New York Giants: Top 10 First Round Draft Picks of All-Time
By Mike Luca
3. Lawrence Taylor, LB (1981, #2)
In the end, Taylor remains the poster child for how the outside linebacker position has materialized over the course of NFL history, and, in turn, the New York Giants.
Nine All-Pro honors, 10 Pro Bowls and three Defensive Player of the Year honors. Banks doesn’t quite sport such cache, nor any Giants player for that matter.
SACKS:
1982 – 7.5 (6th in NFL)
1985 – 13.0 (8th in NFL)
1986 – 20.5 (1st in NFL, 4th all-time)
1987 – 12.0 (4th in NFL)
1988 – 15.5 (3rd in NFL/63rd all-time)
1989 – 15.0 (7th in NFL/73 all-time)
Career – 132.5 (13th all-time)
Odell Beckham, Jr. catches us in the moment as LT’s fiercest adversary to revolutionary acclaim, uniting two distinct generations of Giants fandom. Yet, Beckham runs a slant pattern into the middle of the field and fans young and old would cringe at the sight of who wins that battle.
HONORS:
- 1981 NFL AP Defensive Player of the Year
- 1981 NFL AP Defensive Rookie of the Year
- 1982 NFL AP Defensive Player of the Year
- 1986 NFL AP MVP
- 1986 NFL PFWA MVP
- 1986 NFL Bert Bell Award (Player of the Year)
- 1986 NFL AP Defensive Player of the Year
- Pro Football Hall of Fame 1st team All-1980s Team
- Pro Football Reference 1st team All-1980s Team
Despite LT’s brilliance, there are the troublesome and cringeworthy off-the-field matters, which hold him back from broader acceptance as the greatest linebacker to ever live.
Next: REBEL WITH A CAUSE