Three Teams Have Never Picked First Overall in NFL Draft

Published on March 20th, 2024 6:25 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


Over the history of the National Football League, some teams have seemingly had a pile of first overall picks.

As a matter of fact, the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Rams have both had the first overall pick a total of SEVEN times. Some of the players picked by the teams include Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck and Jared Goff.

The Buccaneers, Browns and Cardinals have all made the first overall pick of the NFL Draft five times.

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Which teams have NEVER had the first overall pick in the NFL draft?

There are three times that have never picked first overall. They are:

Baltimore Ravens
Seattle Seahawks
Denver Broncos

The Seattle Seahawks have had the second overall pick a number of times, where they selected Steve Niehaus and Rick Mirer.

Cortez Kennedy was one of the Seahawks' best draft picks ever, and he was taken #3 in the 1990 NFL Draft.

The highest that the Baltimore Ravens have ever picked is #4 overall, and that was in the 1996 NFL Draft where they took Jonathan Ogden. Ray Lewis was also taken in the first round of that draft, meaning that the Ravens drafted two future Hall of Famers in the same round.

Now, you might see the Broncos on this list and think to yourself - wait, didn't John Elway play his entire career with the Broncos, and wasn't he a first overall pick?

This is all correct, though Elway was actually traded to the Broncos by the Baltimore Colts - the Broncos didn't actually draft him.

The highest pick that the Broncos ever had for themselve was the #2 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, which they used to draft Von Miller.