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2013 NFL Draft is arguably the worst draft class of all-time

By Leigh Oleszczak

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 25: Eric Fisher (R) of Central Michigan Chippewas stands on stage with NFL COmmissioner Roger Goodell after Fisher was picked #1 overall by the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall on April 25, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Chris Chambers/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 25: Eric Fisher (R) of Central Michigan Chippewas stands on stage with NFL COmmissioner Roger Goodell after Fisher was picked #1 overall by the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall on April 25, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Chris Chambers/Getty Images) /
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The 2013 NFL Draft didn’t appear to be a good one at the time and that’s held up over the years.

When looking back at some of the worst draft classes in NFL Draft history, the 2013 NFL Draft class is definitely in the top three, and very well could claim the top spot. What made this draft class so unique was that there weren’t any good quarterbacks and that was evidenced by only one going in the first round, which is nearly unheard of these days.

The quarterback who went in the first round was EJ=.J. Manuel of Florida State who went No. 16 overall to the Bills. Manuel played four years in Buffalo, spent 2017 in Oakland, and hasn’t taken a regular-season NFL snap ever since.

The Chiefs, who had the No. 1 overall pick in 2013, likely knew there was no quarterback worthy of taking with the top spot, so they went with a boring pick — an offensive tackle named Eric Fisher out of Central Michigan. The pick wasn’t an exciting one, but Fisher proved himself to be a good tackle and while he didn’t live up to the top pick in that year’s draft, there really weren’t many better options than him.

There’s no debating that the 2013 NFL Draft was a terrible one.

Here were the top 10 players taken in the 2013 NFL Draft:

  1. Eric Fisher, OT (Chiefs) – 2-time Pro Bowler, Super Bowl champion, released in 2021
  2. Luke Joeckel, OT (Jaguars) – Hasn’t played in an NFL game since 2017
  3. Dion Jordan, DE (Dolphins) – Has played with four different teams in eight years
  4. Lane Johnson, OT (Eagles) – All-Pro in 2017, Super Bowl champion
  5. Ezekial Ansah, DE (Lions) – Injury-prone and played with three different teams
  6. Barkevious Mingo, CB (Browns) – Played with six different teams, Super Bowl champion
  7. Jonathan Cooper, OG (Cardinals) – Injury-prone and played with four different teams
  8. Tavon Austin, WR (Rams) – Best season was a total of 509 receiving yards
  9. Dee Milliner, DB (Jets) – Started just 14 games and hasn’t played since 2015
  10. Chance Warmack, OG (Titans) – Hasn’t played since 2018

That’s a rough group right there and the only player who could have been a better pick at No. 1 for the Chiefs than Fisher would be Johnson, but even that wouldn’t have been a sure thing, as Johnson struggled too. All of these picks looked bad at one time or another and it certainly has gone down in history as one of the worst group of top 10 picks ever.

The best player to come out of the 2013 draft would have to be DeAndre Hopkins, who somehow fell to the end of the first round. He was the No. 27 pick by the Texans and we all know how well Hopkins has played during his eight years in the NFL. If a re-do of the 2013 NFL Draft took place, the top five players off the board would probably be (in no particular order): Hopkins, Johnson, Keenan Allen, David Bakhtiari, and Xavier Rhodes.

Next. Predictions for Top 50 Free Agents. dark

It’s unusual now for draft classes to be anything less than average, but the 2013 NFL Draft was well below average and, nearly a decade later, it shows.

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