Turron DavenportDec 19, 2025, 06:00 AM ETCloseTurron Davenport covers the Tennessee Titans for ESPN since 2018. Turron is a former collegiate football player at Cheyney University and is a native of Philadelphia, and he has authored/co-authored four books. You can catch Turron on ESPN Radio on his show “Talking with TD.”Follow on X
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Cam Ward is the latest No. 1 pick to enter the NFL, having been selected by the Tennessee Titans in April. He’s one of 13 No. 1 picks currently in the league.
The Titans’ 2-12 record shows winning is not always easy for top picks, and Ward has been scrambling for small signs of progress for himself and the team.
“Eventually the storm’s going to end and all of us in the locker room, we’ll remember all this moment,” Ward said in October. “Someone in the world has it a lot worse than I have. So that’s just how I put it in perspective. I’m very blessed. God’s blessed me with the ability to do what I love for a living.”
These are the breaks for most players who are chosen first and are also often tasked with being assigned to the worst team. Ward is the fourth quarterback in five years to be chosen first overall only to see their head coach get fired during their rookie year.
Like Mayfield, 2014 No.1 pick Jadeveon Clowney bounced around the league. Clowney went to six different teams in seven seasons after spending his first five with the Texans. His seven teams are the most of any former No. 1 still in the league. Clowney was a 2016 second-team All-Pro and was named to the Pro Bowl from 2016 to 2018.
The responsibilities that come with being the first pick are heavy and have produced mixed results. We took a look at how all of the No. 1 picks currently playing are doing in the varying stages of their careers, and NFL analyst Ben Solak rated how they’ve handled the hype since entering the league:
Jump to: Ward | Williams | Young Walker | Lawrence | Burrow Murray | Mayfield | Garrett Goff | Winston | Clowney | Stafford
Impact this season: Ward’s impact can’t really be measured in wins and losses because the Titans are bad. But he has been a steady influence for a locker room that could easily splinter from all of the losing. “You just have to wake up with the right mindset every day to get better,” Ward said. “I live the life of a quarterback by never getting too low or too high.” — Turron Davenport
Notable career moments: Walker had a sack and interception in his first game and a 35-yard fumble return for a touchdown in Week 9 in 2024 against Philadelphia. He had 3.5 sacks as a rookie followed by back-to-back double-digit sacks seasons in 2023 (10) and 2024 (10.5), including his lone three-sack game in Week 5 in 2024 against Indianapolis. The Jaguars picked up his fifth-year option this spring, but there has been no movement on an extension.
Impact this season: Walker has dealt with a broken left hand and a right knee injury that has cost him a combined three games. He has 2.5 sacks but has still been good against the run. “It’s the most banged up I’ve been since early college,” Walker said. “But I mean, what is life without lessons? That’s just how I look at it. God put me in this position for a reason. I’m not running from it.” — Michael DiRocco
Warner to Eisen: Lawrence is locked in and throwing the ball really well
Kurt Warner joins Rich Eisen and explains what is working for Trevor Lawerence in Jacksonville.
Notable career moments: After a rough rookie season under former Jags coach Urban Meyer, Lawrence flourished in Year 2 under Doug Pederson (25 TDs, 8 interceptions and 4,113 yards) and led the Jaguars to the playoffs. He threw four first-half interceptions and trailed 27-0 against the Chargers but rebounded with four TDs to spark the 31-30 victory. The Jaguars signed him to a five-year, $275 million extension in 2024. He missed seven games with a shoulder injury and concussion that season.
Notable career moments: Burrow has done a lot of living in six seasons. Two Pro Bowl nods. Two-time MVP finalist. Led the Bengals to their first playoff win in 31 seasons. A Super Bowl appearance. Two-time Comeback Player of the Year. Five major injuries. And a $275 million contract extension. Burrow has arguably impacted his more than any No. 1 pick in the past 10 years.
Impact this season: Very little. Murray got hurt in Week 5 and hasn’t returned. The Cardinals shut down his season in early December because of a foot injury that’s still lingering. However, before he got hurt, the Cardinals were 2-3 and struggling to close out games. — Josh Weinfuss
Notable career moments: In 2020, Mayfield led the Browns to their first playoff win in 27 years. He then led the Bucs to consecutive NFC South titles and a playoff victory in 2023. He was awarded a three-year, $100 million contract ($115 million with incentives) after the 2023 season, and after the 2024 season, the team reworked his deal to give him $30 million guaranteed in 2026. He also has been named to the Pro Bowl twice.
