NCAA Football to the NFL – Top College Draft Picks

Some teams “rebuild” through the NFL Draft; others that just reload and carry on. Finding a star in the draft who can be plugged in and produce immediate results takes a stud scouting team.

Some teams do it better than others when it comes to finding a diamond in the rough. The Colts and Patriots come to mind as being on the upside while the Lions and Browns come in on the downside when it comes to the NFL Draft. Here are some of the top college draft picks from the past decade.

Tom  Brady – Boy Wonder Of The New Millennium

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is the best NFL Draft find AND steal in the last decade. Sixth round draft picks are not supposed to be the best player at their position but Brady has been one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL over the past nine seasons. Take away a less than memorable first full season as a starter plus his entire year off due to injury in 2008 and Brady has numbers that are as good as or better than every QB in the league.

Selected as the 199th overall draft pick out of Michigan in the 2000 NFL Draft not many saw more than career back up potential in Brady. A scan of his mind boggling statistics however shows just how wrong those sentiments were. Brady has passed for 30,844 yards  with 225 touchdowns against just 99 interceptions since the 2000 NFL Season.

To go along with his three Super Bowl Championships (twice SB MVP) Brady owns or shares 15 NFL records. Those records include most TD passes in a season at 56, the largest touchdown to interception ratio in a single season at +42 and most career Super Bowl completions at 100. Not bad for a guy taken in the sixth round and definitely the best college draft pick of the past decade.

Moving Backward In An Effort To Move Forward

The Chargers actually went backwards to move forward in the 2001 NFL Draft. Entering Draft Weekend the Chargers held the overall #1 pick in the draft. The consensus number one quarterback in the draft was Michael Vick and the Atlanta Falcons wanted to move up to get him. San Diego traded their top pick to the Falcons (who took Vick) and moved down to the five spot.

With the 5th overall selection the Chargers selected RB Ladainian Tomlinson out of Texas Christian Univeristy. Known simply as LT to an entire new generation of football fans; Tomlinson has been the most electrifying running back in the NFL for nearly a decade now. His NFL record  31 TD season in 2006 is likely to stand for a long while. Not only that, his career passing mark is an astounding eight completions in 12 attempts with seven of them going for touchdowns.

When The Highest Pick May Not Be The Best Pick

Marques Colston was taken in 7th round and 252 overall in the 2006 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. While some thought he might make it in the NFL as a tight end no one thought he would turn out to be the wide receiver he is today.

Somewhat ironically, the Saints took RB Reggie Bush with the second overall pick that same year. While both are Super Bowl Champions, Colston has brought more to the Saints table and they were separated by 250 picks.

The College Draft is like Christmas in April to NFL fans everywhere the world over. It has become so popular that the first round is now broadcast during in prime time. The 2o11 NFL College Draft is now under seven months for those of you scoring at home.