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Greg Olsen talks Tight End University and what he’s excited for in the 2025 NFL season<\/p>\n
Greg Olsen stops by to talk about another year of Tight End University and who he’s excited to watch as the NFL season inches closer.<\/p>\n
Sports Seriously<\/p>\n
Cooper Flagg is a virtual lock to be the No. 1 pick<\/a> of Wednesday night\u2019s NBA draft<\/a>. However despite filling his trophy case, including national player of the year honors, during his sublime freshman (and only) season at Duke University \u2013 not to mention a reputation burnished by holding his own against Team USA\u2019s superstars prior to last year\u2019s Paris Olympics \u2013 Flagg is not a virtual lock to become a professional legend commensurate with his presumed draft position. Yes, his hype train quickly built in high school, where he led the Montverde Academy Eagles to 34-0 record and a national championship as a senior, before driving the Blue Devils to this year\u2019s Final Four.<\/p>\n Doesn\u2019t mean Flagg will revitalize the Dallas Mavericks, who, one year removed from losing in the NBA Finals, are apparently hoping he can, on some level, fill the Luka Don\u010di\u0107-sized hole in their lineup<\/a>. Pro sports rarely work that tidily. For every LeBron James, there\u2019s a Kwame Brown and maybe even an Andrea Bargnani or Ben Simmons. For every Peyton Manning, there\u2019s a Jeff George. And the spotlight is even harsher when it comes to top picks. Highly regarded Bears quarterback Caleb Williams had a decent rookie season in 2024 despite the regrettable circumstances around him. Yet his career is already being (unfairly?) measured against the man chosen right after him, Washington Commanders<\/a> counterpart Jayden Daniels, who may have had the greatest NFL season ever by a rookie QB<\/a>.<\/p>\n Welcome to the Association, Coop. To illustrate the daunting climb ahead of you, I\u2019m going to rank this century\u2019s No. 1 picks in the NFL \u2013 I\u2019m old enough to have covered LeBron and Brown when they were NBA newbies, but football is my area of (alleged) expertise \u2013 from best to worst. This year\u2019s top selection<\/a>, Cam Ward of the Tennessee Titans, gets a one-year exemption, for obvious reasons \u2026<\/p>\n 1. QB Eli Manning, San Diego Chargers (2004)<\/p>\n Tabbed by the Bolts against his family’s will, he was traded to the New York Giants<\/a> within an hour of being picked in a megadeal involving Philip Rivers. Both passers will likely find their way to the Hall of Fame eventually, though Manning was not elected in 2025, his first year of eligibility. But he does own a pair of Super Bowl MVP trophies after vanquishing Tom Brady\u2019s New England Patriots in style two times over. Maybe Eli wasn\u2019t as good individually as older brother Peyton, the No. 1 pick in 1998 and a five-time league MVP, but that doesn\u2019t detract from the exceptional performer and ambassador he was for the Giants over 16 seasons.<\/p>\n 2. QB Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions (2009)<\/p>\n A late-career surge with the Los Angeles Rams, which included a Super Bowl win to cap the 2021 season, will probably certify Stafford\u2019s Canton credentials. But he deserves more credit than he probably gets for his often-scintillating play on some Lions teams that were overly reliant on him and WR Calvin Johnson for seven years. And Stafford\u2019s relative excellence in Motown hardly subsided in the five seasons following Megatron\u2019s retirement after the 2015 campaign.<\/p>\n From a personal perspective \u2013 four-time All-Pro, 2023 Defensive Player of the Year, 102\u00bd sacks in 117 NFL games \u2013 he\u2019s probably already done enough to gain entry into the Hall. In terms of team success, the Browns only have one playoff win since Garrett got there \u2013 not that he\u2019s remotely to blame.<\/p>\n Admittedly, this is something of a projection for a guy who\u2019s played the equivalent of four full seasons when you take injuries into account. But Burrow has already carried Cincy to a Super Bowl \u2013 a huge feather in his cap \u2013 and a pair of appearances in the AFC championship game. He seems to be an MVP-in-waiting, and perhaps that comes this season if he\u2019s able to \u2013 forced to? \u2013 overcome a deficient Cincinnati D. After leading the league with 4,913 yards and 43 touchdowns through the air in 2024, many league observers thought Burrow deserved quite a bit of MVP consideration despite the Bengals\u2019 failure as a team.<\/p>\n 5. QB Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams (2016)<\/p>\n Despite starting Super Bowl 53, he was part of the package the Rams gave up for Stafford in 2021 \u2013 and his relocation to Detroit was widely viewed as something of a salary dump<\/a> at the time. But give Goff, a two-time Pro Bowler in LA, copious credit \u2013 he\u2019s become an even better quarterback with the Lions, throwing for at least 4,400 yards each of the past three seasons and leading the franchise to a level success (including successive division titles) it had not previously experienced during the Super Bowl era (since 1966).