The Best NFL Draft Pick by Your Team

ESPN Insider had a great idea leading up to the draft. Team by team they put the top 10 draft choices in the history of the franchise. One thing that I didn't like was that they put draft picks like John Elway on the top 10 for the Colts or Brett Favre for the Falcons. Starting today up until the Draft next Saturday here at The Nutz, I will be listing the best picks by a franchise in their history. But it'll be a little more insightful. My criteria is as follows: value at pick, value for the franchise as a whole, overall success by the player, and what he meant to the team during his career. I will go division by division. Hope you enjoy and if you think that I am wrong in anyway...you know what you can do!

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens- Ray Lewis 1996 Rd. 1 Pick 26

Say what you want about the character of this linebacker, he is one of the best the game's ever seen. He was the fifth linebacker taken in the '96 Draft, but proved his worth even though scouts thought his size was too small. When Baltimore got a NFL team back to their city they were in need of a man that can carry the team on his back, and Lewis was most certainly the amn for the job. 10 Pro-Bowl selections along with being a 2-time Defensive Player of the Year award winner. Not to mention Super Bowl MVP in their win against the G-men in 2000.

Cincinnati Bengals- Anthony Munoz 1980 Rd. 1 Pick 3

Though him being selected this high led to much debate, Munoz proved to be the right choice for the Bengals, something that certainly lacks in Bengals draft history. Standing at 6'6'', Munoz was an absolute beast on the line, giving his quarterbacks time to throw and running backs room to run. Despite his history of being hurt, he only missed 3 games in his 12 years with Cincinnati. Finished his career as an 11-time Pro-Bowl selection, 10 All-Pro nominations, a member of both All-Decade team of the 1980s and the 75th Anniversity All-Time team.

Cleveland Browns- Jim Brown 1957 Rd. 1 Pick 6

Arguably one of the best running backs in league history, Brown rushed for over 12,000 yards and had 126 touchdowns in a 9-year career with the Browns that ended before he turned the age of 30. Every season he played, Brown was voted into the Pro Bowl, and is the only rusher in NFL history to average over 100 yards a game for his career. He led this old franchise to a NFL Championship in 1964, was a 3-time NFL MVP, and of course was a member of the 75th Anniversity All-Time team.

Pittsburgh Steeler- Terry Bradshaw 1970 Rd. 1 Pick 1

This was the toughest of all the picks thus far. But, this man quarterback his Steeler team to 4 Super Bowl Championships in which two of them resulted in him being the MVP. Having Franco Harris in the backfield, and the "Steel Curtain" defense helped a lot don't get me wrong, but Bradshaw still had to play well for them to win. His threat of the deep pass always opened thing up for other plays. This 3-time Pro- Bowler also won the NFL MVP award in 1978 and in 1999, he was ranked number 44 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. Not to mention that Bradshaw's post season record is an astonishing 14-5.