NFL Draft results for reigning Super Bowl champions aren’t pretty

April 24, 2025

Much of the focus of all NFL Drafts is naturally focused on the teams at the top of the order. These are teams that desperately need the talent to change franchise (usually a quarterback) to become a candidate, and usually have an internal track of the best players.

Conversely, little attention has been paid to the incumbent Super Bowl champions and their respective draft night decisions. Looking at the past 10 current champions, it’s easy to see why. The result was little open to the point where the best first-round moves didn’t even involve drafting players.

We’ll also look at each team’s best picks for the season.

2024 Kansas City Chiefs: Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas

Kansas City dealt with the lack of wide receiver depth by gaining lightning value after trading No. 28 to No. 28. Buffalo Bills. The worthy one caught 59 passes for 638 yards and six touchdowns, rushing three TDs and showing off the game-changing speed. His 157 receiving yards Philadelphia Eagles This is a new Super Bowl record (although mainly in trash time).

Best Draft Pics: TBD. It’s too early to declare, but given the safety of the four rounds, it’s an overwhelming favourite considering Jaden Hicks is the only other major contributor.

2023 Kansas City Chiefs: Felix Anudikeuzoma, Edge, Kansas

It wasn’t a promising start for Anudike-Uzomah. Anudike-Uzomah has three sacks and 14 QB hits in limited playtime in two seasons. He is a low-end spinning pass rusher who has yet to average 20 snaps of the game. Luckily for the Chiefs, George Caraftis and Chris Jones are still stars of Trench.

Best Draft Pics: Rashee Rice. Before the end of the season in the fourth week of last year, the second-round receiver was on track to become Patrick Mahomes’ long-term top target. He will be immediately positive in his final championship season and should be crucial in KC’s offense next season.

2022 Los Angeles Rams: First Round Pick Traded for Matthew Stafford

You made the right move when you gave up on Matthew Stafford’s first multiple and won the Super Bowl. Also, with Von Miller’s second round and third rounder midway through the championship season, LA’s first pick came all the way to 104th overall in the third round used by Wisconsin offensive lineman Logan Brus. He tore his ACL as a rookie and was placed on the practice team the following year. Bruss didn’t even make the Rams debut until last season. Tennessee Titan.

Best Draft Pics: Kaylen Williams. Their top picks are apparently running through the 1,000-yard rushing seasons, running through Kylen Williams, who has a positive value as their fifth pick.

2021 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jole Trion Show Inka, Edge, Washington

Buccaneers He went all in on getting Tom Brady in free agency and paid a dividend right away. They stayed at No. 32 in the 2021 draft, Washington Husky Pass Rush Jo Trion Show Inka. Tryon-Shoyinka recorded 15 bags over four seasons, but it wasn’t a really impactful pass rush. He just signed Cleveland Browns With a free agency.

Best Draft Pics: Tryon-Shoyinka. To be honest, this is awful with feint praise. There are no six members in Tampa Bay’s seven-player class on the team. Quarterback Kyle Trask is the last guy after throwing 11 passes in four years.

2020 Kansas City Chiefs: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, LSU

If you have a real “what-if?” Explore any of these defending champions is the chief of 2020. With his first title heels with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reed, Kansas City brought a slightly more luxurious pick with Clyde Edwards Herrele. He peaked as a rookie with 1,100 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns, but soon found himself battling injuries and the appearance of Isia Pacheco. Jonathan Taylor was 10 picks after Edwards Herrele, and CEH’s next pick was Tee Higgins. it hurts.

Best Draft Pics: L’Jarius Sneed. The fourth cornerback became a key part of Kansas City’s last two Super Bowl titles before being traded with the Tennessee Titans.

2019 New England Patriots: N’Keal Harry, WR, Arizona State

Bilberic’s suspicious track record with early round wide receivers was fully on display here. Harry caught 57 regular season passes that went through three unforgettable seasons in New England. Deebo Samuel and AJ Brown are the next two receivers, and they made the famous second round Seattle Seahawkswho chose dk metcalf.

