For decades, identifying the best defensive draft class in NFL history has been easy. The vaunted Class of 1981 sent six players to the Hall of Fame, with legendary second overall pick Lawrence Taylor leading the way.
Fellow top-10 picks Kenny Easley and Ronnie Lott patrolled secondaries throughout the 1980s. Legendary Bears linebacker Mike Singletary was the leader on what might be the best defense of all time.
And beyond Taylor, the 1981 class enshrined two more edge rushers with Howie Long and Rickey Jackson. That's six Hall of Famers before the end of the second round, a list which doesn't even include undrafted linebacker Sam Mills, who would join the group posthumously after being inducted in 2022.
No other draft class since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 has sent more than three defenders to Canton, let alone challenge the 1981 class by producing six. Over the past 15 years, though, I've been tracking another draft year that seemed poised to compete with the greatest defensive class of all time.
I wrote about the Class of 2011 in August 2013 and then again in 2016 , as many of its players hit stardom and reached their peaks. Subscribe: 'The Bill Barnwell Show' Now, a decade later, the class is down to two or potentially three players still on the field.
Cameron Heyward continues to excel with the Steelers. Cameron Jordan has re-signed with the Saints.
And while Von Miller remains a free agent, the eight-time Pro Bowler is coming off a nine-sack season and could continue his career somewhere in 2026. But everybody else from a banner crop of star defenders has retired.
Heyward and Jordan might play a key role in determining where their draft class lands in the annals of NFL history. I would expect the Class of 2011 to start getting fitted for gold jackets in 2027.
Their chances of landing as the best defensive class in NFL history could come down to whether Heyward and Jordan join them one day. Let's talk about the Class of 2011 -- the players who did make it, the ones who sadly didn't live up to early expectations and whether this group could end up accomplishing the unthinkable in competing with that legendary Class of 1981 once everyone officially brings their career to an end.
Jump to: The unique 2011 class Hall of Very Good | Two still standing Who's next? A unique class The 2011 draft was particularly consequential and atypical.
With the league's collective bargaining agreement expiring, organizations weren't able to make moves involving veterans. While teams typically draft after seeing how things shake out in free agency, this was the rare draft that took place before the free agent window, which ended up playing out in mid-July after the lockout was averted.
The new CBA that was signed as a result capped rookie salaries, eliminating the trend of highly drafted players quickly becoming the highest-paid players at their positions without ever having played an NFL snap. The first overall pick in 2010, Sam Bradford, signed a six-year, $78 million deal with $50 million guaranteed.
A year later, 2011 first overall pick Cam Newton's deal was for four years and $22 million. In the process, the entire calculus of the NFL changed, as the league's highest draft picks grew dramatically in value and became more desirable.
As the 2011 draft took place, though, teams had to basically operate in the dark. Newton was a relatively controversial top pick, as many scouts preferred Missouri product Blaine Gabbert .
The Falcons made a dramatic (and ultimately successful) move up to No. 6 to take Julio Jones .
The Alabama wideout is a surefire Hall of Famer on the offensive side of the ball. Longtime Cowboys tackle Tyron Smith and sixth-round center Jason Kelce might complete the Hall of Fame proceedings from the offensive Class of 2011, though, with players such as A.J.
Green , DeMarco Murray and Newton landing just short. That's a solid group.
The defensive class of 1981 had a hidden factor working in its favors: The prior classes hadn't been very good. From 1970 to 1977, the average defensive draft class produced just under 10 first-team All-Pro seasons.
The Class of 1978, though, managed only two first-team All-Pro seasons. Sure, 1979 bumped that to five, and 1980 might it seven, but that was a three-year span where the defensive classes averaged a shade under five first-team All-Pro appearances.
Just two defenders from that three-year window made it to the Hall of Fame, and ironically, they lined up next to each other: Bears