Who are the first overall draft picks to have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame

The NFL draft gives a good number of top college football talents an entry into the league annually. The event is a highly anticipated one by NFL enthusiasts, who want to see which prospects are being selected to join their favorite teams.

A much-anticipated selection in the draft event is the first overall pick. The media takes a whole lot of time to analyze and predict the potential first selection in the draft, which is held by the franchise with the worst performance in the previous NFL season.

Of the lots that have seen their names called first in the draft since the first edition in 1936, just a total of 14 have so far been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Who are the exceptional 14 NFL players to have achieved this feat?

First Overall Picks that have been Inducted into the Hall of Fame

Bill Dudley became the first on the list to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962. The former Virginia halfback was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1942 and won the NFL MVP title in 1946. Charley Trippi joined Dudley two years later when he was inducted in 1968. Coming out of Georgia, Trippi was selected by the Chicago Cardinals in 1945.

The Philadelphia Eagles drafted Chuck Bednarik from Penn in 1949. The eight-time Pro Bowler went on to become a Hall of Famer in 1967. Similarly, Paul Hornung was selected by the Green Bay Packers in 1957. Despite some betting controversies that briefly halted his career, the Golden Boy was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986.

Ron Yary, O.J. Simpson, and Terry Bradshaw were the first overall draft picks for the three consecutive years of 1968, 1969, and 1970 respectively. All three players made it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Yary became a Hall of Famer in 2001 when Simpson was inducted in 1985, and Bradshaw received the honor in 1989.

Lee Roy Selmon, Earl Campbell, and John Elway were also the first players selected in the draft in 1976, 1978, and 1983. Selmon, who was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, became a Hall of Famer in 1995, while Houston Oilers-drafted Campbell was inducted in 1991. Stanford-trained Elway joined the two in 2004.

The last four on the list are Bruce Smith, Troy Aikman, Orlando Pace, and Peyton Manning, who were respectively drafted in 1985, 1989, 1997, and 1998. Defensive end Smith became a Hall of Famer in 2009 while quarterback Aikman was inducted in 2006. Pace and Peyton, on the other hand, also became Hall of Fame inductees in 2016 and 2021 respectively.