25 best NFL careers from Heisman Trophy winners

Many Heisman Trophy winners haven’t panned out as well as hoped in the NFL, but some have made their marks as pros, and these are the 25 best.

Winning the Heisman doesn’t always equal NFL success.

There is no greater award in college football than the Heisman Trophy. It’s the one award that every college football great wants to attain by the end of their career.

However, perhaps an even more difficult feat to attain for those that are able to have their name etched on the trophy is to continue that success in the NFL. The road to pro football is littered with former Heisman winners that just didn’t make it at the next level, or at least didn’t make it with the success that they enjoyed at the college level.

From Johnny Manziel to Robert Griffin III to Chris Wienke and on throughout the history of Heisman Trophy winners, the NFL busts that have won the award have their own level of notoriety, albeit for reasons they surely wish weren’t the case. Much less famous, however, are the winners that went on to enjoy great success in the NFL.

For whatever reason, the winners of the award that went to the pro level largely don’t have the same level of fame as the busts. In the interest of positivity and optimism, however, we’re going to look at the success stories throughout football history. These are the Heisman winners throughout history that have enjoyed the best NFL careers.

Disclaimer: Reggie Bush was not included in these rankings as he was stripped of the 2005 Heisman Trophy.