Ranking the 8 Best NFL Draft Classes from the Last 10 Years

A great draft class can reverse the fortunes of a NFL team. It often takes multiple impactful picks to achieve that goal, though.

Some players have lifted their respective teams despite not receiving much support from their draft classmates. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald are two such examples. Both turned into Hall of Fame talents, but they didn’t have a great overall draft class around them.

The best draft classes from the last 10 years have all featured three or more difference-makers.

NFL teams used to give rookies more time to develop, but patience often runs thin in today’s high-stakes game. So, it should come as no surprise that three of the top eight draft classes from the past 10 years are from the last two drafts, especially when two of those featured both the Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year.

Here, we’ve ranked the best draft classes from the past 10 years based on volume and quality of impact players.

This final slot essentially boiled down to a tie between the 2023 Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions. Both pieced together exceptional rookie classes, but the Rams won the tiebreaker since they landed multiple potential franchise cornerstones without a first-round pick.

Fifth-round receiver Puka Nacua emerged as the class’ crown jewel. Nacua broke NFL rookie records with 105 receptions and 1,486 receiving yards on his way to a Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro nod. The wide receiver is a perfect fit in head coach Sean McVay’s system and could put up consistent numbers year after year.

While Nacua is the headliner, defensive tackle Kobie Turner took some pressure off Aaron Donald by creating some of his own. The interior rusher led all rookies with nine sacks. He also generated 50 quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. Turner’s emergence last season should help soften the blow of Donald’s retirement.

The Rams’ top selection in 2023, Steve Avila, started all 18 games at left guard (including the playoffs). He’s expected to make the full-time transition to center this fall.

Byron Young, whom Los Angeles selected 77th overall, tied with Donald for second on the squad with eight sacks. Seventh-rounder Ethan Evans finished among the top 10 leaguewide last season with an average of 49.2 yards per punt.

Rams general manager Les Snead did a tremendous job of retooling the roster on the fly. He brought the team back to contention while building a foundation for the future.

The San Francisco 49ers got lucky when Brock Purdy, the final pick of the 2022 NFL draft, turned out to be a franchise quarterback. But they competed at a high level prior to that point, and their 2019 class was a significant reason why.

That class was headlined by No. 2 overall pick Nick Bosa, who is now one of the annual favorites to win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Bosa won the award two years ago and is already a four-time Pro Bowler. A torn ACL in 2020 likely cost him a fifth nod.

Bosa has tallied 44.5 sacks over the last three seasons alone. He’s particularly dominant with the game on the line. Bosa’s 17.5 sacks and 86 pressures in the fourth quarter and overtime both led the NFL since the start of the 2021 campaign, per Pro Football Focus.

After choosing Bosa in the first round, the Niners grabbed wide receiver Deebo Samuel in the second. He has since emerged as one of the game’s best all-around offensive weapons.

Samuel has amassed 3,751 yards from scrimmage and 31 touchdowns over the past three seasons. He’s a threat lined up wide or out of the backfield, and he’s especially dangerous after the catch or handoff.

The fourth-round selection of punter Mitch Wishnowsky is what it is, but he’s been the team’s punter ever since. But the selection of linebacker Dre Greenlaw in the fifth round provided the 49ers with the NFL’s best pair of off-ball linebackers.

Unfortunately, Greenlaw suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon during this year’s Super Bowl. But when healthy, he and Fred Warner form an awesome duo capable of covering sideline-to-sideline with ease.

Landing a true franchise quarterback is more than enough to consider any draft class a hit. Everything beyond that is icing on the cake.

The Houston Texans landing C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr. in the same draft class last year should be considered well-slathered cake with the sweetest icing and the biggest possible cherry on top.

Stroud looked unflappable in his first season. The reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year finished eighth in passing yardage (4,108) and third in average yards per attempt (8.2), while finishing with the fewest amount of interceptions (five) among quarterbacks with 400 or more pass attempts. His deep passing grade ranked second overall, per Pro Football Focus.

