By Cooper Girolamo
Over the last decade there have been a few draft hauls by different NFL teams that have set them up perfectly for the future. Meaning they have gone into the draft and gotten multiple stars and All-Pros in the same draft class where other teams don’t even get one long-term starter for their squad.
We are going to look at the three best overall draft hauls of the last decade.
1. Seattle Seahawks
First being the 2022 Seahawks’ draft class. In the first round they took Charles Cross who has turned into a reliable, solid starter at offensive tackle for the Seahawks. They then took Boye Mafe in the second round who has turned into a solid linebacker for them as well. The later rounds is where they really struck gold. They got a top 10 running back in Kenneth Walker in round two and a starting caliber right tackle in round three in Abraham Lucas.
There goes Kenneth Walker for 64 yards and the @Seahawks take the lead!
📺: #WASvsSEA on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/kECSNGc6Bj pic.twitter.com/POveJqje0S— NFL (@NFL) November 12, 2023
They followed that up on day three by getting a steal in round five with one of the top cornerbacks in today’s game in Tariq Woolen, and one of the game’s best nickel corners in round four with Coby Bryant. Overall, Seattle got six solid starters for their team in one draft, which is extremely rare and shows how well their scouting department is at evaluating and selecting talent to help their squad.
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The Seahawks grabbed top-end talent at every turn and greatly improved their team in 2022, which is a big reason why they are poised for a breakout year in 2025.
2. New Orleans Saints
The second-best draft haul in my opinion, was the Saints draft class in 2017. In round one the Saints grabbed Marshon Lattimore, the cornerback from Ohio State, and Ryan Ramczyk, the offensive tackle from Wisconsin. Both have been at the top of their respective positions and All-Pro selections multiple times. In round two they got another solid corner in Marcus Williams. They followed that up with taking maybe the most dynamic running back of the last 6-7 years in Alvin Kamara.
Kellen Moore on Alvin Kamara: "A premiere player in our league." pic.twitter.com/fhIxgd7GoM
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) April 1, 2025
To round off their selections they took Alex Anzalone, a solid starting linebacker and maybe the biggest steal of them all, Trey Hendrickson—the edge rusher who led the NFL in sacks last season. The Saints had a fantastic draft in 2017, the problem with it is they traded away most of these players and now must see their insanely talented draft class excel on the field for different teams.
3. Baltimore Ravens
The final spot I have for my top draft hauls of the last decade are the Ravens in 2018. They first traded back into the first round and with pick No. 32 and took two-time NFL MVP, Lamar Jackson. They then got All-Pros Orlando Brown Jr. and Mark Andrews in the third round. With their later round picks, they got a bunch of solid starters for their teams. They drafted Kenny Young, Deshon Elliott, Bradley Bozeman and Zach Sieler with their day three selections. All of which were or have become solid starters in the NFL.
The best plays from Lamar Jackson's second MVP season! 🎯💨 pic.twitter.com/A2x4yItUpq
— NFL (@NFL) March 18, 2024
So, while Jackson being the fifth QB taken in that draft and the biggest steal in recent memory, they also loaded up and got a lot of help on both sides of the ball. This draft is a big reason as to why the Ravens are consistently at the top of the NFL standings year after year.
Grabbing the MVP in Jackson along with all these other contributing players made this draft class elite for the future of the Ravens.
There have been quite a few draft hauls over the last few years that have set up organizations to have great success for many years. These are the three where I believe the teams got the most value and biggest impact players in today’s game.