<\/p>\n 6. QB Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers (2011)<\/p>\n During his first five seasons, the super-sized dual threat lived up to his Superman persona \u2013 faster than a speeding linebacker, more powerful than a \u2026 linebacker \u2013 peaking in 2015 with league MVP honors while the Panthers won the NFC. But Newton was notably terrible in Super Bowl 50 and experienced a steady descent afterward, dogged by injuries and inconsistency.<\/p>\n Targeted as the virtually irreplaceable Peyton Manning\u2019s successor, Luck seemed up to the unenviable task \u2026 when he was healthy enough to play. He led the Colts to a 33-15 record and a trio of playoff appearances during his first three seasons, which culminated with a loss in the 2014 AFC championship game. But, like Newton, Luck was a big man who was also a big target as he often resorted to a devil-may-care playing style. He only posted 38 times over his final four seasons \u2013 he was named Comeback Player of the Year in 2018, when he passed for 39 TDs and nearly 4,600 yards \u2013 and shockingly retired during the 2019 preseason, no longer able to shoulder the pain and expectations of his job. The Colts have yet to recover.<\/p>\n NFL LOTTERY? Three reasons league likely won’t ever adopt NBA draft model<\/a><\/p>\n While it probably wouldn\u2019t be accurate to say he\u2019s the paradigm of the dual-threat quarterbacks who are becoming the rule rather than the exception in the modern NFL \u2013 I\u2019m giving that credit to Randall Cunningham \u2013 Vick certainly inspired a legion of uber-athletic passers who followed him. Had he worked harder as a younger player rather than relying on his gifts \u2013 just ask Vick \u2013 remained clear of dogfighting and the jail time it earned him and avoided injuries later in his career, he might have wound up a Super Bowl champion and Hall of Famer. Regardless \u2013 legend.<\/p>\n 9. QB Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals (2003)<\/p>\n For a brief moment, it appeared he might be the guy to do what Burrow seems to be managing and lead the Bengals out of the wilderness. But Palmer tore up his knee on the first pass of his playoff debut \u2013 a 66-yard completion \u2013 and Cincinnati retreated into irrelevance. Fed up with the organization in later years, Palmer was traded to another backwater in 2011, joining the Raiders<\/a> for 25 forgettable games. He eventually enjoyed a renaissance with the Cardinals and nearly took them to the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n 10. QB Baker Mayfield, Browns (2018)<\/p>\n He emerged as Cleveland\u2019s choice at the 11th hour \u2013 a decision he largely vindicated. However the Browns\u2019 decisions to dump Mayfield for Deshaun Watson in 2022 will forever be viewed as an unequivocal disaster. But it may have also catalyzed Mayfield into becoming the player he is now \u2013 a two-time Pro Bowler who\u2019s thrown for 69 TDs and nearly 9,000 yards in two years with the Buccaneers. He has plenty of runway ahead to move much further up this list.<\/p>\n 11. DE Mario Williams, Houston Texans (2006)<\/p>\n He was the surprising choice over electric USC RB Reggie Bush. But Williams justified his very unpopular selection with the locals, compiling nearly 100 sacks in 11 NFL seasons. A four-time Pro Bowler, most of his career was spent in virtual anonymity with bad teams in Houston and Buffalo. Williams never started a playoff game.<\/p>\n 12. QB Alex Smith, San Francisco 49ers (2005)<\/p>\n He spent his career as NFL hurdler \u2013 overcoming the transition from Urban Meyer\u2019s college offense at Utah to a pro scheme; getting chosen (instead of Aaron Rodgers) by a bad Niners squad; losing his job to Colin Kaepernick after suffering a concussion in 2012; losing his job to Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City in 2018; and suffering a gruesome leg injury late in his career at Washington but one he miraculously came back from. Still, Smith, a three-time Pro Bowler, was a good player, outstanding teammate and great interview who made the most of his 16-year career (though two seasons were wiped out by injuries).<\/p>\n 13. LT Jake Long, Miami Dolphins (2008)<\/p>\n He was a Pro Bowler and dominant player in each of his first four seasons before injuries largely short-circuited the balance of his nine-year career. The Fins thought enough of Long to choose him instead of future league MVP Matt Ryan.<\/p>\n 14. LT Eric Fisher, Kansas City Chiefs (2013)<\/p>\n His draft wasn\u2019t exactly star-studded, and Fisher emerged as something of a surprise choice at the top of it. Nevertheless, he was a solid player over the course of a decade, earned a pair of Pro Bowl nods and is one of just three players \u2013 along with Eli Manning and Stafford \u2013 to play in and win a Super Bowl after being selected No. 1 overall in the 21st century.