More importantly, Stroud provided consistency at the game’s most important position, which helped the Texans go from one of the league’s worst teams to a division winner.

Anderson did the same thing but on defense. The reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year finished second on the team with seven sacks, but he led the squad and all rookies with 59 quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. He also quickly turned into one of the league’s best run defenders.

Those two alone proved to be awesome. Beyond that duo, third-round wide receiver Tank Dell became a favorite target for Stroud. Though Dell did suffer a season-ending broken fibula, his 709 receiving yards still finished seventh among rookie wide receivers.

Fifth-round linebacker Henry To’oTo’o can be thrown into the mix as well after he started six games and finished sixth on the team with 61 tackles. He could easily move into a full-time starting role this fall after Blake Cashman and Denzel Perryman left in free agency.

In 2022, New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner and wide receiver Garrett Wilson became the third pair of teammates in NFL history to win both the Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year in the same season. (Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud and edge-rusher Will Anderson Jr. repeated that feat one year later.)

Gardner, whom the Jets selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2022 draft, is already one of the league’s best cover corners. He’s been named a first-team All-Pro and a Pro Bowler in each of his first two seasons. He graded as the game’s third-best and No. 1 overall cornerback in his first and second seasons, respectively, per Pro Football Focus. During that time, Gang Green finished top three in pass defense.

Wilson has yet to be named to a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team, but that’s more of a byproduct of the Jets’ quarterback play than his performance. Despite nonstop issues behind center, Wilson still produced 2,145 receiving yards and seven touchdown catches over his first two seasons. He was one of only 18 wide receivers with 1,000-yard campaigns in both seasons.

With their third first-round pick in 2022, the Jets selected linebacker Jermaine Johnson II at No. 26 overall. Unlike Wilson, Johnson has gone to one Pro Bowl. Johnson garnered the nod after he managed 7.5 sacks this past season.

Second-round running back Breece Hall also finished six yards short of the 1,000-yard mark in his second season. He has flashed lead-back capabilities coupled with big-play ability.

With Aaron Rodgers back from an Achilles injury this season, each of these young players should have an opportunity to be spotlighted to an even greater degree after an already impressive start to their careers.

It’s amazing to look back and see that Derrick Henry fell all the way to the 45th overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft. It’s even more mind-boggling that the Tennessee Titans actually passed on Henry three times before selecting the 6’3″, 247-pound ball-carrier.

Not all of those selections were bad, though.

After trading away the No. 1 overall pick, the Titans traded up to the eighth overall pick and selected offensive tackle Jack Conklin. The right tackle became a first-team All-Pro as a rookie and earned the honor again four years later as a member of the Cleveland Browns.

Tennessee chose nose tackle Austin Johnson in the second round. He’s a lunch-pail type working in the middle of the defensive line, but he’s still in the league as a valuable contributor, particularly on run downs.

Henry turned out to be a superstar, of course. Questions about whether he had the short-area quickness or lateral movement to succeed in the NFL were quickly squashed. He went on to win Offensive Player of the Year in 2020 and captured two rushing titles.

Even at age 29, King Henry finished second leaguewide with 1,167 rushing yards last season despite playing behind the league’s worst offensive line. He’s well on his way to cracking 10,000 rushing yards after signing with the Baltimore Ravens this offseason.

One round later, the Titans chose Kevin Byard, who has been an elite free safety. Like Conklin, Byard earned a pair of first-team All-Pro nods. Tennessee traded Byard to the Philadelphia Eagles before last year’s trade deadline. Before then, he had been one of the game’s most consistent backline performers.

The Titans were built as a hard-nosed squad with a winning record between 2018-21. The 2018 draft class was the biggest reason why.

The Buffalo Bills’ current core began with the 2018 NFL draft class.

Josh Allen was the third quarterback drafted that year, but he turned into one of the league’s best signal-callers. Both the Bills’ coaching staff and Allen himself deserve tremendous credit for his development. The Bills took a project and then helped him realize his potential.

