The 2025 NFL Draft is fast approaching, with teams looking for value in every pick from the first to the last, so it’s a good time to look back on the past decade to find the best value picks in every round.
All rounds are not the same, of course. Players who have come into the NFL since the start of 2015 have combined for 555 Pro Bowl appearances, and nearly half of them were by first-round draft picks. Here’s the breakdown:
first round: 264
second round: 105
third round: 61
fourth round: 28
fifth round: 44
sixth round: 7
seventh round: 4
undrafted: 42
There’s a steady decline, with a notable spike in the fifth round, and the large number of undrafted Pro Bowl players, while impressive, is also heavily populated with special-teams players and fullbacks.
So we went through each draft for the past 10 years — more than 2,500 selections — and chose the best value pick for each round, along with five honorable mentions. Remembering that the top of the first round is loaded with talented players most years, we looked for value at the end of the round and players exceeding the expectations of their draft position. And to give some love to the best undrafted players of the past decade, we’ll go with Patriots center David Andrews, just ahead of running back Austin Ekeler.
Purdy is a runaway winner here, not just as a seventh-rounder but the final pick in 2022 — 262nd overall — affectionately known as “Mr. Irrelevant.” The nickname has never been more wrong, as Purdy has 23 wins in 36 starts, already with 9,518 passing yards and 64 touchdowns against only 27 interceptions. San Francisco has a big decision ahead regarding how much to pay him now that he’s eligible for a long-term extension. If you look at the passer rating of all NFL quarterbacks after three seasons, Purdy’s 104.9 is the second-best ever, behind only Patrick Mahomes.
Honorable mention: Harrison Butker, K, Chiefs, 2017; Jordan Mailata, T, Eagles, 2018; Trent Brown, T, 49ers, 2015: Isiah Pacheco, RB, Chiefs, 2022; Zaire Franklin, LB, Colts, 2018
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For all the love understandably given to 2000 sixth-rounder Tom Brady over the past 25 years, this is the toughest round to pick a winner from over the past decade. Diggs has gone to three Pro Bowls in his NFL career, while all the other sixth-round picks in the decade have combined for four, none more than once. A little recency bias could make a case for the Chiefs’ Trey Smith here, but Diggs has 24 career interceptions and 622 tackles, with a full decade as an impact player, rare for a sixth-rounder.
Honorable mention: Trey Smith, G, Chiefs, 2021; Darren Waller, TE, Ravens, 2015; Michael Onwenu, OL, Patriots, 2020; Jon Runyan Jr., G, Packers, 2020; Elandon Roberts, LB, Patriots, 2016
The fifth round is loaded. Picking a winner isn’t easy, picking the honorable mentions isn’t easy. The fifth round has a much larger impact than the fourth round for the past decade, for whatever reason. We’ll start the list with Hill, who has put up spectacular numbers in nine years in the league: 11,098 yards and 82 touchdowns, not counting what he’s done in 15 career playoff games, including two Super Bowls. George Kittle has six Pro Bowls, but Hill has eight and gets the nod here. There are younger fifth-rounders — Kyren Williams, Tariq Woolen, DaRon Bland — who could end up as good as these honorable mentions.
Honorable mention: George Kittle, TE, 49ers, 2017; Stefon Diggs, WR, Vikings, 2015; Grady Jarrett, DT, Falcons, 2015; Puka Nacua, WR, Rams, 2023; Aaron Jones, RB, Packers, 2017
It’s a really tough call to choose between Crosby and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, if only because late-round star QBs are extremely hard to find in the past decade. But Crosby has been an elite pass-rusher — Pro Bowls in each of the past four years, leading the NFL in tackles for loss twice, already with 59.5 career sacks. It’s hard to pass on a $60 million-a-year quarterback, but Crosby gets the nod here.
Honorable mention: Dak Prescott, QB, Cowboys, 2016; Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, LIons, 2021; Za’Darius Smith, edge, Ravens, 2015; L’Jarius Sneed, CB, Chiefs, 2020; Bucky Irving, RB, Bucs, 2024
The third round has produced star players on both sides of the ball over the past decade, but we’ll go with Warner. He’s had a sustained run as the best inside linebacker in the game for five years, with four first-team All-Pro nods. You can argue he’s gotten better than age: six interceptions in the past two years, after totaling four in his first five seasons; eight forced fumbles in the past two years, after totaling seven in his first five. Props to the Saints for getting two honorable mentions in the third round of the same draft. The HM list is so good that really good picks like Terry McLaurin, Mark Andrews and Orlando Brown didn’t make the cut.
Honorable mention: Danielle Hunter, edge, Vikings, 2015; Cooper Kupp, WR, Rams, 2017; Trey Hendrickson, edge, Saints, 2017; Joe Thuney, G, Patriots, 2016; Alvin Kamara, RB, Saints, 2017
Hurts was the 53rd pick in 2020, so he wasn’t just the first few picks outside the first round. Winning a Super Bowl MVP (and falling just short of another) is a compelling case in itself, but Hurts has done a lot. In addition to his passing, he’s rushed for 52 touchdowns over the past four seasons. He’s 39-10 over the past three years, and his dominant performance in Philadelphia’s Super Bowl win over the Chiefs made him the right choice.
Honorable mention: Chris Jones, DT, Chiefs, 2016; Derrick Henry, RB, Titans, 2016; Budda Baker, S, Cardinals, 2017; James Cook, RB, Bills, 2022; Creed Humphrey, C, Chiefs, 2021
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It’s hard to do better than a two-time NFL MVP with the final pick of the first round. There’s an expectation of elite talent with a top-10 pick, so we focused on finding value in the back end of the first round. Jackson’s 2024 might be better than his two MVP seasons: 41 touchdowns against only four interceptions, while rushing for another 915 yards and four scores. Jackson hasn’t had the postseason impact to match his regular-season dominance, but he’s our pick for the best value first-round pick of the past decade.
Honorable mention: Patrick Mahomes, QB, Chiefs (10th), 2017; T.J. Watt, edge, Steelers (30th), 2017; Justin Jefferson, WR, Vikings (22nd), 2020; Jordan Love, QB, Packers (26th), 2020; Frank Ragnow, C, Lions (20th), 2018
Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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