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10 fun facts about No. 10 pick in NFL Draft
Story by Larry Mayer

With the NFL Draft just 10 days away and the Bears set to pick at No. 10, here are 10 fun facts about the 10th selection:

(1) The Bears have chosen eight players with the 10th pick, most recently selecting right tackle Darnell Wright in 2023. The others have been running back Joe Gray (1938), quarterback Frankie Albert (1942), defensive end Max Baumgardner (1948), running back Fred Morrison (1950), running back Billy Stone (1956), end Menan Schriewer (1956) and defensive end Loyd Phillips (1967). The Bears chose seven players at No. 10 in the first 32 NFL Drafts but just one in the last 57 drafts.

(2) Prior to Wright, the last No. 10 pick to play for the Bears was defensive tackle Amobi Okoye, who appeared in 25 games with one start in 2011-12. When Okoye was selected by the Texans in 2007, he was the youngest player ever to be chosen in the NFL Draft at the age of 19 years and 10 months.

(3) Three Hall of Famers have been picked at No. 10: Defensive tackle Alex Karras by the Lions in 1958, defensive back Rod Woodson by the Steelers in 1987 and running back Jerome Bettis by the Rams in 1993.

(4) The last team to select a player at No. 10 and then win the Super Bowl that season was the Ravens in 2000 when they chose Florida receiver Travis Taylor.

(5) Offensive players have been picked at No. 10 in the last five drafts, seven of the last eight and 10 of the last 12. The only two defensive players selected since 2013 have been cornerback Eli Apple by the Giants in 2016 and linebacker Devin Bush by the Steelers in 2019.

(6) Over the last 25 drafts, the positions chosen the most often at No. 10 have been quarterback and receiver, with five apiece. The quarterbacks have been Matt Leinart by the Cardinals in 2006, Blaine Gabbert by the Jaguars in 2011, Patrick Mahomes by the Chiefs in 2017, Josh Rosen by the Cardinals in 2018 and J.J. McCarthy by the Vikings in 2024. The receivers have been Travis Taylor by the Ravens in 2000, Mike Williams by the Lions in 2005, Michael Crabtree by the 49ers in 2009, DeVonta Smith by the Eagles in 2021 and Garrett Wilson by the Jets in 2022.

(7) The No. 10 pick has been traded in the last four drafts and seven of the last eight after being dealt only once in the previous eight drafts from 2009-16. In 2023, the Bears moved down from No. 9 to 10 by acquiring a 2024 fourth-round selection from the Eagles that they spent on punter Tory Taylor.

(8) Since 2000, six of the 25 players chosen at No. 10 have been voted to a Pro Bowl. They are defensive end Terrell Suggs by the Ravens in 2003, linebacker Jerod Mayo by the Patriots in 2008, cornerback Stephon Gilmore by the Bills in 2012, tight end Eric Ebron by the Lions in 2014, running back Todd Gurley by the Rams in 2015 and Mahomes.

(9) The last six players picked at No. 10 played in either the Big Ten or SEC. They are Bush (Michigan/Big Ten), offensive tackle Jedrick Willis (Alabama/SEC), Smith (Alabama/SEC), Wilson (Ohio State/Big Ten), Wright (Tennessee/SEC) and McCarthy (Michigan/Big Ten).

(10) Only one running back and one tight end have been taken at No. 10 since 2000, and they were selected in back-to-back years: Ebron in 2014 and Gurley in 2015.