NFL Draft: Greatest pick from each franchise’s history: Philadelphia Eagles, QB Donovan McNabb
Pick: 1999 NFL Draft, 1st round number 2 overall
Stats:
- 37,276 passing yards
- 234 passing touchdowns
- 59.0 completion percentage
Awards:
- 6 time Pro Bowler
Admittedly, the accolades don’t quite compare to the other names that have ranked number one in their franchise’s history as the best player ever drafted. Still, Donovan McNabb was about as good as you could get during his run in Philadelphia.
Sick and tired of the dumpster fire of a quarterback situation that plagued them for years, the Philadelphia Eagles grabbed McNabb with the second overall pick in the 1999 draft out of Syracuse. Once he got past a few early pitiful moments in his rookie year, McNabb carried that franchise for the better part of a decade. It became routine to see McNabb throw for over 3,000 yards a year while giving it to the other team only a handful of times. McNabb was efficient and a dual-threat. His legs aren’t spoken about nearly as much as they should but for multiple seasons, McNabb rushed for 400 yards and numerous touchdowns.
He took home the NFC divisional crown on five separate occasions and led the Eagles to the playoffs eight times. McNabb was so good in fact, that it was almost guaranteed that he would make it to at least the NFC Championship game as he advanced at least that far four straight years and eight overall.
McNabb never got over the championship hump, losing in the big game in 2005 against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, but he consistently kept the Eagles in the hunt. His six Pro Bowl appearances are nothing to sneeze at either. McNabb may not be a Hall of Famer but he’s certainly the best draft pick in Eagles history.