On April 25, the Chicago Bears selected quarterback Caleb Williams as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. The former Heisman Trophy winner 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) Check out ESPN's NFL page, which features breaking news, in-depth analysis, features, mock drafts, fantasy football content, and more.
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