CFB 24/7 continues its countdown of the best and worst first-round picks at all 32 slots during the Super Bowl era. We will do four spots per day, until we end up with the three best -- and three worst -- No. 1 picks.
No. 8 pick
Who picks here in 2015:Atlanta Falcons
Overview: There have been a handful of high-level players taken at No. 8. But there also have been a handful of busts. No. 8 picks also include a mighty sad story, too.
HITS
DB Ronnie Lott: Taken in 1981 by the San Francisco 49ers out of USC. A lot of folks forget that he started at cornerback in his first four seasons with the 49ers. He then moved to free safety and helped make the template for how the position should be played: Lott covered a ton of ground and also could lay the lumber. He is seventh in NFL history with 63 interceptions. Lott was a six-time All-Pro (including once at corner) and a 10-time Pro Bowler; he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000.
G Mike Munchak: Taken in 1982 by the Houston Oilers out of Penn State. Opening holes for a running back or protecting his quarterback -- Munchak was equally adept in both roles. He played 12 seasons and was a two-time All-Pro and a nine-time Pro Bowler. Munchak was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001.
OT Willie Roaf: Taken in 1993 by the New Orleans Saints out of Louisiana Tech. He played 13 seasons in the NFL and started all 189 games in which he was active. He was a three-time All-Pro and a nine-time Pro Bowler. His first All-Pro selection came in his second season, when he was 24; his final All-Pro selection came in his 12th season, when he was 34. Roaf was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012.
MISSES
CB Leonard Coleman: Taken in 1984 by the Indianapolis Colts out of Vanderbilt. Coleman was the initial first-round pick made by the Colts after they moved to Indianapolis. It did not go well: He had a contract dispute with the Colts (it worsened when owner Bob Irsay said Coleman wasn't worth what he was asking for) and instead signed with the USFL's Memphis franchise. He finally joined the Colts in 1985. Coleman started all 16 games in '86, but he played just 21 more games -- starting none of them -- in the next three seasons before his career was over.
G Royce Smith: Taken in 1972 by the New Orleans Saints out of Georgia. The Saints made a lot of bad picks in the 1970s, something their fans know all too well. Smith was one of them. He started 10 games as a rookie, then started just eight more in the next four seasons. You don't draft a guy eighth to be a backup. New Orleans traded him to Atlanta after his second season, and he played three seasons and started five times with the Falcons before his career ended.
WR David Terrell: Taken in 2001 by the Chicago Bears out of Michigan. Terrell was the first receiver taken in the 2001 draft -- 22 spots ahead of Reggie Wayne. Yes, Wayne worked with a better quarterback, but Terrell still was a big miss. Terrell was a fulltime starter for just one of his four seasons in Chicago and averaged 400 receiving yards per season with the Bears, with nine total TDs. He played two games for Denver in 2005, then his career was over.
Note: RB Larry Stegent, taken No. 8 by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1970, is often considered one of the biggest busts in NFL history, but there were extenuating -- and, frankly, sad -- circumstances. Stegent, who had starred at Texas A&M, blew out his knee during practice for the then-annual College Football All-Star Classic, which pitted a team of rookies against the defending Super Bowl champs (the game lasted from 1934-76). The injury caused Stegent to miss his rookie season; he was able to play in just seven games in 1971 before his career ended. His final career numbers: zero carries and one catch for 7 yards.
No. 7 pick
Who picks here in 2015:Chicago Bears
Overview: Believe it or not, no player picked seventh overall in the Super Bowl era has made the Hall of Fame. Only one player ever selected No. 7, Clyde "Bulldog" Turner, is in the Hall of Fame, and he was drafted in 1940. It was far tougher to pick the misses than the hits simply because there were so many misses at No. 7. Todd Blackledge, Larry Burton, Joe Campbell, Kevin Hardy (the DE, not the OLB), Troy Williamson, Tim Worley -- all bad, but not on the list. Be very afraid, Bears fans.
