Each NFL team’s best ever 1st-round draft pick
'89. player. 44. <p>Back in 1989, the Atlanta Falcons drafted Deion Sanders No. 5 overall out of Florida State. And not even the Falcons could have guessed that Sanders, being a corner, would be such a franchise player. It was Sanders that filled up Fulton County Stadium enough to make the money to build the Georgia Dome.</p> <p>He’s actually the franchise player for corners too as he is the reason why they get so much attention and money today. It was after Sanders and his phenomenal coverage skills that the title shut-down corner was coined. Another thing Sanders brought to fill the stadium was his ability to take a kick or punt return to the house.</p><div class=. CB. Florida State. Deion Sanders
And in 1991, Sanders, with his talent and swagger, rubbed off on his team enough to make the playoffs for the first time in eight years. That was as far as he took the Falcons before he left in 1994 to help the San Francisco 49ers get over their rival Dallas Cowboys to win the Super Bowl. Then in 1995, he switches sides of the rivalry and the Cowboys won the Super Bowl.
Over his Hall of Fame career, Sanders made All-Pro six times and the Pro Bowl eight times. Shutting down his side of the field or man allowed his defenses shift the coverages away from him. Put that together with his impact in the return-game and you realize what a great pick this was and they should never have let him get away.
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'89
Deion Sanders
CB, Florida State
Back in 1989, the Atlanta Falcons drafted Deion Sanders No. 5 overall out of Florida State. And not even the Falcons could have guessed that Sanders, being a corner, would be such a franchise player. It was Sanders that filled up Fulton County Stadium enough to make the money to build the Georgia Dome.
He’s actually the franchise player for corners too as he is the reason why they get so much attention and money today. It was after Sanders and his phenomenal coverage skills that the title shut-down corner was coined. Another thing Sanders brought to fill the stadium was his ability to take a kick or punt return to the house.
And in 1991, Sanders, with his talent and swagger, rubbed off on his team enough to make the playoffs for the first time in eight years. That was as far as he took the Falcons before he left in 1994 to help the San Francisco 49ers get over their rival Dallas Cowboys to win the Super Bowl. Then in 1995, he switches sides of the rivalry and the Cowboys won the Super Bowl.
Over his Hall of Fame career, Sanders made All-Pro six times and the Pro Bowl eight times. Shutting down his side of the field or man allowed his defenses shift the coverages away from him. Put that together with his impact in the return-game and you realize what a great pick this was and they should never have let him get away.
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