The 2023 NFL Draft is finally here, and its arrival brought a flurry of new drama across the NFL. We'll finally know how the first round will play out in less than a week, and in the meantime, we're taking a look back at the top five picks of all time at every position, 1-32.
We've got you covered here at CBS Sports with everything you need to prep for the 2023 draft. Whether it's countless mock drafts (including CBS Sports' NFL Insider Jonathan Jones' mock draft, our consensus mock draft, and Ryan Wilson's seven-rounder), updated prospect rankings or buzz around which teams are eyeing which potential first-rounders, you shouldn't be hurting for things to read. In the spirit of the upcoming rookie class, however, we decided to page through history and identify the best of the best to come from the draft.
Below, you'll find our look at the top five all-time picks at every first-round slot, from No. 32 all the way to No. 1.
Note: Some picks that were not originally first-rounders are included, as the NFL has expanded since the draft began in 1936. For example, the 32nd overall pick was considered a second-rounder until 2002.
No. 32
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Drew Brees
No. 2: Bob "The Geek" St. Clair
No. 3: Logan Mankins
No. 4: Lamar Jackson
No. 5: Benjamin Watson
No. 31
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Cameron Heyward
No. 2: Curley Culp
No. 3: Tommy McDonald
No. 4: Travis Frederick
No. 5: Greg Olsen
No. 30
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Sam Huff
No. 2: Reggie Wayne
No. 3: Eric Allen
No. 4: Keith Bulluck
No. 5: T.J. Watt
No. 29
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Fran Tarkenton
No. 2: Steve Wisniewski
No. 3: Nick Mangold
No. 4: Dave Wilcox
No. 5: Harrison Smith
No. 28
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Derrick Brooks
No. 2: Darrell Green
No. 3: Joe Staley
No. 4: Mark Ingram
No. 5: Trevor Pryce
No. 27
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Dan Marino
No. 2: Roddy White
No. 3: Devin McCourty
No. 4: DeAndre Hopkins
No. 5: DeAngelo Williams
No. 26
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Ray Lewis
No. 2: Alan Faneca
No. 3: Joe DeLamielleure
No. 4: Clay Matthews
No. 5: Dave Brown
No. 25
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Ted Washington
No. 2: Stanley Morgan
No. 3: Dont'a Hightower
No. 4: Jon Beason
No. 5: Santonio Holmes
No. 24
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Aaron Rodgers
No. 2: Ed Reed
No. 3: Dez Bryant
No. 4: Calvin Hill
No. 5: Cameron Jordan
No. 23
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Ty Law
No. 2: Ozzie Newsome
No. 3: Bill George
No. 4: Ray Guy
No. 5: Bruce Armstrong
No. 22
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Andre Rison
No. 2: Harris Barton
No. 3: Justin Jefferson
No. 4: Jack Reynolds
No. 5: Demaryius Thomas
No. 21
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Randy Moss
No. 2: Lynn Swann
No. 3: Vince Wilfork
No. 4: Chandler Jones
No. 5: Alex Mack
No. 20
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Jack Youngblood
No. 2: Forrest Gregg
No. 3: Maxie Baughan
No. 4: Steve Atwater
No. 5: Bill Brown
No. 19
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Marvin Harrison
No. 2: Randall McDaniel
No. 3: Roger Wehrli
No. 4: Joey Browner
No. 5: Shaun Alexander
No. 18
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Art Monk
No. 2: Paul Krause
No. 3: Frank "Bruiser" Kinard
No. 4: John Henry Johnson
No. 5: Maurkice Pouncey
No. 17
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Emmitt Smith
No. 2: Mel Renfro
No. 3: Gene Upshaw
No. 4: Steve Hutchinson
No. 5: Louis Wright
No. 16
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Jerry Rice
No. 2: Troy Polamalu
No. 3: Zack Martin
No. 4: Raymond Clayborn
No. 5: Jevon Kearse
No. 15
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Alan Page
No. 2: Jim Taylor
No. 3: Dennis Smith
No. 4: Derrick Johnson
No. 5: Deltha O'Neal
No. 14
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Jim Kelly
No. 2: Gino Marchetti
No. 3: Darrelle Revis
No. 4: Dave Robinson
No. 5: Randy Gradishar
No. 13
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Aaron Donald
No. 2: Bob Lilly
No. 3: Tony Gonzalez
No. 4: Franco Harris
No. 5: Mike Kenn
No. 12
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Herb Adderley
No. 2: Warren Sapp
No. 3: Clay Matthews Jr.
No. 4: Haloti Ngata
No. 5: Marshawn Lynch
No. 11
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Frank Gifford
No. 2: Ben Roethlisberger
No. 3: Paul Warfield
No. 4: Michael Irvin
No. 5: J.J. Watt
No. 10
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Marcus Allen
No. 2: Rod Woodson
No. 3: Terrell Suggs
No. 4: Patrick Mahomes
No. 5: Jerome Bettis
No. 9
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Bruce Matthews
No. 2: Dick Butkus
No. 3: Luke Kuechly
No. 4: Brian Urlacher
No. 5: Lenny Moore
No. 8
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Ronnie Lott
No. 2: Lance Alworth
No. 3: Jim Parker
No. 4: Willie Roaf
No. 5: Larry Csonka
No. 7
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Adrian Peterson
No. 2: Clyde Douglas 'Bulldog' Turner
No. 3: Champ Bailey
No. 4: Sterling Sharpe
No. 5: Chuck Howley
No. 6
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Jim Brown
No. 2: Sammy Baugh
No. 3: Walter Jones
No. 4: Jimmy Johnson
No. 5: John Riggins
No. 5
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Deion Sanders
No. 2: Junior Seau
No. 3: LaDainian Tomlinson
No. 4: Mike Haynes
No. 5: Steve Van Buren
No. 4
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Walter Payton
No. 2: John Hannah
No. 3: Joe Greene
No. 4: Otto Graham
No. 5: Charles Woodson
No. 3
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Barry Sanders
No. 2: Anthony Munoz
No. 3: Larry Fitzgerald
No. 4: Merlin Olsen
No. 5: Joe Thomas
No. 2
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Lawrence Taylor
No. 2: Julius Peppers
No. 3: Sid Luckman
No. 4: Randy White
No. 5: Marshall Faulk
No. 1
Top five of all time:
No. 1: Peyton Manning
No. 2: John Elway
No. 3: Bruce Smith
No. 4: Terry Bradshaw
No. 5: Chuck Bednarik
