NFL Draft: 30 best No. 1 overall picks in league history

NEW YORK - APRIL 22: Quarterback Sam Bradford (R) from the Oklahoma Sooners poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell as they hold up a St. Louis Rams jersey after the Rams selected Bradford numer 1 overall during the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall on April 22, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) /

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Cam Newton (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

NFL Draft: 30 best No. 1 overall picks in league history: number 11, QB Cam Newton

Stats:

31,698 passing yards
190 passing touchdowns
5,398 rushing yards
70 touchdowns

Awards:

1 time First Team All-Pro
3 time Pro Bowler
1 time league MVP

Everything that is said about Cam Newton is true more or less. The 2011 former number one overall pick doesn’t appear to put the same zip on the ball as he used to. He also doesn’t seem able to run over tacklers on his way to the end zone. His once shaky throwing accuracy has also seemingly gotten worse as well.

With that said, he is still one of the greatest number one overall picks the game has ever seen.

The Carolina Panthers have never been known as a powerhouse. That is, until Newton arrived in town. His team may have struggled in the win-loss column for the first two years of his career, but Newton consistently put up gaudy numbers. 4,000-yard seasons to go along with 700 rushing yards were routine. Newton was a Pro Bowl level quarterback the moment he stepped onto the field and was elected to the game in his rookie season and three times in total. He was also an All-Pro after putting the Panthers franchise on his back and carrying them to a 15-1 record along with a Super Bowl berth in 2015. During the year, Newton was handed the MVP Trophy and voted by his peers as the best player in football, all while smack dab in the middle of Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady’s prime.

Currently, Newton is fighting for his NFL life as years of banging his muscular body around the field has left him a shell of his former self. Regardless of that, when Newton was in his prime, there were few who could compare.

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