Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

College Football

Ranking the B1G’s top 10 first round draft picks of the 21st century

Connor O'Gara

By Connor O'Gara

Published:

Can’t miss. Slam dunk. Money in the bank.

All of those clichés are good things if we’re describing a first round pick’s career. They’re the ones who were not only hyped, but they delivered on the hype.

With the draft just a few short weeks away, I thought it’d be interesting to take a look at some of the B1G’s best in that department.

I realize that’s extremely subjective. Some guys had 12-year careers and others aren’t even in their prime yet, but they were worthy of a spot on this list. What I tried to account for was the level they’ve already reached in the league — the more All-Pro teams, the better — combined with things like longevity and dominance of their position.

I gave bonus points if you were a franchise guy, too. Yes, that applies to most players on this list.

So with that, here are the top B1G first round picks of the 21st century.

10. Saquon Barkley (Penn State), 2018

For what it’s worth, give me Barkley over Ezekiel Elliott all day, every day. So why is the Penn State back only No. 10 on this list after a record-setting rookie season? Um, because he just finished his rookie season and the majority of the players on this list are already retired. I’m a believer in the notion that Barkley will be this generation’s Adrian Peterson and that he’ll be a Hall of Fame inductee one day, but he sits at No. 10 for now just because we’ve only had 1 year to judge his first-round selection. He’ll be rising in a hurry.

9. Joey Bosa (Ohio State), 2016

Three years into Bosa’s career and that rookie year holdout narrative already looks silly. Bosa, when he’s been on the field, has been one of the league’s top defensive players. The guy is 23 and he already has 28.5 sacks. He was the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2016, a Pro Bowler in 2017 and he had 5.5 sacks in just 7 games in 2018 because of a foot injury. As long as he stays healthy, Bosa will probably finish his career with a top-3 spot on this list.

8. Ezekiel Elliott (Ohio State), 2016

Like Bosa, Elliott is another former Ohio State star who at age 23, is already one of the faces of the league. And with good reason. He led the NFL in rushing in 2 of his first 3 seasons, which earned him a pair of Pro Bowl honors. The impressive thing about Elliott’s game is that he really became a complete player in 2018. He caught 77 balls for 567 yards and became a real threat in the passing game. It’ll be interesting to see how Elliott’s high volume — he had 300-plus touches in 4 of his last 5 seasons spanning over his college career — impacts his longevity. But he’s one of the first-round picks that while debated at the time, looks smart now.

7. Julian Peterson (Michigan State), 2000

I feel like the former Spartan linebacker had one of the more underrated careers of the 21st century. He was a 5-time Pro Bowl selection and 2-time All-Pro during his 11-year career. His prime was a 3-year stretch with the Seattle Seahawks that statistically speaking, was incredibly impressive:

  • 249 tackles
  • 24.5 sacks
  • 9 forced fumbles
  • 4 fumbles recovered
  • 3 interceptions

NFL.com already dubbed Peterson as MSU’s best draft pick of the 21st century. Needless to say, I’m on board with that.

6. Tamba Hali (Penn State), 2006

What if I told you that your first round pick would make 5 Pro Bowls, earn a couple All-Pro nods and he’d spend all 12 years of his career with your franchise? You’d take that every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Hali is that dude, and as Kansas City Chiefs fans came to know, few were better playmakers rushing off the edge. The former Penn State All-American finished his career with 89.5 sacks and an absurd 33 forced fumbles (18th all-time).

5. Travis Frederick (Wisconsin), 2013

As long as Frederick can overcome the autoimmune disease diagnosis that sidelined him for all of 2018, he’ll be regarded in the same light as fellow Badger great Joe Thomas. After he became the Cowboys’ first rookie center in franchise history, Frederick made 4 straight Pro Bowl trips and earned a pair of first-team All-Pro honors and 1 second-team All-Pro nod. Ask Elliott and Dak Prescott how valuable Frederick is to the Cowboys and they’d probably put him even higher on this list.

4. Nick Mangold (Ohio State), 2006

The long-haired Buckeye was a rare smart first round pick for the Jets back in 2006. The center’s 11-year career — all with the Jets — included 7 Pro Bowls, 3 All-Pro honors (2 first-team, 1 second-team) and a ridiculous 164 career starts. It’s not a surprise that the Jets’ lone bit of relevancy during the 21st century coincided with Mangold’s prime. As crazy as might it sound with all the talent that rolled through Columbus the past couple decades, Mangold is the Buckeyes’ best draft pick this century.

3. Steve Hutchinson (Michigan), 2001

Are you sensing a theme here? It’s probably not much of a surprise that 4 of the top 5 on this list were offensive linemen. Hutchinson was as good of a guard as there was in the 21st century. The Michigan great had a 7-year stretch in which he was a Pro Bowl/All-Pro selection in every season. He blocked for multiple All-Pros at the running back position, including Shaun Alexander in Seattle and Adrian Peterson in Minnesota. Not surprisingly, the former B1G Offensive Lineman of the Year was named to the NFL’s 2000s All-Decade team.

2. Joe Thomas (Wisconsin), 2007

You could make a good case that Thomas is worthy of the top spot on this list. He had the most All-Pro honors (9), the most Pro Bowl appearances (10) and he had the longest snaps streak (10,363) in NFL history. Like, what more could you want? He’s a lock for Canton when that time comes in a few years, and some might argue that he’s the best offensive lineman ever. The only knock — and through no fault of his own — is that Thomas only played on one winning team in Cleveland. If only Baker Mayfield could’ve come along a decade earlier.

1. J.J. Watt (Wisconsin), 2011

Watt gets the top spot because of how transcendent of a talent he’s been. It’s one thing to be a solid defensive player who can make the Pro Bowl on a yearly basis. It’s another to be the best defensive player in the sport when healthy. Three times, Watt was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year and he even earned MVP runner-up in 2014. Watt already has 4 seasons with 16-plus sacks, which is as many as Reggie White had in his 15-year career. That’s impressive considering that Watt basically lost 1.5 seasons in his prime because of injuries. His bounce back season in 2018 — only Aaron Donald had more sacks — suggests that Watt’s all-time great career still has plenty of juice left.

Connor O'Gara

Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.