HITS
CB Champ Bailey: Taken in 1999 by the Washington Redskins out of Georgia. He played 15 seasons and was a 12-time Pro Bowler. Bailey, who also was a three-time All-Pro, played in 215 games in his career and started 212 of them. He led the league with 10 interceptions in 2006 and finished with 52 career picks. Bailey was both a shutdown corner and an effective run defender; he had at least 60 tackles eight times in his career.
RB Adrian Peterson: Taken in 2007 by the Minnesota Vikings out of Oklahoma. Peterson has played at least 14 games in a season seven times, and six times has reached the 1,200-yard plateau, including 2,097 in 2012. He also has rushed for 86 touchdowns, already the 14th-most in league history. Peterson twice has led the league in rushing, and he has been in the top-five five times. He is a three-time All-Pro selection and a six-time Pro Bowler.
QB Phil Simms: Taken in 1979 by the New York Giants out of Morehead State. Simms played on the same bad Giants teams early in his tenure, but he also was there when the Giants became a league powerhouse and won two Super Bowls. Simms, who was seen as a risky pick by some because he played Division I-AA football (now called FCS), threw for 33,462 yards and 199 TDs in his career.
MISSES
OT/G Brian Jozwiak: Taken in 1986 by the Kansas City Chiefs out of West Virginia. Jozwiak suffered a severe hip injury during his third season, and that ended his career. But he hadn't done much before that to make you think he could be an effective NFL lineman. He started just two games in his first two seasons in the NFL and seemed destined to be a backup when he was forced to give up football. He now is a high school teacher in North Port, Fla., near Sarasota.
DE Reggie Rogers: Taken in 1987 by the Detroit Lions out of Washington. Rogers played just six games as a rookie because of emotional issues. He played in the first five games in 1988, with two starts, before he was involved in a drunk-driving incident in which the car he was driving hit another car and killed three teenagers. He went to prison for a year, then received chances from Buffalo in 1991 and from Tampa Bay in 1992. He played in just two games for each of those teams and his career was over. The final numbers: 15 games, two starts, two sacks. He died in 2013 as a result of cocaine and alcohol intoxication.
QB Andre Ware: Taken in 1990 by the Detroit Lions out of Houston. He torched opposing secondaries for 46 TD passes in Houston coach John Jenkins' run-and-shoot offense and won the Heisman in 1989. But Ware appeared in just 14 NFL games in four seasons, starting six of them, and threw only five career TD passes, which would've been a good game for him at Houston.
No. 6 pick
Who picks here in 2015:New York Jets
Overview: There have been an alarming number of out-and-out busts picked at No. 6. We left out a few, such as S Mossy Cade, who was arrested for sexual assault on a family member as a rookie but allowed by the Packers to finish out that season -- and the next -- as the case went through the court system, and DE/LB Vernon Gholston, who was drafted as a pass rusher but had no sacks in a three-season career. There's also DE Dennis Byrd, who was drafted in the first round in 1968 despite lingering effects of a knee injury suffered in college. He played one season for the Patriots, then was done.
HITS
OT Walter Jones: Taken in 1997 by the Seattle Seahawks out of Florida State. He was one of the most dominant linemen of his era. He played 12 seasons, all with Seattle, and was a four-time All-Pro and a nine-time Pro Bowler, including in his final season. Three of his All-Pro selections came when he was in his 30s. He was active for 180 games in his career and started every one of them. Jones was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014.
WR James Lofton: Taken in 1978 by the Green Bay Packers out of Stanford. Lofton ranks 36th in league history with 764 receptions. But he is ninth in league history in receiving yards with 14,004, thanks to his career average of 18.3 yards per catch. Lofton was one of the most-feared deep threats in the league throughout his career, and he averaged at least 20 yards per catch five times in his 16-season career and averaged at least 18 yards another four times. You wonder what kind of yardage numbers he could put up in today's NFL. Lofton was an All-Pro in 1981 and an eight-time Pro Bowler. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003.
RB John Riggins: Taken in 1971 by the New York Jets out of Kansas. There was no finesse to Riggins' game. He was a between-the-tackles battering ram. He finished his 14-season career with 11,352 rushing yards and 104 rushing TDs, sixth-most in NFL history. He had five 1,000-yard seasons and was a surprisingly effective receiver early in his career. Riggins was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1992.
