On April 25, the Chicago Bears selected quarterback Caleb Williams as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. The Bears kick off the 2024-25 regular season vs. the Tennessee Titans on September 8.
A former Heisman Trophy winner with USC, Williams is widely regarded as a generational prospect. He's joined an exclusive club of stars who have heard their name called first on draft night.
Here's a complete list of players drafted No. 1 overall throughout NFL history.
1936: HB Jay Berwanger, Chicago (Philadelphia Eagles)
1937: FB Sam Francis, Nebraska (Philadelphia Eagles)
1938: FB Corbett Davis, Indiana (Cleveland Rams)
1939: C Ki Aldrich, TCU (Chicago Cardinals)
1940: HB George Cafego, Tennessee (Chicago Cardinals)
1941: HB Tom Harmon, Michigan (Chicago Bears)
1942: HB Bill Dudley, Virginia (Pittsburgh Steelers)
1943: HB Frank Sinkwich, Georgia (Detroit Lions)
1944: QB Angelo Bertelli, Notre Dame (Boston Yanks)
1945: HB Charley Trippi, Georgia (Chicago Cardinals)
1946: QB Frank Dancewicz, Notre Dame (Boston Yanks)
1947: HB Bob Fenimore, Oklahoma A&M (Chicago Bears)
1948: HB/WR Harry Gilmer, Alabama (Washington Redskins)
1949: C/LB Chuck Bednarik, Penn (Philadelphia Eagles)
1950: OE Leon Hart, Notre Dame (Detroit Lions)
1951: HB Kyle Rote, SMU (New York Giants)
1952: QB Bill Wade, Vanderbilt (Los Angeles Rams)
1953: OE Harry Babcock, Georgia (San Francisco 49ers)
1954: QB Bobby Garrett, Stanford (Cleveland Browns)
1955: QB George Shaw, Oregon (Baltimore Colts)
1956: DB Gary Glick, Colorado A&M (Pittsburgh Steelers)
1957: HB Paul Hornung, Notre Dame (Green Bay Packers)
1958: QB King Hill, Rice (Chicago Cardinals)
1959: QB Randy Duncan, Iowa (Green Bay Packers)
1960: HB Billy Cannon, LSU (Los Angeles Rams)
1961: HB Tommy Mason, Tulane (Minnesota Vikings)
1962: HB Ernie Davis, Syracuse (Washington Redskins)
1963: QB Terry Baker, Oregon State (Los Angeles Rams)
1964: WR Dave Parks, Texas Tech (San Francisco 49ers)
1965: HB Tucker Frederickson, Auburn (New York Giants)
1966: LB Tommy Nobis, Texas (Atlanta Falcons)
1967: DE Bubba Smith, Michigan State (Baltimore Colts)
1968: OT Ron Yary, USC (Minnesota Vikings)
1969: HB O.J. Simpson, USC (Buffalo Bills)
1970: QB Terry Bradshaw, Louisiana Tech (Pittsburgh Steelers)
1971: QB Jim Plunkett, Stanford (New England Patriots)
1972: DE Walt Patulski, Notre Dame (Buffalo Bills)
1973: DE John Matuszak, Tampa (Houston Oilers)
1974: DE Ed Jones, Tennessee State (Dallas Cowboys)
1975: QB Steve Bartkowski, Cal (Atlanta Falcons)
1976: DE Lee Roy Selmon, Oklahoma (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
1977: HB Ricky Bell, USC (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
1978: HB Earl Campbell, Texas (Houston Oilers)
1979: LB Tom Cousineau, Ohio State (Buffalo Bills)
1980: HB Billy Sims, Oklahoma (Detroit Lions)
1981: HB George Rogers, South Carolina (New Orleans Saints)
1982: DE Kenneth Sims, Texas (New England Patriots)
1983: QB John Elway, Stanford (Baltimore Colts)
1984: WR Irving Fryar, Nebraska (New England Patriots)
1985: DE Bruce Smith, Virginia Tech (Buffalo Bills)
1986: HB Bo Jackson, Auburn (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
1987: QB Vinny Testaverde, Miami (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
1988: LB Aundray Bruce, Auburn (Atlanta Falcons)
1989: QB Troy Aikman, UCLA (Dallas Cowboys)
1990: QB Jeff George, Illinois (Indianapolis Colts)
1991: DT Russell Maryland, Miami (Dallas Cowboys)
1992: DE Steve Emtman, Washington (Indianapolis Colts)
1993: QB Drew Bledsoe, Washington State (New England Patriots)
1994: DT Dan Wilkinson, Ohio State (Cincinnati Bengals)
1995: HB Ki-Jana Carter, Penn State (Cincinnati Bengals)
1996: WR Keyshawn Johnson, USC (New York Jets)
1997: OT Orlando Pace, Ohio State (St. Louis Rams)
1998: QB Peyton Manning, Tennessee (Indianapolis Colts)
1999: QB Tim Couch, Kentucky (Cleveland Browns)
2000: DE Courtney Brown, Penn State (Cleveland Browns)
2001: QB Michael Vick, Virginia Tech (Atlanta Falcons)
2002: QB David Carr, Fresno State (Houston Texans)
2003: QB Carson Palmer, USC (Cincinnati Bengals)
2004: QB Eli Manning, Ole Miss (San Diego Chargers)
2005: QB Alex Smith, Utah (San Francisco 49ers)
2006: DE Mario Williams, North Carolina State (Houston Texans)
2007: QB JaMarcus Russell, LSU (Oakland Raiders)
2008: OT Jake Long, Michigan (Miami Dolphins)
2009: QB Matthew Stafford, Georgia (Detroit Lions)
2010: QB Sam Bradford, Oklahoma (St. Louis Rams)
2011: QB Cam Newton, Auburn (Carolina Panthers)
2012: QB Andrew Luck, Stanford (Indianapolis Colts)
2013: OT Eric Fisher, Central Michigan (Kansas City Chiefs)
2014: DE Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina (Houston Texans)
2015: QB Jameis Winston, Florida State (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
2016: QB Jared Goff, Cal (Los Angeles Rams)
2017: DE Myles Garrett, Texas A&M (Cleveland Browns)
2018: QB Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma (Cleveland Browns)
2019: QB Kyler Murray, Oklahoma (Arizona Cardinals)
2020: QB Joe Burrow, LSU (Cincinnati Bengals)
2021: QB Trevor Lawrence, Clemson (Jacksonville Jaguars)
2022: DE Travon Walker, Georgia (Jacksonville Jaguars)
2023: QB Bryce Young, Alabama (Carolina Panthers)
2024: QB Caleb Williams, USC (Chicago Bears)
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