The 2023 NFL Draft saw the Carolina Panthers take quarterback Bryce Young No. 1 overall while the Houston Texans took quarterback C.J. Stroud No. 2 overall. As of writing, Stroud has just led the once hapless Texans to their first playoff win in four years while Young led the Panthers to the worst record in the NFL.
Whether Young winds up being a great NFL player or not, it really looks like the Panthers made a mistake in drafting him over Stroud. But if it’s any consolation to the Panthers, they’re hardly the first team to whiff on the first pick only to see the second become an all-time great.
So what are some of the most noteworthy cases where the second overall pick was better than the first?
There are actually a few, including some that are fairly recent:
C.J. Stroud, 2023 No. 2 overall to the Houston Texans (Bryce Young, No. 1 overall to the Carolina Panthers)
Maybe this list will need adjusting in a few years from now, but right now it really looks like C.J. Stroud is a star in the making while Young is in a position to struggle mightily for the next few years.
As a rookie in 2023, Stroud threw for over 4,000 yards and led the league in yards per game. His 23-5 TD-INT ratio was the best in the NFL and he led the Texans to the playoffs before becoming just the fourth player in NFL history to win a playoff game as a rookie with a rookie head coach.
The sky is the limit for Stroud while Young is still trying to keep his head on straight in Carolina…
Julius Peppers, 2002 No. 2 overall to the Carolina Panthers (David Carr, No. 1 overall to the Houston Texans)
It’s an interesting twist of fate to be bringing up the Texans making the right pick at No. 2 with the Panthers getting it wrong at No. 1 since the reverse of that situation marked the beginning of the Texans’ entire existence.
Needing a quarterback when the franchise launched ahead of the 2002 season, the Texans drafted David Carr No. 1 overall. Carr would win just 22 games in five seasons and is perhaps most noteworthy now for a shirtless picture he took in 2012 and for defending his younger brother, NFL quarterback David Carr, on social media all the time.
In fairness to the Texans, 2002 would prove to be a terrible year for quarterbacks with David Garrard being the only quarterback from the entire class who made a Pro Bowl appearance.
Peppers, on the other hand, went on to become one of the greatest pass rushers in NFL history, recording 159.5 sacks and earning All-Decade Team honors in both the 2000s and the 2010s.
Tony Boselli, 1995 No. 2 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars (Ki-Jana Carter, No. 1 overall to the Cincinnati Bengals)
In what has proven to be a rarity, the Jacksonville Jaguars actually aced their first draft pick in franchise history, taking offensive tackle Tony Boselli No. 1 overall in 1995. Boselli would prove to be the anchor for the Jaguars over his six-plus years with the team and was so dominant that he was voted into the Hall of Fame despite playing in just 91 games.
Fate had different plans for Ki-Jana Carter, who fruitlessly battled injuries for a decade and played just 59 games between 1996 and 2004.
Donovan McNabb, 1999 No. 2 overall to the Philadelphia Eagles (Tim Couch, No. 1 overall to the Cleveland Browns)
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images.
As the Houston Texans would find out a few years later, expansion teams seem to have a habit of getting their first pick in franchise history totally wrong.
So when the Cleveland Browns returned in 1999 as an expansion team, they designated Tim Couch as their franchise quarterback. A few minutes later, Eagles fans booed as the team drafted Syracuse quarterback Donovan McNabb. Had the fans at Radio City Music Hall known how their careers would play out, Browns fans would’ve booed and Eagles fans would’ve cheered.
Couch lasted just five seasons in the NFL, going 22-37 and never living up to expectations. McNabb, on the other hand, had an historic career for the Eagles, making six Pro Bowls, seven playoff appearances and a Super Bowl trip in 2004.
Calvin Johnson, 2007 No. 2 overall pick to the Detroit Lions (JaMarcus Russell, No. 1 overall to the Oakland Raiders)
There is perhaps no gap between players selected in NFL history wider than that of Calvin “Megatron” Johnson and JaMarcus Russell.
The Raiders took the strong-armed quarterback No. 1 overall in the 2007 NFL Draft, but he lasted only 31 games in the NFL as a combination of weight issues and poor play resulted in a record of 7-18 and only seven games where he had more touchdowns than interceptions.
Megatron went on to become a Hall of Fame wide receiver who set numerous records, changed how wide receivers are evaluated before the draft and helped the Lions regain respectability in the 2010s after their mismanagement in the 2000s.