The focus heading into the 2017 NFL Draft is on the Myles Garretts, Leonard Fournettes and Mitch Trubiskys of the world, but there are going to be a group of players selected in the later rounds that could end up being Hall of Famers.
With that in mind, here are five of the biggest NFL Draft steals from the past 20 years.
Tom Brady, QB, sixth round (199th overall) in 2000
The New England Patriots won the lottery when they made what’s easily the biggest draft steal in NFL history. Brady had a respectable career at Michigan but, on paper at least, it didn’t look like a future as an NFL starter would be all that realistic. Brady was the seventh of 12 quarterbacks selected that year but as we all know he eventually became the cream of the crop at the position and a player many consider the greatest quarterback ever.
The 39-year-old currently sits fourth on the NFL’s all-time lists for passing yards (61,582) and passing touchdowns (456) and he’s not done climbing up those ranks, saying he plans on playing for another three to five years. Despite being the oldest non-kicker still in the league, Brady is still one of the game’s elite talents and the only QB to win five Super Bowls as a starter.
Antonio Brown, WR, sixth round (195th overall) in 2010
There were a handful of quality receivers to come out of the 2010 class. Dez Bryant, Demaryius Thomas, Golden Tate, Eric Decker and Emmanuel Sanders (also taken by the Steelers) are solid but none of them turned out to be as great as Brown though all of them were selected at least three rounds ahead of him.
Brown was the leading receiver in his final two years at Central Michigan catching balls from future CFLer Dan Lefevour but was used primarily on special teams as a rookie with the Steelers in 2010. He broke out with a 1,000-yard campaign in his second season and the five-time Pro Bowler hasn’t looked back since—except, you know, when he peers over his shoulder to check in on opposing DBs he has just burned.
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Russell Wilson, QB, third round (75th overall) in 2012
The Seattle Seahawks didn’t draft Wilson expecting him to be their starter in his first year. If they did then what was that three-year, $20.5 million Matt Flynn contract for?
Wilson’s yardage totals and completions have increased in each of his five NFL seasons, he led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl win in 2014, and was one Malcolm Butler interception away from being a back-to-back champion. He can be inconsistent, especially in the first half of a season, but when he’s on his A-game—rolling out of the pocket, using his legs and biding time with play-action and/or read-options—there aren’t many players in the league who can take over a game singlehandedly like Wilson can.
Steve Smith, WR, third round (74th overall) in 2001
The longtime Carolina Panthers star officially announced his retirement from pro football earlier this year following an impressive 16-year career. Reggie Wayne (30th overall) and Chad Johnson (36th overall) were among the 10 receivers selected ahead of Smith in 2001 but no receiver from that draft class ended up with more receiving yards than Smith, who passed Wayne in 2016.
At 5-foot-9 and roughly 185 pounds, Smith was always among the smallest players in the league but never among the meekest. Not only was Smith electric on the field but pound-for-pound might just be the toughest and most intimidating receiver in NFL history. Word to the wise: don’t make things personal with Steve Smith.
Richard Sherman, CB, fifth round (154th overall) in 2011
There were some excellent defensive players to emerge from the 2011 draft in addition to Sherman. Among them were Von Miller, J. J. Watt, Patrick Peterson, Robert Quinn, Cameron Jordan and Muhammad Wilkerson. One thing all those players have in common, though, is they were taken in the first round. Sherman, who played college ball under Jim Harbaugh at Stanford, was taken in the fifth. He joined Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor to form the “Legion of Boom” and developed into a true shutdown corner.
Sherman is coming off a down year by his standards (you can blame some of that on a knee injury) yet according to Pro Football Focus he allowed one catch every 14.9 snaps in coverage, which was the best mark in the NFL.
He’s also no stranger to making headlines for what he says.