The primary appeal of the NFL draft, as with any major sport’s rookie selection system, is pretty simple: the right decision can change your team forever. The right player can bring victories, playoff games, and beautiful shiny things in trophy cases. Best of all, that franchise-changing player brings with them the joy of triumphs and, later, the satisfaction of the memory of that joy.
ESPN gathered submissions from its NFL Nation writers, assembling the 32 stories that arguably stand as the defining draft moments of each NFL franchise. Some of these moments foreshadowed future glory- like the first two picks of the Baltimore Ravens’ existence (technically).