Few players in the NFL are asked to shoulder the burden as much as Allen, and the Bills remain a Super Bowl contender with him behind center.

The Bills also selected linebacker Tremaine Edmunds in the first round. Edmunds managed a 100 or more tackles in each of his five seasons in Buffalo, and he led the squad during four of those campaigns. He signed a megadeal with the Chicago Bears as a free agent last offseason but previously served as the staple in the middle of Buffalo’s talented defense.

Harrison Phillips, whom the Bills chose in the third round, was a solid contributor-turned-full-time starter for the Minnesota Vikings after he signed with them prior to the 2022 campaign.

Taron Johnson was a fourth-round pick and remains the Bills’ primary slot defender. Siran Neal regularly contributed to the defense before signing with the Miami Dolphins this offseason. Finally, Wyatt Teller is one of the game’s best guards, though he found success after being traded to the Cleveland Browns.

Allen alone changed everything for the Bills. But he wasn’t their only major hit in the 2018 class.

Ozzie Newsome’s final draft as the Baltimore Ravens general manager set the team up for success for years to come.

The Ravens’ first pick during the 2018 draft, tight end Hayden Hurst, didn’t quite pan out. The next three more than made up for it.

Baltimore traded back into the first round to select quarterback Lamar Jackson with the 32nd overall pick. Jackson turned into a two-time league MVP and the greatest dual-threat quarterback in NFL history. He gave the Ravens an identity and helped lead his team to five playoff appearances in his six seasons, with three division titles along the way.

In the third round, the Ravens chose offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. and tight end Mark Andrews.

The Ravens eventually traded Brown to the Kansas City Chiefs since he wanted to play on the left side and they already had Ronnie Stanley there. In doing so, the Ravens gained an extra first-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft, which they used to select Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum.

Andrews is easily one of the game’s best targets. The tight end has been a favorite of Jackson’s, with three Pro Bowl nods along the way. Andrews has 2,752 receiving yards and 20 touchdown receptions over the last three seasons alone.

Sixth-round safety DeShon Elliott became a two-year starter before signing with the Detroit Lions during the 2022 offseason. Sixth-round center Bradley Bozeman served as the Ravens’ starting left guard then center before signing a free-agent deal with the Carolina Panthers two years ago.

The Ravens didn’t get the most out of seventh-round pick Zach Sieler, but he developed into a fantastic interior defender who’s coming off his best season with 10 sacks as a member of the Miami Dolphins.

No team ever has a perfect draft class. But the New Orleans Saints nearly pulled off the impossible during the 2017 draft. All but one of their seven picks went on to become quality starters or high-level contributors, even if they’re no longer with the Saints.

New Orleans opened the draft with a pair of first-round picks that it spent on cornerback Marshon Lattimore and offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk.

Lattimore became the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and a four-time Pro Bowl honoree. He has slowed down over the last two seasons due to injuries, but he still boasts top coverage skills when healthy.

Ramczyk is currently dealing with a serious knee injury that could force him into retirement. When healthy, the 32nd overall selection was an elite right tackle who possibly claimed the title of the game’s best for a short period.

Of those still with the team, running back Alvin Kamara has been the biggest focal point.

Kamara remains one of the NFL’s best two-way backs. He’s never once run for 1,000 yards, yet he’s gone to five Pro Bowls after accumulating 10,048 yards from scrimmage and 77 total touchdowns in seven seasons.

“All three had a huge impact in building our success here for an extended period of time,” head coach Dennis Allen told reporters. “That’s what this league is all about. Draft and develop.”

Among those no longer with the team, second-round pick Marcus Williams is one of the game’s better pure free safeties. Third-round linebacker Alex Anzalone has turned into a three-year starter for the Detroit Lions. Finally, third-round edge-rusher Trey Hendrickson is one of the game’s best pure sack artists, with 53 over the last four seasons.

Only the sixth-round selection of Al-Quadin Muhammad didn’t work out.