Skip to the content

The Washington Football Team - Best Number One Pick for Every Team in NFL Draft History

As silly as it seems, the Redskins abandoned their name in 2020 resulting from public pressure to change the name after it was deemed racist. But the Redskins have a long and storied history that dates back to the very first draft in 1936. It took Washington just two drafts to find one of the greatest quarterbacks ever in the first-round as Sammy Baugh came to the nation’s capital. Baugh was not just a great quarterback but an excellent punter as well. The Redskins would become a force in those early years but was a team to be reckoned with again in the 1970s and ’80s. In 1940 however, they were on the wrong end of the most lopsided title game in league history when the Chicago Bears wiped out the Redskins 73-0 by scoring eleven touchdowns.

Most of the best first-round picks made by Washington came after 1960 and naming the best one ever in my book comes down to either Baugh, Sean Taylor, or Art Monk. Given his accomplishments, it’s Sammy Baugh as I see it.

Honorable Mentions: Norm Snead (1961), Ernie Davis (1962), Charley Taylor (1964), Mark May (1981), Darrell Green (1983), Desmond Howard (1992), Heath Shuler (1994), Lavar Arrington (2000), Brian Orakpo (2009), Trent Williams (2010), Chase Young (2020)

comments powered by Disqus