Buffalo Bills: 5 best draft picks all-time

Long ago, before the infamous murder trial that consumed the nation, O.J. Simpson was arguably the greatest NFL running since Jim Brown. After winning the 1968 Heisman Trophy for the USC Trojans, Simpson went No. 1 overall in the 1969 AFL-NFL Common Draft to the Bills, running all over people in the 1970s for Buffalo (1969-77) and later the San Francisco 49ers (1978-79).

Simpson made six Pro Bowls (1969, 1972-76), five All-Pro teams (1972-76), and won the 1973 NFL MVP on a 2,000-yard rushing campaign in his Hall of Fame career. Simpson was easily the best running back in the NFL in the 1970s, earning Canton enshrinement in 1985 after the six-year minimum waiting period.

As a Bill, Simpson rushed for 10,183 yards and 57 touchdowns in his nine years playing for Buffalo. He led the NFL in rushing four times (1972-73, 1975-76). Even through his dominance as an NFL tailback, Simpson only made the AFC Playoffs once while with the Bills in 1974. He was truly a stand-alone star on an otherwise lackluster period of Bills football.

While Simpson was arguably the best pure athlete to ever play for the Bills, his lack of playoff appearances and massive infamy from the murder trial involving his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman doesn’t help Simpson be held in high regard with the Bills franchise.

Next: 2. Andre Reed, 1985, No. 86 overall