MISSES
QB Rich Campbell: Taken in 1981 by the Green Bay Packers out of California. He played seven games in four NFL seasons, with zero starts, and finished with 386 yards, three TDs and nine interceptions. He currently is a metro columnist for a group of newspapers on the east coast of Florida.
RB Lawrence Phillips: Taken in 1996 by the St. Louis Rams out of Nebraska. If you needed the recent news about Phillips to formulate an opinion on the guy, you're way too late. He had immense talent but he wasn't a good guy, and the Rams found that out. (Get this: The Rams traded future Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis on the same day they drafted Phillips.) Phillips' NFL career lasted three seasons, and he was with three teams -- the Rams, Miami, and San Francisco. He got in trouble at each stop, and he eventually was cut by each team. Phillips went to prison in 2008, and it's conceivable he never gets out.
QB Kelly Stouffer: Taken in 1987 by the St. Louis Cardinals out of Colorado State. How bad a pick was this for the Cardinals? He never played a game for them. He sat out his rookie season in a contract dispute, and the Cardinals traded his rights to the Seattle Seahawks. He played four seasons with Seattle, starting 16 games, and finished his career with seven TD passes and 19 picks.
No. 5 pick
Who picks here in 2015:Washington Redskins
Overview: As you'd expect (well, hope, anyway), there have a been a lot of good picks made at No. 5 and very few misses.
HITS
CB Deion Sanders: Taken in 1989 by the Atlanta Falcons out of Florida State. "Neon Deion" "or "Prime Time" -- whatever nickname you like best, you know the guy produced. He played 14 seasons (he also played major league baseball) and was a six-time All-Pro and an eight-time Pro Bowler. While there are jokes made about his aversion to physical play, he was a ballhawk who was dynamic with the ball in his hands on interception returns and punt returns. He had 19 non-offensive TDs in his career, which is third-most in league history. Sanders was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011.
LB Junior Seau: Taken in 1990 by the San Diego Chargers out of USC. He played for 20 seasons and was a starter for 17 of them. He was a six-time All-Pro and a 12-time Pro Bowler, and he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer. Seau had seven seasons with 100-plus solo tackles and three seasons with at least seven sacks.
RB LaDainian Tomlinson: Taken in 2001 by the San Diego Chargers out of TCU. He played 11 seasons and rushed for 1,000 yards eight times, including three seasons with at least 1,500 yards. He also was an excellent receiver, with nine seasons of at least 50 receptions. He accounted for at least 15 TDs in six seasons, including a remarkable 31 in 2006. Tomlinson is fifth in league history with 13,684 rushing yards and second with 145 rushing TDs; he also is third all-time in total TDs, with 162. He was a three-time All-Pro and a five-time Pro Bowler, and he one day will be enshrined in Canton.
MISSES
DB Rickey Dixon: Taken in 1988 by the Cincinnati Bengals out of Oklahoma. He was an All-America safety at Oklahoma but was drafted to play corner. He missed the 1988 opener because of a protracted contract holdout, then was a reserve the rest of the season. He was moved back to safety and started every game in 1989, finishing with three interceptions. But that season was the highlight of his career. He played four more seasons and started just 16 more games. He finished his career with six interceptions and probably was better-known for his special teams work than his work at safety for the Bengals.
RB Curtis Enis: Taken in 1998 by the Chicago Bears out of Penn State. Enis held out and reported late in the 1998 preseason; when he finally showed up, he was out of shape. He played in nine games, starting just one, before suffering a torn ACL. He returned in 1999 and ran for 916 yards and three TDs. He started five games in 2000 but rushed for just 84 yards. The Bears released him after the season was over, and that was it for his career. His career per-carry average: 3.3.
LB Mike Junkin: Taken in 1987 by the Cleveland Browns out of Duke. The Browns moved up 19 spots to draft Junkin, who was considered by most to be a second-round pick. The move did not pay off. He played in four games as a reserve in 1987 before a wrist injury landed him on the disabled list. He started seven games in 1988, then was traded to Kansas City. He played five games as a reserve for the Chiefs in 1989 and that was it.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
