Top 10 best NFL draft classes of all time. Which is the best of them all?

A decision can often make or break a team's endeavours, especially in sports like football, basketball, and even soccer. Well, when a team hits it big during the draft season in the NFL, it can mean success for the next decade with Super Bowls, MVP honours, and significant financial returns. Which of these are ranked as the best NFL draft classes? Let's find out.

Dating back around a century, some draft classes have separated themselves from the pack thanks to the emerging legendary players who have changed the sport since then. Nevertheless, there have been a few years when the hit rate was extremely high compared to the average class. However, while these classes continued to produce their fair share of busts, they also featured many Hall of Famers.

Top 10 best NFL draft classes of all time

At least occasionally, a specific NFL draft class is capacitated with future Hall of Famers from various. According to an in-depth analysis, Sports Brief has compiled a list displaying some of the best team draft classes in NFL history.

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Keep in mind that the ranking is based on several factors, such as the number of Hall of Famers by that time.

10. 1989

• Dates: 23 to 24 April 1989
• Location: New York City
• Number one overall pick: Quarterback Troy Aikman from Dallas Cowboys
• Hall of Famers: Barry Sanders, Deion Sanders, Troy Aikman, Derrick Thomas, and Steve Atwater

One fact that still stands out about the 1989 class is that four Hall of Famers were taken in the first five picks. There have since been fewer top-heavy classes due to a lack of depth from other elite drafts. Nevertheless, it is among the best NFL draft classes ever ranked.

9. 2017

• Dates: 27 to 29 April 2017
• Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Number one overall pick: Defender Myles Garrett from Cleveland Browns
• Potential Hall of Famers: Patrick Mahomes, Cooper Kupp, Alvin Kamara, T.J. Watt, George Kittle

At the ninth position sits the 2017 class, which, as much as it appears to make it to the list barely, shocked quite a number that year. Held in an outdoor theatre on the famous Rocky Steps in Philadelphia, the class was known to boast legendary gurus like Patrick Mahomes and George Kittle, who would later be the year's Hall of Famers.

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8. 1985

• Dates: 30 April to1 May 1985
• Location: New York City
• Number one overall pick: Defender Bruce Smith from Buffalo Bills
• Hall of Famers: Bruce Smith, Jerry Rice, Chris Doleman, Andre Reed, Kevin Greene

If there is one player in the 1985 class whose dominance remains unmatched, it is Bruce Smith. Being the number one overall pick that year, Bruce led the Buffalo Bills to four consecutive Super Bowls, became a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and is renowned for being among the greatest NFL players of all time.

7. 1974

• Dates: 29 to 30 January 1974
• Location: New York City
• Number one overall pick: Defender Ed Jones from Dallas Cowboys
• Hall of Famers: Jack Lambert, Mike Webster, Lynn Swann, Dave Casper, John Stallworth

With defender Ed Jones being the number one overall pick, Hall of Famer linebacker Jack Lambert is also recalled as the vital centerpiece of the Pittsburgh Steelers' famed Steel Curtain defense, who won four Super Bowls and became the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1976.

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The class pulled some of the most memorable matches that year, and to date, it still ranked among the best NFL draft classes ever.

6. 2004

• Dates: 24 to 25 April 2004
• Location: New York City
• Number one overall pick: Quarterback Eli Manning from San Diego Chargers
• Potential Hall of Famers: Eli Manning, Larry Fitzgerald, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, Vince Wilfork, Bob Sanders, Jared Allen

If you are to talk about one of the best NFL draft classes since 2000, you sure have the 2004 class at the top of the list. However, the careers of most decorated players from the draft have ended in the last five years. The likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, and Vince Wilfork.

But even though they are no longer active, their input during the 2004 draft is one to recall forever.

5. 1964

• Date: 2 December 1963
• Location: New York City
• Number one overall pick: Dave Parks from the San Francisco 49ers
• Hall of Famers: Paul Warfield, Charley Taylor, Dave Wilcox, Bob Brown, Carl Eller, Bob Hayes, Roger Staubach, Leroy Kelly, Mel Renfro, Paul Krause

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If there is one class renowned for the most significant number of Hall of Famers in the sport's history, it sure is the 1964 draft. And while the number one overall pick Dave Parks had a well-decorated career with the San Francisco 49ers, the player was among the 10 Hall of Famers in the draft.

4. 1981

• Dates: 28 to 29 April 1981
• Location: New York City
• Number one overall pick: George Rogers from New Orleans Saints
• Hall of Famers: Mike Singletary, Rickey Jackson, Russ Grimm, Kenny Easley, Lawrence Taylor, Ronnie Lott, Howie Long

At the fourth position sits the 1981 draft group, which still ranks among the best NFL draft classes in the last ten years. It is renowned for being the most remarkable assemblage of defensive talents to ever go in a single NFL draft.

The 1981 draft class featured a trio of players in the GOAT discussion for their respective positions, with some winning the sport's MVP honours.

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3. 1957

• Date: 26 November 1956
• Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Number one overall pick: Paul Hornung from Green Bay Packers
• Hall of Famers: Jim Brown, Jim Parker, Sonny Jurgensen, Paul Hornung, Len Dawson, Don Maynard, Henry Jordan, Tommy McDonald, Gene Hickerson

During the 1957 draft, it was more of a battlefield, whereby the Green Bay Packers won the draft lottery over the Chicago Cardinals to determine their number one overall pick.

Additionally, the Green Bay Packers came away with Notre Dame halfback and future Hall of Famer Paul Hornung, who was seemingly not the group's number-one go-to-choice by that time.

2. 2011

• Dates: 28 to 30 April 2011
• Location: New York City
• Number one overall pick: Quarterback Cam Newton from Carolina Panthers
• Potential Hall of Famers: JJ Watt, Cam Newton, Von Miller, Richard Sherman, Julio Jones, AJ Gren, Jason Kelce, Cameron Jordan, Patrick Peterson

The 2011 class is renowned for being one of the best NFL draft classes in the last ten years. Based in New York City, the United States of America, the draft produced six surefire Hall of Famers blossoming and nesting their glories under the limelight.

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The draft would later still boast some of the most decorated NFL players of all time, with some winning MVP awards and the coveted Super Bowl.

1. 1983

• Dates: 26 to 27 April 1983
• Location: New York City
• Number one overall pick: Quarterback John Elway from Baltimore Colts
• Hall of Famers: Eric Dickerson, Jim Kelly, John Elway, Dan Marino, Bruce Matthews, Darrell Green, Richard Dent, Jimbo Covert

And finally, one of the best NFL draft classes of all time. Looking beyond the prominent, three Hall of Famers taken in the first round, John Elway, Jim Kelly, and Dan Marino, are still one of the most conspicuous aspects of that year.

Besides, the draft yielded eight Hall of Famers, Dan Marino, Bruce Matthews, Darrell Green, Eric Dickerson, Jim Kelly, John Elway, Richard Dent, and Jimbo Covert, currently among the most famous NFL athletes of all time.

Even though some of the best NFL draft classes occurred decades ago, it does not deter the fact that they went down in history. Moreover, thanks to those epic drafts, legendary players emerged and are still occurring daily.

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