Where Does New York Jets Veteran Star Receiver Rank All-Time Among No. 1 Picks?

How does New York Jets selection of Keyshawn Johnson matchup against the other No. 1 picks in NFL history?

July 27, 2012; Cortland, NY, USA; NFL former receiver Keyshawn Johnson (left) walks off the field with wide receiver Santonio Holmes (10) following the first day of New York Jets training camp at SUNY Cortland. / Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

Despite all of their ineptitude on the field, the New York Jets have been atop the NFL Draft only once in their franchise history.

In 1996, they landed the No. 1 overall pick in the draft and selected USC star wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson. He spent the first four seasons of his professional career with the Jets, earning a trip to the Pro Bowl twice.

After that, he moved on to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he played for four seasons, earning a third Pro Bowl nomination. He was part of their Super Bowl-winning team in the 2002 campaign as well.

Two solid seasons were turned in with the Dallas Cowboys in 2004 and 2005 before he ended his career with one campaign on the Carolina Panthers. In his age-34 season, he caught 70 passes for 815 yards and four touchdowns, as he had something left in the tank to offer but decided to retire.

He has remained part of the game since hanging up his cleats. You can see Johnson still on television, as he has spent most of his post-playing days as an analyst and radio host across several networks.

While Johnson didn’t have a Hall of Fame career, which teams are hoping for when they select a player at the top of the draft, it was very solid nonetheless. As a result, he received a favorable ranking in a piece Mel Kiper Jr. did recently over at ESPN.

The NFL Draft guru stacked all of the No. 1 picks in NFL history against each other, putting them into tiers based on performance. Johnson landed in the third tier of “the solid starters”, coming in at No. 4 there.

“Johnson went back to school for another season despite getting top-10 buzz in 1995, and I remember talking to him about it at the time. He told me he didn't want to be a top-10 pick. He wanted to be the No. 1 pick. After more than 1,200 yards in that final season at USC, he got his wish.

In 1996, Johnson earned a 9.7 grade from me and was on the cover of my predraft book. He had the size, hands and ability to separate to be an instant factor in the NFL. He had at least 800 receiving yards in 10 of his 11 seasons,” wrote Kiper.

Availability and consistency were the pillars of Johnson’s career despite not reaching that upper-echelon tier. Ranked ahead of him as solid starters were Carson Palmer of the Cincinnati Bengals, Jake Long of the Miami Dolphins and Irving Fryar of the New England Patriots at Nos. 3, 2 and 1.