NFL Draft Review: Analyzing the Last 10 No. 2 Overall Picks

How many No. 2 overall picks have panned out over the last 10 years? Joey Pollizze looks at the last 10 No. 2 overall picks in the NFL Draft.

We are just days away from the 2024 NFL Draft taking place in Detroit. The first round will begin on Thursday, April 25, while the second and third rounds will be held on Friday, and the final four rounds will take place on Saturday.

The NFL Draft is one of the most exciting times of the year, as hundreds of players hear their names called on stage. Several prospects will also hear their name called early, like Caleb Williams -- who is expected to be the top overall pick by the Chicago Bears. Then, the Washington Commanders will be on the clock at second overall.

The expectation around the league is that Washington will definitely select a quarterback with that pick. LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels is the current favorite to get selected No. 2 overall, and he would join a long list of successful players to get drafted at that spot. So, let's look back at the last 10 second overall picks and how their career has panned out so far.

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2023: C.J. Stroud (Houston Texans)

Quarterback C.J. Stroud is the most recent No. 2 overall pick, and he might be the best one on this list. Despite some concerns about his testing scores throughout the draft process, Stroud was selected by the Houston Texans in last year's draft. He then put together one of the best rookie campaigns in NFL history.

Can CJ Stroud bring home MVP in his sophomore season? 🔥 pic.twitter.com/vLrVGGA25e

— PFF Fantasy & Betting (@PFF_Fantasy) April 17, 2024

Stroud threw for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns, and five interceptions across 15 games. He also became just the fifth rookie quarterback to throw for at least 4,000 yards in his first year, joining Justin Herbert (4,336), Jameis Winston (4,042), Andrew Luck (4,374), and Cam Newton (4,051). He was a special rookie in 2023 and has a bright future in the league.

2022: Aidan Hutchinson (Detroit Lions)

Many analysts around the league believed that Aidan Hutchinson would be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. But when the Jacksonville Jaguars took Travon Walker instead, it put the Lions in a prime spot to take the top prospect in the class in Hutchinson. It's safe to say that Detroit is happy it played out that way because the former Michigan product has established himself as a top defensive end in the league.

Hutchinson tallied 9.5 sacks, three interceptions, 52 tackles (nine tackles for loss), and 15 quarterback hits in his rookie season. That helped him finish as the runner-up to Sauce Gardner for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Then, he followed that campaign up with 11.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss, and 33 quarterback hits in 2023. This is only the beginning for the Lions defensive end.

2021: Zach Wilson (New York Jets)

The New York Jets entered the 2021 NFL Draft with a big need at the quarterback position. Sam Darnold wasn't the answer after leading the team to a 2-14 record the year before. So, the Jets decided to take BYU quarterback Zach Wilson, who had all the talent in the world following his 33-touchdown, three-interception season in his final college year.

However, Wilson hasn't exactly panned out in the NFL so far. In his rookie season, he threw for just 2,334 yards, nine touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. His stats also weren't much better over the next two seasons, throwing for a combined 3,959 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. Now, the Jets are actively looking for a trade partner for the former No. 2 overall pick. The 24-year-old is turning out to be a big draft bust.

2020: Chase Young (Washington Commanders)

The Washington Commanders took one of the most gifted pass-rushers in the 2020 NFL Draft in Chase Young. Young totaled 16.5 sacks in his final college season at Ohio State, and that production transferred over immediately in his rookie campaign. He finished with 7.5 sacks, 44 tackles (10 tackles for loss), four forced fumbles, and 12 quarterback hits. Those numbers helped him finish as the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2020.

Happy 2️⃣5️⃣th, Chase Young! 🥳

Let's celebrate with one of the 2019 @bigten DPOY's biggest plays. @youngchase907 x @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/p5zvNK8iWJ

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) April 14, 2024

However, since that rookie season, Young hasn't been able to reach his full potential due to injuries. He tore his ACL in 2021 and then missed 14 of 17 games the next year as he rehabbed from that knee injury. The pass-rusher sort of revived his career this past year after finishing with 7.5 sacks and 15 quarterback hits with the Commanders and San Francisco 49ers. However, the 25-year-old still struggled throughout parts of the season.

2019: Nick Bosa (San Francisco 49ers)

Pass-rusher Nick Bosa was a can't-miss prospect in the 2019 NFL Draft. After the Arizona Cardinals selected Kyler Murray with the first overall pick, the 49ers happily selected Bosa with the next pick. That selection could not have worked out better for San Francisco. The former Ohio State product has turned into a top-three pass-rusher in the NFL.

