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 Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:45 pm
19. 1971 Cardinals  Cardinals landed Hall of Fame offensive tackle Dan Dierdorf in 2nd round n' Pro Bowl wide receiver Mel Gray in 6th. Those 2 helped Cardinals capture NFC East over fearsome Cowboys in 1974 n' 1975.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:47 pm
18. 1983 Broncos Denver was wise enough to trade No. 4 overall pick, Chris Hinton, for rights to No. 1 pick John Elway on draft day, n' rest is history. Broncos also landed Pro Bowl linebacker Karl Mecklenburg in 12th round n' valuable backup QB Gary Kubiak in 8th.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:49 pm
17. 2001 Chargers Chargers had No. 1 overall pick n' traded down to No. 5 with Atlanta. Falcons took Michael Vick n' San Diego selected LaDainian Tomlinson, who is well on his way to a Hall of Fame career. Chargers also got a 2nd-round pick that they used on quarterback Drew Brees, who led them to playoffs before departing via free agency.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:51 pm
16. 1995 Patriots New England took a couple of defensive stalwarts in 1st 2 rounds: cornerback Ty Law n' linebacker Ted Johnson. Then it landed running back Curtis Martin in 3rd round. He had 3 solid seasons with Patriots before he left for Jets n' ended up 4th on league's all-time rushin' list.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:53 pm
15. 1981 49ers 49ers's Bill Walsh knew he needed help in secondary, so he landed safety Ronnie Lott in 1st round, Pro Bowl CB Eric Wright in 2nd n' Pro Bowl S Carlton Williamson in 3rd round. While Niners' offense got most of attention in '80s, this group was a huge part of 3 Super Bowl teams.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:54 pm
14. 1984 Giants They landed defensive mainstays Carl Banks n' Gary Reasons, offensive tackle William Roberts, receiver Lionel Manuel n' quarterback Jeff Hostetler, who led them to victory in Super Bowl XXV.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:55 pm
13. 2001 Bengals Bengals found 3 offensive stars in WR Chad Johnson (2nd round), RB Rudi Johnson (4th round) n' WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh (7th round) n' landed solid DE Justin Smith in 1st round.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:58 pm
12. 1979 49ers Talk about value. 49ers took Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana in 3rd round n' Pro Bowl wide receiver Dwight Clark in 10th. That duo hooked up for "The Catch," which helped 49ers beat Cowboys in 1981 NFC Championship Game n' propelled San Francisco to a decade of dominance.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:00 pm
11. 1983 Dolphins All you have to say about this class is that Dolphins got Dan Marino at No. 27. Marino went on to rewrite NFL record book. They also got one of his main targets, WR Mark Clayton in 6th round n' one of best punters ever, Reggie Roby, in 4th.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:01 pm
10. 1989 Cowboys Cowboys' proud franchise bottomed out in late 1980s, but draftin' Troy Aikman No. 1 overall in 1989 draft started a process that resulted in 3 Super Bowl rings. They also landed G Steve Wisniewski, FB Daryl Johnston, C Mark Stepnoski n' DE Tony Tolbert.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:03 pm
9. 1970 Steelers Steelers were joke of NFL until this draft class. They landed Hall of Famer quarterback Terry Bradshaw in 1st round n' HOF CB Mel Blount in 3rd, 2 of most important players on a team that won 4 Super Bowls.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:04 pm
8. 1995 Buccaneers Bucs landed 2 future Hall of Famers in 1st round--defensive tackle Warren Sapp n' linebacker Derrick Brooks. That duo turned Tampa Bay into a perennial playoff team n' helped it win Super Bowl XXXVII.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:06 pm
7. 1996 Ravens This was 1st draft after team moved from Cleveland to Baltimore, n' Ravens hit jackpot. They took future Hall of Fame offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden in 1st round n' future HOF linebacker Ray Lewis in 2nd. They also selected Pro Bowl return man Jermaine Lewis in 5th.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:08 pm
6. 1985 Bills They landed NFL's all-time sack leader, Bruce Smith, in 1st round, 7-time Pro Bowl WR Andre Reed in 7th. They also landed DB Derrick Burroughs in 2nd, quality backup QB Frank Reich in 5th n' serviceable OT Dale Hellestrae in 8th round.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:10 pm
5. 1981 Redskins Redskins started by buildin' foundation of 1 of best lines in NFL history by taking OT Mark May in 1st round n' C Russ Grimm in 2nd. They also landed DE Dexter Manley in 4th, WR Charlie Brown in 7th n' TE Clint Didier in 12th.
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