Notable career moments: In his ninth season, Garrett is closing in on the NFL’s single-season sack record. With 21.5 sacks this season, Garrett is one sack from tying the record shared by Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt. Garrett’s 124 career sacks rank 21st all time and are nine more than the next-closest player (Watt, 115) since he entered the league.
Goff has been to two conference championship games and one Super Bowl, which is nothing to sneeze at. His four Pro Bowl nods have been split (two with Los Angeles, two with Detroit), and his dramatic improvement as a player in Detroit is a testament to his arm talent and sharpened mental game. Teams hope that top picks become great starters, and Goff didn’t quite become that — though he’s been close. But it’s still fair to say he was a hit of a pick.
Impact this season: Winston began the season behind Russell Wilson and rookie Jaxson Dart. He eventually jumped Wilson on the depth chart and started two games in place of the injured Dart. He showcased his ability respectably, throwing for 366 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a loss in Detroit. He also has proved to be a good influence and mentor for Dart. — Jordan Raanan
Notable career moments: The Cowboys are Clowney’s seventh team, an amazing feat for a former No. 1 pick. He has been traded once (to Seattle), released twice (by the Browns and Panthers). He has never had a double-digit sack season, but he has 62 sacks for his career. He was named to the Pro Bowl three times (2016-18) with the Texans.
Matthew Stafford to Rich Eisen: I’m humbled to be in MVP consideration
Notable career moments: Stafford spent his first 12 seasons in Detroit, but he did not win his first playoff game until he was traded to the Rams. In 2021, his first season in Los Angeles, Stafford led the Rams to a Super Bowl LVI victory. This season, Stafford became the 10th NFL quarterback to throw for 60,000 regular-season passing yards. He is quickly moving up the career list, now No. 8 with 63,531 yards.
Impact this season: Stafford is playing some of the best football of his career and is in the conversation for 2025 MVP, an award he has never won. Stafford has thrown 32 touchdown passes and four interceptions this season, at one point throwing an NFL-record 28 straight touchdown passes without an interception. “It feels like the game’s slowing down [for him],” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “I feel like he’s in total command.” — Sarah Barshop
Stafford is hard to rate, as he never delivered that which Detroit hoped when it drafted him. But we suspected then and are sure now that the failure wasn’t primarily on his shoulders, as Stafford’s late-career surge in Los Angeles already has one Super Bowl ring, might deliver a second and could include an MVP to boot. It might pain Lions fans, but he has — looking at his career in total — met the hype.
Sometimes the story plays out for the good over a longer time period. That’s especially the case for 2009 No. 1 pick Matthew Stafford, who put up spectacular numbers for the Detroit Lions but made only two playoff appearances over 12 years. Stafford was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 2021 for 2016 No. 1 pick Jared Goff and won his first Super Bowl trophy in his initial season with L.A. Despite being one of the NFL’s oldest quarterbacks at 37, Stafford is the favorite to win MVP in his 17th season. Over his career, he has earned over $364 million, the most among the past 20 first overall picks.
Ward’s numbers look rough (11 touchdowns to seven interceptions, and he is tied for the most-sacked QB in the NFL), but the on-field play has been encouraging. Ward had one of the sleepiest hype trains for first overall picks at quarterback, and accordingly his weekly achievements of processing, ball placement and escapability go largely unnoticed. The Titans believe they have a player worth building around, and with the correct offseason moves Ward can blossom into an above-average NFL starter at the very least. So far, so good.
Notable career moments: The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner known for his creativity and arm strength has wowed with his Houdini-like ability to avoid sacks (he has been sacked 22 times this season after taking 68 as a rookie) and make off-schedule throws. That showed up in a 31-3 win over the Browns where Williams’ 22-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore was the most improbable completion (16.1%) by a Bears quarterback in five seasons. “It just shows off why he was the No. 1 overall pick,” tight end Cole Kmet said. “I don’t know how many guys in the league could be able to make that throw.” Williams’ five game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime are tied for the second most in 2025, highlighted by one of his biggest throws of the season — a 58-yard TD pass to Colston Loveland to beat the Bengals.