All No. 1 draft picks aren’t created alike. With the benefit of hindsight, you’ll find stars and snorers side by side in the gallery of top picks. Here’s a ranking of the 18 SEC players who were the top overall choice in the NFL Draft, based on their pro careers (or lack thereof, in some cases):

18. Harry Babcock (1953, SF, Georgia) Babcock is the only top pick from the SEC who never spent an NFL season as a starter. In three years, he caught 16 passes for no touchdowns.

17. JaMarcus Russell (2007, Oakland, LSU) Russell had a putrid NFL career, completing 52 percent of his passes for 18 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. After just 31 games played, he was out of the NFL.

16. George Cafego (1940, Chicago Cardinals, Tennessee) Cafego was the first SEC top pick. That’s about all the good there is to say about his career. He passed for five touchdowns and rushed for one more in his 35 games played.

15. Tucker Frederickson (1965, New York Giants, Auburn) Frederickson averaged 3.4 yards per carry in an unremarkable pro career.

14. Frank Sinkwich (1943, Detroit, Georgia) Sinkwich was an all-pro once, in 1944, when he rushed for 563 yards, passed for 12 touchdowns, and handled both place-kicking and punting. He doesn’t look to have been great in any area, but the versatility earns some respect for the 1942 Heisman Trophy winner.

13. Harry Gilmer (1948, Washington, Alabama) Gilmer’s stats look horrible, but he made two Pro Bowls, so much like Sinkwich, the fact that he was exciting in doing a lot of things fairly poorly clearly counted for something.

12. Aundray Bruce (1988, Atlanta, Auburn) Bruce, a linebacker, stuck around the NFL for 11 seasons, but started just 41 games.

11. Tim Couch (1999, Cleveland, Kentucky) Couch passed for 64 touchdowns and 67 interceptions in four mediocre seasons before he was crushed behind the expansion Browns’ putrid line.

10. Bo Jackson (1986, Tampa Bay, Auburn) If only life were Tecmo Super Bowl. As it is, Bo made one Pro Bowl in a career which was cut far too short by a horrific hip injury. He spurned the Bucs for baseball and Oakland grabbed him in the seventh round in 1987. Jackson was actually drafted five times — three times in baseball and twice in football.

Bo Jackson 040

Courtesy of Auburn Athletics

9. Tommy Mason (1961, Minnesota, Tulane) Yes, Virginia, Tulane was once in the SEC. And Tommy Mason was the top pick in the NFL Draft. A three-time Pro Bowl pick and a first-team all-pro in 1963, Mason was a solid player.

8. Bill Wade (1952, L.A. Rams, Vanderbilt) Wade’s 18,530 passing yards helped him reach two Pro Bowls and made him the most prolific passing SEC top pick until some guy named Peyton came along.

7. Jadaveon Clowney (2014, Houston, South Carolina) Clowney could end up creeping a few more steps up this list, or falling a couple spots down. But he’s young and talented, and has already made a Pro Bowl.

6. Matthew Stafford (2009, Detroit, Georgia) The jury is still somewhat out on Stafford. He has put up solid numbers (over 30,000 yards and 187 passing touchdowns), but has made one Pro Bowl and has yet to win big playoff games.

5. Billy Cannon (1960, L.A. Rams, LSU) Cannon was a two-time all-pro, once as a youngster in 1961, when he nearly rushed for 1,000 yards and returned kicks and punts, and once in 1967, when he caught 10 touchdowns as a tight end. He was a legend for good reason.

4. Charley Trippi (1945, Chicago Cardinals, Georgia) It’s hard to evaluate exactly how good Trippi was, but the man is the sole Hall of Famer on this list (for now, anyway). A tough two-way player whose stats don’t look that impressive, Trippi is here in large part because the Hall of Fame says he was great.

3. Eli Manning (2004, San Diego, Ole Miss) He’s never been a first-team all-pro, his stats could be better, and he’s not the best player in his own family. But he won two Super Bowls, and will probably join Charley Trippi in Canton on that basis. He’s earned his stripes.

2. Cam Newton (2011, Carolina, Auburn) Only Tommy Mason has more rushing yards than Newton on this list of top picks, and meanwhile, Cam is already fourth in passing yards. Wouldn’t be surprised if he wins a Super Bowl or two himself.

1. Peyton Manning (1998, Indianapolis, Tennessee) He lived up to the hype. He passed for over 70,000 yards and 500 touchdowns, he won two titles, and he was a seven-time first-team all-pro pick (Billy Cannon is the only other top pick with more than one such selection, and he was chosen twice). If you’re drafting first, you only hope you get a guy who is half of what Peyton was in the NFL.

Note: Joe Namath was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1965 AFL Draft but No. 12 overall in the NFL Draft.