Since 2000, there have been 5,350 players selected in the NFL draft — that includes 307 Pro Bowlers and 39 Pro Football Hall of Famers, so far. There’s always more coming down the pipeline.
The point is, of those 5,000 plus, only the rarest of the rare stand out.
Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon picked out the 25 greatest picks from the last 25 years — excluding Top 10 picks — and put Washington Commanders linebacker and future Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner toward the top of the list.
Wagner was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round (No. 47 overall) out of Utah State in 2012. Headed into his 14th NFL season in 2025, he’s an 11-time NFL All-Pro, 10-time Pro Bowler and will have approximately $118.5 million in career earnings following the upcoming season.
“An integral part of the Seahawks throughout the Russell Wilson/Pete Carroll era, Wagner is a six-time first-team All-Pro with longevity to boot,” Gagnon wrote. “Yet he was only the second-best pick in one of the greatest team draft classes in NFL history.”
The best pick? That would be Seattle’s third round pick, quarterback Russell Wilson, who led the Seahawks to the first Super Bowl win in franchise history in just his second season.
Wagner led the Commanders with 132 tackles, 10 TFL, 4 pass deflections, 2 fumble recoveries and 1 forced fumble in 2024. He was also the tip of the spear for Washington’s defense on a run to their first NFC Championship Game appearance since 1991.
Wagner Surefire First Ballot Hall of Famer
Wagner is a lock to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, even though in terms of linebacker’s he’s turning into the NFL’s ageless wonder.
Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon put Wagner on his 21st Century NFL All-Star Team — one of two inside linebackers to make the team alongside Pro Football Hall of Famer Ray Lewis.
Wagner was the only active player on the defense for the 21st Century NFL All-Star Team.
The Commanders were a smart fit for Wagner, who reunited with head coach Dan Quinn after the two won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks when Quinn was defensive coordinator and Wagner was in his second NFL season.
Commanders Moved Quickly To Bring Back Wagner
Spotrac’s Michael Ginnitti listed Wagner as the Commanders’ top free agent headed into the 2025 offseason after he played in 2024 on a 1-year, $7 million contract.
The Commanders didn’t waste time bringing back Wagner, and signed him to a 1-year, $9 million contract on March 6 — a full 4 days before other teams could have begun negotiating with Wagner.
Wagner has over 100 tackles in each of his 13 seasons and hasn’t missed more than one game in a season since 2014, when he had 104 tackles in 11 games. It was also the only season in which he finished in the Top 5 in NFL MVP voting.
“Now 34-years-old, Wagner is showing almost no sign of decline, filling up the stat board on a weekly basis (especially as it pertains to shutting down opposing run-games),” Ginnitti wrote on February 11. “A reunion with this fun, talented Commanders group makes a lot of sense, and a 1 year, $7M (incentive-laden) contract does too.”
