The NFL Draft is one of the greatest risks for any team. All it takes is one wrong move for a franchise to go from contenders to bottom dwellers and vice versa. No general manager wants to be the guy who traded up to get a bust while missing out on a future superstar. It’s easy to see guys in the first or even second rounds who could have gone for different teams and those squads grousing on it.
What's even more amazing is how some of the biggest talents didn’t go in the first round. In fact, some fell all the way to bottom round before they were finally taken as afterthoughts. It’s bizarre to see these future Hall of Famers going for such a low number and many a team kicking themselves at missing them. While some are more famous than others, these are the 10 biggest draft steals in history to prove it’s not always the top guys who go onto the biggest fame in the NFL.
10 Richard Sherman (Round 5, Pick 184)
Try to imagine the Seahawks and their “Legion of Boom” without Richard Sherman. It almost happened as despite winning accolades at Stanford, Sherman fell to the fifth round in 2011. Sherman himself is still ticked he went that low and it’s hard to blame him given how his career turned out.
A five-time Pro Bowler who led the league in interceptions in 2013, Sherman was a key reason Seattle got to two Super Bowls and led the league in scoring defense twice. Even if his last few years haven’t been as great, Sherman’s earlier work shows he was right being mad he went so low in the first place.
9 Willie Davis (Round 15, Pick 181)
Back in the 1950s, it wasn’t uncommon for a guy picked in the draft to be unable to take part because of military commitments. Willie Davis was a good example as that, combined with a so-so college career, meant he went to the 15th round in 1956 and didn’t play for the Browns until 1958.
Cleveland traded him to Green Bay in 1960 and Davis blossomed into the backbone of the Packers defense that helped win five NFL titles, including the first two Super Bowls. While sacks weren’t counted as a stat back then, Davis holds the record for those and most recovered fumbles in Packers history to make him a great steal.
8 Shannon Sharpe (7th Round, Pick 192)
Whenever Shannon Sharpe discusses a talented player lost in the draft, he knows what he’s talking about. Despite a decent career for Savannah State, Sharpe wasn’t seen as a prime choice in the 1990 draft, going to the seventh round.
To be fair, Sharpe struggled in his first few years before exploding with a 1,000 yards receiving in 1994. He then became a crucial part of the Broncos team that won back-to-back Super Bowls. He later won a Super Bowl with the Ravens before retrurning to Denver to finish his career, setting multiple records for a tight end. Denver made a sharp decision taking him after all.
7 Bart Starr (17th round, Pick 200)
Before Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers, Bart Starr was the bar every Packers QB was measured by. A rift with Bear Bryant meant Starr barely played for Alabama, so few teams were willing to take a chance on him. The Packers decided to, nabbing him in the 17th round with the 200th pick in 1956.
Leading the league in passing four years, Starr forged Green Bay into a powerhouse that won five NFL titles. That includes having the honor of being the first-ever Super Bowl MVP for both the first two games. Every Packers fan is grateful for the chance Green Bay took here.
6 Roger Staubach (Round 10, Pick 129)
Alongside Tom Landry, Roger Staubach was the reason the Cowboys first became “America’s Team.” Having done well playing for Navy, Staubach was overlooked in the 1964 draft as he would still have to serve a few years in the military. So while Dallas took him, he didn’t play for them until 1969.
Once he began, Staubach led the NFL in passing four times and directed the Cowboys to two Super Bowl trophies, becoming the first man to win a Heisman and Super Bowl MVP. This was a long-term investment that paid dividends for Dallas.
5 Terrell Davis (Round 6, Pick 196)
Terrell Davis' career is more impressive given he only played seven seasons before retiring due to injuries. If not for that, he could have set amazing records with his rushing power.
It was that reputation for injuries that meant Davis went to the sixth round in 1995. Denver fans are more than happy the team got him as Davis was a key reason they won two Super Bowls, earning a Super Bowl MVP award and going down as one of the best players in their history. His career was short but so worth the late pick.
4 Joe Montana (Round 3, Pick 82)
Before a certain Patriots turned Buccaneer star, Joe Montana was the modern poster boy for “superstar skipped in various draft rounds. Despite a stellar career at Notre Dame, including a National Championship, most teams saw Montana as too small.
He was finally grabbed at the end of the third round with the 82nd pick by the 49ers. Every San Francisco fan is happy for that as Montana transformed them from the jokes of the NFL to a powerhouse, winning four Super Bowls and two-time MVP. His legacy as a superstar stands tall as well as Montana being a fantastic draft steal.
3 Johnny Unitas (Round 9, Pick 155)
For all their great successes with QBs over the decades, it still haunts the Steelers that they had the most revolutionary quarterback of all time and let him go. Johnny Unitas had a good college career but was slowed down at the end by injuries. That’s likely why he went to the ninth round in 1955 before Pittsburgh drafted him.
But the Steelers thought Unitas “wasn’t smart enough” to succeed and let him go. A year later, Unitas joined the Colts, leading them to three NFL titles and a Super Bowl win, countless records and has been revered and emulated by every quarterback since. All that for a ninth-round snub.
2 Raymond Berry (Round 20, Pick 203)
Few times has a man with a so-so high school/college career gone to such stardom as Raymond Berry. With a college career so forgettable it’s barely worth mentioning, Berry went all the way to the 20th round of the 1954 draft before the Colts finally grabbed him.
As soon as Berry and Johnny Unitas came together, they clicked into one of the best QB-receiver duos ever seen. He led the league in receptions three years in a row, a six-time Pro Bowler and two NFL titles. As a head coach, he led the Patriots to their first Super Bowl slot. The Colts may have never succeeded as well without Berry’s pick.
1 Tom Brady (Round 6, Pick 199)
Of all the amazing numbers Tom Brady has made in his career, one will stand out: 199. As in, just before the 200th pick in the 2000 draft. There are 30 teams kicking themselves today that they ignored Brady in six rounds, letting him go time and again.
Even the Patriots considered him an afterthought when they finally got him. When Brady’s final story is written (which who knows when that will be), it will always stun people that the man with more Super Bowl wins than any NFL franchise wasn’t even taken in the first few rounds before becoming the GOAT.