Entering the 2024 NFL Draft, there had been only one. After it, there remains only one. In draft history, from Jay Berwanger in 1936 to Caleb Williams in 2024, only once has a defensive back gone first overall. It was a Pittsburgh Steeler.
With the Bears taking Williams, the star USC quarterback, first overall, Gary Glick remains the only defensive back to ever be selected with the top spot. All the way back in 1956. Though it’s an offense and quarterback-driven world, it’s remarkable that’s the only instance in NFL history.
Though Glick was the pick, he shouldn’t have been.