Ben Volin’s choices for the best single-year acquisitions — draft picks and undrafted free agents — of players that still remain with their original teams (since 2004, in chronological order):
Arizona Cardinals 2004
WR Larry Fitzgerald (1st round; starter, Pro Bowler)
DT Darnell Dockett (3d round; starter, Pro Bowler)
Comment: Rare to get two 10-year players and future Ring of Honor inductees in the same draft.
New Orleans Saints 2006
G Jahri Evans (4th round; starter, Pro Bowler)
WR Marques Colston (7th round; starter, Pro Bowler)
RT Zach Strief (7th round; starter)
Comment: Saints nab three starters and two Pro Bowlers with middle- and late-round picks.
San Francisco 49ers 2007
LT Joe Staley (1st round; starter, Pro Bowler)
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LB Patrick Willis (1st round; starter, Pro Bowler)
DT Ray McDonald (3d round; starter)
Comment: Pretty impressive to have three players from 2007 still on the team, two of whom are still Pro Bowler-caliber.
Cincinnati Bengals 2010
TE Jermaine Gresham (1st round; starter, Pro Bowler)
DE Carlos Dunlap (2d round, starter)
DT Geno Atkins (4th round; starter, Pro Bowler)
LB Vincent Rey (undrafted)
Comment: Gresham and Dunlap are solid starters, and Atkins was a steal in the fourth round.
San Francisco 49ers 2010
G Mike Iupati (1st round; starter, Pro Bowler)
RT Anthony Davis (1st round; starter)
LB NaVorro Bowman (3d round; starter, Pro Bowler)
CB Tramaine Brock (undrafted)
Comment: Solidified their offensive line with two great picks in Iupati and Davis, and found a Pro Bowler linebacker in the third round.
Seattle Seahawks 2010
LT Russell Okung (1st round; starter, Pro Bowler)
S Earl Thomas (1st round; starter, Pro Bowler)
S Kam Chancellor (5th round; starter, Pro Bowler)
TE Anthony McCoy (6th round)
Comment: Seahawks nailed their two first-round picks, and hit the jackpot with Chancellor in the fifth.
Denver Broncos 2011
LB Von Miller (1st round; starter, Pro Bowler)
S Rahim Moore (2d round; (starter)
G Orlando Franklin (2d round; starter)
LB Nate Irving (3d round)
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S Quinton Carter (4th round)
TE Julius Thomas (4th round; starter, Pro Bowler)
TE Virgil Green (7th round)
CB Chris Harris (undrafted; starter)
Comment: Found a franchise cornerstone in Miller, a gem in Thomas in the fourth round, and a solid starter in Harris as an undrafted free agent.
San Francisco 49ers 2011
LB Aldon Smith (1st round; starter, Pro Bowler)
QB Colin Kaepernick (2d round; starter)
CB Chris Culliver (3d round; starter)
RB Kendall Hunter (4th round)
C Daniel Kilgore (5th round; starter)
FB Bruce Miller (7th round; starter)
NT Ian Williams (undrafted; starter)
LB Michael Wilhoite (undrafted)
Comment: Found a franchise QB in the second round, solid starters in the middle rounds, and a nice one in Williams in undrafted free agency. And say what you will about Smith, but there’s no doubting his talent.
New York Jets 2011
DE Muhammad Wilkerson (1st round; starter, All-Pro)
NT Kenrick Ellis (3d round)
RB Bilal Powell (4th round; starter)
WR Jeremy Kerley (5th round; starter)
LB Nick Bellore (undrafted)
Comment: Wilkerson is one of the best 30th overall picks in recent memory, and they found solid starters in the middle rounds in Powell and Kerley.
Seattle Seahawks 2011
G James Carpenter (1st round; starter)
LB K.J. Wright (4th round)
CB Richard Sherman (5th round; starter, Pro Bowler)
CB Byron Maxwell (6th round; starter)
LB Malcolm Smith (7th round; starter)
S Jeron Johnson (undrafted)
WR Doug Baldwin (undrafted, starter)
Comment: Draft jackpot: solid starters in the fifth, sixth, seventh rounds, and free agency. And the fifth-rounder, Richard Sherman, is one of the best young players in the game.
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Seattle Seahawks 2012
DE Bruce Irvin (1st round; starter)
LB Bobby Wagner (2d round; starter)
QB Russell Wilson (3d round, starter)
RB Robert Turbin (4th round)
LB Korey Toomer (5th round)
CB Jeremy Lane (6th round)
DE Greg Scruggs (7th round)
RG J.R. Sweezy (7th round; starter)
CB Chandler Fenner (undrafted)
WR Jermaine Kearse (undrafted)
WR Phil Bates (undrafted)
CB DeShawn Shead (undrafted)
Comment: Surprise first-round pick Irvin has been great, Wagner is a future Pro Bowler, and Wilson already led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl.
Correction: Due to a reporting error, Taylor Mays was listed as a draft pick of the Bengals in 2010. He was drafted by San Francisco.