Buffalo Bills: Top 10 First Round Draft Picks of All Time

2) O.J. Simpson

Selected: 1st overall in 1969

Played: 11 seasons, including 9 with the Bills

Career highlights: 6-time Pro Bowler, 5-time first team All Pro, 1973 NFL offensive player of the year, 4-time NFL rushing champion, Hall of Fame

His off the field controversies are well documented, but there is no denying O.J. Simpson‘s achievements whenever he put on a Bills uniform. Thurman Thomas may be the career franchise rushing record holder, but “the Juice” is the best running back in team history.

In that respect, Simpson still has Buffalo’s top three rushing yard seasons. This includes becoming the first NFL player to pass the 2,000 yard mark, and the only one to do it in 14 games.

As much as the draft system is in place to promote parity, the 1968 Heisman Trophy winner suffered the consequences early in his professional career, struggling on some awful Bills teams. However, the 1972 season marked the turning point, as he finally topped 1,000 yards rushing and was voted to his first Pro Bowl.

This represented the first of five consecutive 1,000 yard seasons and Pro Bowl invites for Simpson. Unfortunately, he only went to the playoffs once during this period with the Bills, ironically in the one year he didn’t win the NFL rushing title.

The five-time first team All-Pro called it a career in 1979, retiring as the second-leading rusher in NFL history. He was voted into the Hall of Fame at the first attempt and was named to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All-Time team.