<\/p>\n 15. QB Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals (2019)<\/p>\n His potential hasn\u2019t sufficiently matched the production to this point, though he was the Offensive Rookie of the Year and followed that up with Pro Bowl recognition in 2020 and \u201921. But Murray ended the 2021 season with a poor performance in a wild-card loss to the Rams and has had to answer a lot of questions about his health and work habits in recent years. Still, plenty of time yet for his career to truly take off, and the Cards seem to be perched for a breakout.<\/p>\n 16. DE\/OLB Jadeveon Clowney, Texans (2014)<\/p>\n A three-time Pro Bowler, the peripatetic pass rusher has been a very good player who maybe hasn\u2019t been given due credit for his all-around game given edge players are so often judged by sacks \u2212 and Clowney has never even had 10 in a single season. Yet it is probably fair to say that he\u2019s never lived up to his highlight-reel promise while at the University of South Carolina.<\/p>\n 17. QB Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars (2021)<\/p>\n Projected as a generational prospect years before the Jags secured the opportunity to take him, Lawrence has fallen well short of fulfilling that hype \u2026 so far. However, the Meyer debacle of his rookie year and last year\u2019s injury weren\u2019t Lawrence’s fault. And he did flash during the 2022 playoffs while leading Jacksonville to the divisional round. His story is far from written, and a new chapter awaits with the arrival of super-hyped rookie Travis Hunter to help the cause in Duval County.<\/p>\n 18. OLB\/DE Travon Walker, Jaguars (2022)<\/p>\n A dark horse who galloped to the top of the draft board, Walker has reached double-digit sacks each of the past two seasons. Yet, to date, he hasn\u2019t been nearly the player Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson, who was drafted directly after him, is. But it\u2019s obviously early in the process.<\/p>\n 19. QB Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears<\/a> (2024)<\/p>\n Greatness is expected of him. But as a rookie, he was the victim of an insufficient organizational infrastructure, one that likely contributed to Williams reverting to some of his bad on-field college habits \u2013 and that meant too many sacks and fumbles. However the arrival of offensively brilliant coach Ben Johnson could spark exponential improvement in Williams\u2019 performance.<\/p>\n 20. QB Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2015)<\/p>\n Talented. Enigmatic. Beloved. Vexing. If you need a season to sum up Winston, it would be 2019, when he passed for more than 5,000 yards, 33 TDs and 30 INTs. If you need a game to sum up Winston, it occurred last season \u2013 when he threw for 497 yards and six TDs (four to his Cleveland teammates, two to Denver Broncos defenders) in a memorable Monday night loss. Usually a favorite in any locker room he graces, Winston has mostly been a backup ever since the Bucs replaced him with Tom Brady after that 2019 campaign that nearly drove then-coach Bruce Arians crazy.<\/p>\n 21. QB Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams (2010)<\/p>\n His injury history at Oklahoma was predictive of similar setbacks in the NFL. In a sense, his pro career peaked when he won Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. Bradford played for four teams, finishing with a career passer rating of 84.5 and a 34-48-1 record in 83 career starts. He never appeared in the postseason.<\/p>\n 22. QB Bryce Young, Panthers (2023)<\/p>\n He struggled massively as a rookie and was benched in the early stages of his sophomore season<\/a>. But after getting back into the lineup, Young started to serve reminders of why Carolina loved him in the first place. Now enjoying continuity under second-year coach Dave Canales<\/a>, Young has a chance to blossom in 2025.<\/p>\n 23. QB David Carr, Texans (2002)<\/p>\n The first selection in club history, he\u2019s probably best known for being sacked a single-season record 76 times during his rookie season. Carr was constantly running for his life in Houston, subsequently developed poor on-field habits and never settled in as the franchise\u2019s foundation. He was a solid backup later in his career, winning a ring with the 2011 Giants.<\/p>\n 24. DE Courtney Brown, Browns (2000)<\/p>\n Need a snapshot of why the Browns have almost always stunk? Brown was the No. 1 pick a year after Cleveland kicked off the 1999 draft by choosing QB Tim Couch. Both were waylaid by injuries and their enlistment by an expansion team. Brown wound up with 19 sacks in six NFL seasons \u2013 basically what T.J. Watt does for the archrival Pittsburgh Steelers in a year.<\/p>\n