In the last 20 years of draft picks, you might be surprised to learn that just 2 of them have played in a Super Bowl: Eli Manning and Cam Newton. Just one more, Alex Smith, was on a team that made a Super Bowl (Smith started 9 games for the 2012 49ers, but did not appear in the Super Bowl as the backup to Colin Kaepernick). So that means Manning is the last #1 pick to win a Super Bowl, and his brother Peyton (now that’s a new one) is the second-to-last player to be drafted first overall and win a Super Bowl.
Jared Goff, the first overall pick in the 2016 Draft, will join the Mannings, Newton, and Smith when he starts for the Rams in Super Bowl LIII. The cupboard is far from bare — Eric Fisher nearly made it this year, too, and Jadeveon Clowney and Andrew Luck were on playoff teams, while the Browns have the two most recent #1 picks and an exciting future to ponder.
The graph below shows all #1 overall picks since 1970, and how many Super Bowl they’ve appeared in: [continue reading…]