There have been dozens of great fifth-round NFL Draft picks in the history of the game. We’re talking about several Pro Football Hall of Famers.
Heck, two of the best players in the game today were fifth-round picks. It’s an area of the draft that can help build dynasties. Acing the mid-to-late round selections.
Leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft, we figured it made sense to check in on the best of the best when it comes to the fifth round in the annual event.
10. Pete Pihos
A fifth-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1945, Pihos played less than a decade in the NFL. But the Indiana product more than made his impact on quarterback Tommy Thompson and others. He led the league in receptions three times and receiving yards twice. That included going for 1,049 yards back in 1953. This was not typical in the pre-modern era. Pihos also played a role in Philadelphia winning back-to-back NFL Championships in 1948-1949 before being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1970.
Related: Updated 2024 NFL mock draft
9. George Kittle
All Kittle has done since the San Francisco 49ers made him a fifth-round pick out of Iowa back in 2017 is earn five Pro Bowl trips, help lead the team to two Super Bowl appearances and rack up three 1,000-yard seasons. This past season saw him average a whopping 15.7 yards per reception while leading NFL tight ends with 1,020 yards. Did we mention that he twilights as one of the best blockers at his position? He certainly is one of the best NFL Draft picks to come out of the fifth round ever.
8. Herschel Walker
Walker was a fifth-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 1985 after the USFL and his New Jersey Generals went belly up. It came after a dominating college tenure at Georgia. Over the course of his 12-year career, Walker averaged north of 1,000 total yards and scored 82 touchdowns. However, he’s best known for jump-starting a Dallas dynasty with the bounty it received from the Minnesota Vikings in a blockbuster trade during the 1989 season. Nationally, he’s even better known for a failed Senate bid in 2022.
7. Richard Sherman
A fun Richard Sherman fact. He was recruited to Stanford as a wide receiver out of Compton. Sherman ultimately made the transition to cornerback. The rest is pretty much history. Literally. After the Seattle Seahawks made him a fifth-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, Sherman recorded five Pro Bowl appearances and was the face of Seattle’s Legion of Boom. He led the Seahawks to two Super Bowl appearances and a title. Sherman also showed out in three seasons with the division-rival San Francisco 49ers. Yes, he’s one of the best NFL Draft picks ever out of the fifth round.
6. Tyreek Hill
How good has Tyreek Hill been since his former Kansas City Chiefs team made the wide receiver a fifth-round pick out of West Alabama in 2016? He’s averaging 90 receptions for 1,267 yards and 10 touchdowns per season. He helped Kansas City to a Super Bowl title in 2020 before ultimately being traded to the Miami Dolphins ahead of the 2022 campaign. In two seasons with Miami, the game’s most-electric receiver is averaging 1,750 yards and 10 touchdowns. Yeah, he’s simply sensational.
5. Kevin Greene
The late-great Kevin Greene was a monster among children during his 15-year NFL career. Greene spent seven seasons with the Los Angeles Rams after they made him a fifth-round pick in the 1985 NFL Draft out of Auburn. He recorded 72.5 sacks during that span. Greene would eventually spend three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, three more with the Carolina Panthers and one on the San Francisco 49ers. He did not slow down, either. The Pro Football Hall of Famer currently ranks fourth on the all-time list with 160 sacks.
4. Dıck LeBeau
Before he was known as a defensive-minded coach at the professional level, LeBeau was one of the best NFL Draft picks of all-time. The Ohio State product was the No. 58 overall selection of the Cleveland Browns back in 1959. He proceeded to record 62 interceptions throughout his career. Shockingly, LeBeau played all 14 of his seasons with the Detroit Lions after being a training camp casualty of the Browns as a rookie. It led to an induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
3. Mike Webster
There are few former Steelers players who are admired more than Webster among fans of the Steel Curtain. Playing in Pittsburgh from 1974-1988, the center earned nine Pro Bowl appearances and was a First-Team All-Pro fives. He also played a major role in their dynastic run of four Super Bowl titles in the 1970s as Terry Bradshaw’s best friend. Unfortunately, Webster’s legacy is now more wrapped in the entire CTE scandal and how the NFL failed to recognize the growing pandemic during his playing days. It ended up costing him his life. Here’s a good look at that story.
2. Zach Thomas
Zach Thomas is one of the best NFL Draft picks of all-time. Period. After proving himself to be a true star at Texas Tech, the linebacker fell to the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round back in 1996. All he did during a brilliant 12-year career in South Beach is rack up seven Pro Bowl appearances while earning All-Pro honors five times. He tallied north of 100 tackles 10 times and recorded 17 interceptions from the linebacker position. It led to his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame back in 2023.
1. Lester Hayes
Like many members of the Raiders teams of the 70s and 80s, Hayes remains disrespected to this day. He is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It’s a crying shame given what the former Texas A&M star did after the Silver and Black selected him back in 1977. From 1978-81 with the then-Los Angeles Raiders, Hayes recorded a whopping 27 interceptions. He earned five consecutive Pro Bowl nods and was one of the first true shutdown cornerbacks of the modern era. Despite not being in the Hall, he’s an all-time great in our books. It’s that simple.