seasons: 24
- First-team All-Pro: 0
- Second-team All-Pro: 1
- Wild-card wins or bye: 3
- Divisional wins: 1
- Conference titles: 0
- Super Bowl wins: 0
Best picks: QB Josh Allen, TE Dawson Knox, DE Gregory Rousseau
The Bills have struggled to draft over the past couple of years, with only Rousseau as a key contributor to this point. However, Buffalo landed Allen and has found success in recent years, winning three consecutive AFC East titles while reaching the conference championship game once.
8
9
10
11
12
13
Cincinnati Bengals
Burrow was taken No. 1 in the 2020 draft, and has led the Bengals to back-to-back AFC title games and a Super Bowl.
Mark Konezny/USA TODAY Sports
77 TP, 29 DP
- Starting seasons: 26
- First-team All-Pro: 0
- Second-team All-Pro: 1
- Wild-card wins or bye: 2
- Divisional wins: 2
- Conference titles: 1
- Super Bowl wins: 0
Best picks: QB Joe Burrow, WR Ja’Marr Chase, WR Tee Higgins
Few teams have changed their cultures and direction more over the past five years than the Bengals. Aided by high draft positions, Cincinnati landed Burrow and Chase with top-five picks along with Higgins going No. 33 in 2020. The Bengals appear poised for a run of dominance in the AFC North, and it’s because of their drafting.
14
15
16
17
18
Los Angeles Chargers
Herbert was taken with the sixth pick in the 2020 draft and has thrown for 14,089 yards and 94 TDs.
Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union/USA Today Network
71 TP / 26 DP
- Starting seasons: 15
- First-team All-Pro: 1
- Second-team All-Pro: 2
- Wild-card wins or bye: 1
- Divisional wins: 0
- Conference titles: 0
- Super Bowl wins: 0
Best picks: QB Justin Herbert, S Derwin James, LT Rashawn Slater, DE Joey Bosa
The Chargers have nailed recent first-round picks, headlined by Herbert, James, Slater and edge rusher Joey Bosa. However, save for corner Asante Samuel Jr., Los Angeles hasn’t gotten nearly enough from its mid- and later-round choices. The Chargers have talent, but they’re top-heavy and short on results.
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
New York Jets
Gardner was selected fourth in the 2022 draft. He was named Defensive Rookie of the Year after leading the league with 20 pass breakups.
Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports
52 TP / 28 DP
- Starting seasons: 18
- First-team All-Pro: 2
- Second-team All-Pro: 0
- Wild-card wins or bye: 0
- Divisional wins: 0
- Conference titles: 0
- Super Bowl wins: 0
Best picks: CB Sauce Gardner, DT Quinnen Williams, WR Garrett Wilson
The Jets are low on this list largely because they haven’t won a playoff game since 2010, and they missed on quarterbacks in the first round. However, New York crushed last year’s draft, highlighted by Gardner becoming a shutdown corner from Week 1. For general manager Joe Douglas, it’s about finding a long-term fix at quarterback.