Bosa's first year in the league in 2019 went about as good as anyone could have expected. He totaled nine sacks, 16 tackles for loss, one forced fumble, and one interception en route to winning Defensive Rookie of the Year. That was only the start of what was to come. Over the past three years (2021-2023), the 26-year-old has totaled 44.5 sacks, 115 quarterback hits, 56 tackles for loss, three Pro Bowl selections, one Defensive Player of the Year Award, and one first-team All-Pro selection.

2018: Saquon Barkley (New York Giants)

Nowadays, running backs would never go this high in the draft. But, at this time in 2018, Saquon Barkley was easily the best prospect in the class. He had over 1,875 scrimmage yards in back-to-back college seasons at Penn State in 2016 and 2017 while scoring 43 combined touchdowns. With the New York Giants desperately needing a game-changer on offense, they selected the explosive back.

There's no doubt that Barkley has since turned out to be one of the best running backs in the NFL. He has 5,211 rush yards and 47 total touchdowns over his career while making two Pro Bowl appearances and winning Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2018. Nonetheless, taking the running back at that spot has surely backfired for the Giants. They only had one winning season (2022) with him.

2017: Mitch Trubisky (Chicago Bears)

There were a lot of question marks around Mitch Trubisky heading into the 2017 NFL Draft. For starters, he only started 13 games at North Carolina over his college career, which is worrisome. However, that didn't seem to matter too much to the Chicago Bears, as they traded up from No. 3 to No. 2 to select Trubisky.

Trubisky started off his career in Chicago with some notable performances, which included making the Pro Bowl in 2018 and leading the Bears to a 12-4 record to win the NFC North that year. But, after that season, things started to trend down for the former No. 2 overall pick. He threw for a combined 5,193 yards, 33 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions in 2019 and 2020 before landing a backup role with the Buffalo Bills in 2021. It appears he is better suited in a backup role for the rest of his career.

2016: Carson Wentz (Philadelphia Eagles)

Throughout the draft process, the Los Angeles Rams had the tough decision of choosing between Jared Goff and Carson Wentz with the first overall pick. The Rams went with Goff, paving the way for Wentz to land with the Eagles at second overall. That selection by Philadelphia was a bit risky since the quarterback played at North Dakota State and didn't see nearly the same competition in college.

However, that didn't affect Wentz in his first two years in the NFL. He threw for 3,782 yards and 16 touchdowns as a rookie and entered Year 2 trending up. As a result, the 6-foot-5 quarterback put together a strong campaign in 2017 and emerged as a true MVP candidate. If it wasn't for a torn ACL suffered in Week 14, he likely would have been the MVP. The Eagles finished as the top seed in the NFC, and the former North Dakota State product threw 33 touchdowns.

Carson Wentz looked prime to be a perennial MVP candidate in 2017. That injury was the worse thing that ever happened to him. pic.twitter.com/qYRdzC8YXC

— Mack Perry (@DevaronPerry) August 6, 2023

Since that year, though, Wentz has never been the same. He eventually lost the starting job to Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia and has bounced around from team to team over the past three years. The former No. 2 overall pick is now a backup with the Kansas City Chiefs.

2015: Marcus Mariota (Tennessee Titans)

The Tennessee Titans were always taking a quarterback with the second overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, just which one remained to be seen. With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers also taking a quarterback with the first pick, the Titans were going to settle for either Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota. The latter winded up being the team's selection, and they likely couldn't have been more happy. 

Mariota was the 2014 Heisman winner following his incredible season in which he totaled 5,000 scrimmage yards and 57 total touchdowns (15 rush touchdowns). His college production, though, didn't really carry over to the pros. He had some great seasons at the start of his career -- like when he totaled 3,426 pass yards and 26 pass touchdowns in 2016. However, now the veteran has settled into a backup role with various teams.

2014: Greg Robinson (St. Louis Rams)

The 2014 NFL Draft was not a strong class by any means, but the St. Louis Rams (now the Los Angeles Rams) decided to bolster their offensive line. Greg Robinson was the best choice at that spot. However, Robinson didn't exactly work out for the Rams. 

He only played three seasons with the Rams, where he started almost every game. But, he was extremely inefficient and eventually was traded to the Detroit Lions before the 2017 season. Robinson then eventually signed with the Cleveland Browns in 2018 and played there for two years before dealing with legal troubles prior to the 2020 season. Since then, he has not played in the NFL.