Fansided

Best player NFL teams passed on in the draft since 2000

By Mike Phillips

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 29: Larry Fitzgerald #11 of the Arizona Cardinals while playing the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 29, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 29: Larry Fitzgerald #11 of the Arizona Cardinals while playing the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 29, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA – FEBRUARY 03: Rob Gronkowski #87 of the New England Patriots runs the ball against Samson Ebukam #50 of the Los Angeles Rams in the second half during Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on February 3, 2019, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – FEBRUARY 03: Rob Gronkowski #87 of the New England Patriots runs the ball against Samson Ebukam #50 of the Los Angeles Rams in the second half during Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on February 3, 2019, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Who is the best player each NFL team passed on in the draft since 2000?

As any savvy football fan knows the NFL Draft is far from a guaranteed exercise.

Teams hit home runs with their picks about as often as they whiff, making any so-called expert a bit of an exaggerator.

Today we’re going to take a look at the best player each NFL team passed on since 2000 in the draft, but first let’s lay down a few ground rules.

  1. No quarterbacks. This is too obvious and would make for a pointless exercise when every team could simply say Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees, or Aaron Rodgers.
  2. These picks only fall within the first three rounds. A lot of teams passed on late-round gems like Antonio Brown multiple times so that’s also a bit of a cop-out answer.
  3. The player must have been selected within five picks of that team’s choice in the given round. Proximity to picking an elite talent makes a bad choice ten times worse.

Now that we’ve set up the system, let’s start with the Arizona Cardinals.

Arizona Cardinals: RB LaDainian Tomlinson (2001 1st Round)

A Pro Football Hall of Famer, Tomlinson went fifth overall to the San Diego Chargers in the 2001 draft. Arizona didn’t do too badly in this draft, taking guard Leonard Davis second and seeing him become a Pro Bowler. Tomlinson would have added some major punch to the Cardinals’ backfield, making the choice questionable in hindsight.

Atlanta Falcons: LB Patrick Willis (2007 1st Round)

The Falcons didn’t make wise use of their 2007 first-round pick, drafting defensive end Jamaal Anderson, who compiled 4.5 sacks in four seasons with the club. If an impact defender was on Atlanta’s mind the pick clearly should have been Willis, who was a seven-time Pro Bowler before retiring in 2014.

Having Willis in the middle of the Atlanta defense could have been a significant help in the early days of the Matt Ryan era.

Baltimore Ravens: WR Michael Thomas (2016 2nd Round)

There are few organizations with a better track record of drafting than Baltimore but they would love to have this one back. Thomas, the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year, looks like he is on track to be the best receiver in football.

Instead of landing Lamar Jackson’s go-to-guy for the next decade, the Ravens opted for linebacker Kamalei Correa, who lasted just two years in Baltimore.

Buffalo Bills: TE Rob Gronkowski (2010 2nd Round)

Passing over a star is bad enough but it gets infinitely worse when he falls to your biggest division rival. That happened to the Buffalo Bills, who were tortured by Gronk with the New England Patriots for nine seasons.

Buffalo had the pick right before New England in that round and used it on defensive tackle Torell Troup.

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