You've got to feel for the Bills, whose top two draft picks ever are a guy who stood trial for his wife's murder and the only quarterback to lose four Super Bowls in a row. And that's without even mentioning their draft busts, a draft dodger and a chronic underachiever.

Best draft picks

1. RB O.J. Simpson, USC (1st overall in 1969): With the Bills, Simpson did all of his slashing on the field. The former Heisman Trophy winner won four rushing titles and became the first back to surpass 2,000 yards.
Telling statistic: Rushed for more than 100 yards 41 times in 112 games with the Bills.
Next player taken: Notre Dame tackle George Kunz, by Atlanta.

2. QB Jim Kelly, Miami (14th overall in 1983): Kelly was the third quarterback taken in what’s generally considered the best quarterback draft ever, selected after No. 1 overall John Elway and No. 7 overall Todd Blackledge. Kelly led the Bills to four Super Bowl appearances and broke nearly every significant franchise passing record. His 35,467 passing yards ranked 10th all-time at the time of retirement.
Telling statistic: Passed for more than 300 yards 26 times in 160 games.
Next player taken: Illinois QB Tony Eason, by New England.

3. RB Thurman Thomas, Oklahoma State (40th overall, 1988): One of the great draft-day bargains in NFL history, Thomas went to the Bills midway through the second round and became a mainstay of the franchise’s four consecutive Super Bowl appearances. He broke Simpson’s franchise rushing mark and joined Kelly in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Telling statistic: Became the first player to lead the league in yards from scrimmage from 1989-92.
Running backs taken before Thomas: UCLA’s Gaston Green (14th overall by Los Angeles Rams); Northwest Louisiana’s John Stephens (17th overall by New England); Michigan State’s Lorenzo White (22nd overall by Houston); Stanford’s Brad Muster (23rd overall by Chicago); Pittsburgh’s Craig Heyward (24th overall by New Orleans); UNLV’s Ickey Woods (31st overall by Cincinnati); Texas Christian’s Tony Jeffery (38th overall by St. Louis).
Next player taken: UCLA LB Ken Norton, by Dallas.

4. DE Bruce Smith, Virginia Tech (1st overall in 1985): After leading the Bills with 6 ½ sacks as a rookie, Smith recorded at least 10 sacks 12 of the next 13 seasons, with the exception being 1991, when he sat out most of the year with a knee injury. Smith retired as the NFL’s all-time leader with 200 sacks and becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2009.
Telling statistic: Led the Bills in sacks 13 times from 1985-1999.
Next player taken: Pittsburgh G Bill Fralic, by Atlanta.

5. G Joe DeLamielleure, Michigan State (26th overall in 1973): DeLamielleure was the second player the Bills selected in the first round of the 1973 draft, after Michigan tackle Paul Seymour, who went seventh overall. He played 102 games with the Bills, was traded to Cleveland, where he played five seasons before returning to Buffalo for 10 games in 1985. One of two Bills linemen in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, DeLamielleure was inducted in 2003, anchored the line that helped Simpson become one of the league’s best runners.
Telling statistic: Played in 185 consecutive games.
Next player taken: Rice TE Gary Butler, by Kansas City.

Worst draft picks

1. LB Tom Cousineau, Ohio State (1st overall, 1979): Cousineau snubbed the Bills to sign a richer contract with the CFL. Forunately for the Bills, the rest of the draft was superb, producing starters Jerry Butler, Jim Haslett and Fred Smerlas.
Next player taken: Colorado State DE Mike Bell, by Kansas City.

2. T Mike Williams, Texas (4th overall, 2002): The 370-pound Williams was a massive disappointment almost from the start. He spent three forgettable seasons with the Bills, who released him after unsuccessfully trying to move him inside to guard.
Next player taken: Texas CB Quentin Jammer, by San Diego.

3. DE Erik Flowers, Arizona State (26th overall, 2000: Drafted as the eventual replacement for future Hall of Famer Bruce Smith, Flowers recorded four sacks in 31 games and was benched in 2001 and released during training camp the following season.
Next player taken: West Virginia TE Anthony Becht, by N.Y. Jets.

4. TE Tony Hunter, Notre Dame (12th overall, 1983): What made Hunter’s selection so bad is that it came two picks ahead of the Bills’ selection of future Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly. Sure, Buffalo still wound up getting Kelly, but they could have had several future stars instead of Hunter, who caught only 69 career passes for the Bills. Among them: CB Darrell Green, C Dave Rimington and DE Jim Jeffcoat.
Next player taken: Florida RB James Jones, by Detroit.

5. DE Walt Patulski, Notre Dame (1st overall, 1972): Patulski never came close to delivering on the promise of his first overall selection, playing four unspectacular seasons in Buffalo before the Bills traded him to St. Louis in 1976. A knee injury ended his career in 1977.
Next player taken: California DE Sherman White, by Cincinnati.

Tomorrow: All-time best, worst Browns draft picks.
Wednesday: All-time best, worst Steelers draft picks.
Thursday: Bills 2008 draft projection.
Friday: Browns 2008 draft projection.
Saturday: Steelers 2008 draft projection.

-- John Dudley

Edited April 24 at 2:16 p.m. to correct Thurman Thomas' school (Oklahoma State, not Oklahoma). -- JD