Every NFL Team’s Best Draft Pick of All-Time

51. <p>Eric Dickerson would get the nod for the modern era of the draft as the best pick for the Rams who took the SMU running back with the No. 2 pick in the famed 1983 draft and set the rookie rushing record and the next year set the single-season record with 2,105 yards that still stands today.</p> <p>No offense to Dickerson, but I’m going with the No. 186 selection in 1961 as the franchise’s best when they took a shot on a defensive end from Mississippi Valley State in the 14th round. David “Deacon” Jones was the first truly dominant pass rusher and coined the term “sack” and if the stat was official when he played, he would have retired as the all-time leader in that category.</p> <p>His head slap move allowed the 6-5, 272-pound end to knock the offensive tackle off balance and get to the quarterback which he did better than anyone before Reggie White and Bruce Smith in the 80s. He unofficially had 26 sacks in 1967 and 24 in 1968 when he won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year and finished his career with 194.5 “sacks,” which would be third most in NFL history.</p> <p>Jones was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and a first-team All-Pro from 1965-1969. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980.</p>. DE. St. Louis Rams. Deacon Jones. 26. player