Best draft picks: Damian Harris. This was the iconic, terrifying class of the patriot’s declined talent in the last years of the Belichick era. The now-retired third round pick has scored 15 touchdowns in New England’s latest playoff season with over 1,000 yards total attacks in 2021.

2018 Philadelphia Eagles: Trade from the first round

After winning the first Lombardi Trophy, the Eagles came out of round one and paved the way for the Baltimore Ravens to choose a blowjob named Lamar Jackson. They moved a little further up from No. 52 to No. 49 in the second round and drafted Dallas Gaedart, a very solid player for the Eagles. People who are subject to recent trade speculation.

Best Draft Pic: Jordan Mail Tata. Howie Roseman only did five picks in 2018. Three of them were Goedert, Josh Sweat (4th round) and Mailata (7th round). The former rugby player has become one of the best offensive tackles in the sport, coming out of the All-Pro second-team selection and Super Bowl ring.

2017 New England Patriots: Brandin Cooks’ first round pick

This was a sparse draft for the Patriots, and he had four lower picks in the league, mainly due to offseason trading. They gave up the first round and third round New Orleans Saints For speedy receiver brand chefs Los Angeles Rams One season later. They also lost the second rounder Carolina Panthers With the horrifying trade of Kony Eay that was abandoned that later in August.

New England’s top pick was Pass Rush Dere Rivers, who was selected for No. 83 in the third round. The injury and ineffective play led to 14 regular season appearances in four years before being abandoned in the middle of the 2020 season.

Best Draft Pics: Deatrich Wise Jr.. This is really the default. Conor McDermott and Antonio Garcia never won a regular season roster. Wise was a wise fourth-round choice that made him a very good defensive lineman for eight seasons. Washington Commander This offseason.

2016 Denver Broncos: Paxton Lynch, QB, Memphis

Do you remember him? The Broncos needed a quarterback after national insurance spokesman Payton Manning retired as a two-time Super Bowl champion. They traded up from No. 31 New England Patriots They lost their first round as a punishment for Spygate – up to No. 26, with John Elway’s eyes firmly set in the 6’7 Paxton Lynch. The former Memphis star was due to be revealed as Manning’s heir.

He couldn’t beat Trevor Sheemian in training camp.

Lynch appeared only five times, starting in four with the Broncos, winning only once. His statistics were not scary. 79 of 128 for 792 yards, four touchdowns, four intercepts and 18 bags were filmed, but it was clear to the Broncos that he wasn’t a franchise QB after just two seasons.

Best draft picks: Justin Simmons. It wasn’t a disastrous draft for Denver. All-Pro Safety Justin Simmons was the third selection to play eight seasons with the Broncos and was one of the few bright spots throughout the playoff drought (after it broke).

2015 New England Patriots: Malcom Brown, DL, Texas

Having just won the Super Bowl with Malcolm Butler’s dramatic goal line interception against the Seahawks, the Patriots felt encouraged to bring in a defensive player named “Marco (L)MB” in the first round. Brown won two rings and earned PFWA All-Rookie honors, but the former Texas star had a rather unremarkable career and was not re-signed upon completion of his rookie contract.

Best Draft Pics: Shaq Mason. With tribute to long-time snapper Joe Cordona, who is part of all the dashing teams of the Patriots, Positional Value loses here to Mason, the fourth round pick who was one of the NFL’s excellent security guards at the height of his seven-year patriot career.

The 2005 New England Patriots chose Pro Bowl players in the first round of the draft, where Super Bowl winners continued, picking Logan Mankins from the seventh Pro Bowl selection. 2006 Pittsburgh Steelers Go up to No. 25 and get the honorable mention to draft Super Bowl 43 MVP Santonio Homes, who has never made a Pro Bowl.

All this is to say that if Howie Roseman and the Eagles are not receiving the surprising draft haul this year, it shouldn’t be a shock. It seems like a natural cycle for the dominant Super Bowl champion.