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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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – DECEMBER 29: Luke Kuechly #59 of the Carolina Panthers during the second half during their game against the New Orleans Saints at Bank of America Stadium on December 29, 2019, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – DECEMBER 29: Luke Kuechly #59 of the Carolina Panthers during the second half during their game against the New Orleans Saints at Bank of America Stadium on December 29, 2019, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images) /

Dallas Cowboys: LB Luke Kuechly (2012 1st Round)

Finding an obvious miss for the Cowboys is tricky because they have done a good job hitting on their first-round picks. One of the rare misses came in 2012 when they took Morris Claiborne sixth overall.

Claiborne never lived up to his potential as he was injury-prone while Luke Kuechly, one of the decade’s best linebackers, went to Carolina three picks later.

Detroit Lions: WR Andre Johnson (2003 1st Round)

Some of the worst mistakes in NFL Draft history come down to picking between two players at one position. The Lions pulled one of those in 2003 when they took Charles Rogers second overall. Rogers had 36 catches in three years before getting bounced out of football while Andre Johnson went on to become one of the league’s best wide receivers in Houston.

Denver Broncos: S Ed Reed (2002 1st Round)

If you opt not to take a future Hall-of-Famer it has a good chance to end up on this list. The Broncos could have ended up with Reed, a game-changing safety who had a stellar career for the Ravens. Instead of going down that route, Denver took wide receiver Ashley Lelie five picks earlier, getting four years out of him before trading Lelie in 2006.

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