Isiah Robertson was the 10^th overall pick from Southern University in 1971, and it didn't take long for him to prove to the Los Angeles Rams that he was the right choice as he would go on to win the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year.  The Linebacker would go on to be one of the best defensive players the Rams ever had as he would be chosen for six Pro Bowls and two First Team All-Pros as a Ram, and he was an integral part of L.A.'s multiple playoff appearances in the 70s.

This one might be a little tough to justify, but this is not exactly uncommon for players before World War II.

Byron “Whizzer” White was a hot commodity after being a consensus All-American at Colorado, and he was drafted 4^th Overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1938.  As a rookie, he would lead the NFL in Rushing, but the National Football League was not the only organization that sought his talents.  He would only play there for one year as he deferred his pro career to attend Oxford, but the Rhodes Scholar stayed only one year there as he returned to the United States after the outbreak of World War II.

Fuzzy Thurston may never have made a Pro Bowl, but we have no problem ranking him high on this list. 

Ralph Neely was drafted by the Houston Oilers of the American Football League and the Baltimore Colts of the NFL, and he had secretly agreed to play for the Oilers (it was kept a secret so that he could play for the University of Oklahoma in the Gator Bowl).