10 best NFL Draft picks in Tennessee football history
. QB. Indianapolis Colts. Peyton Manning. 1. player. 46
No. 1 best NFL Draft pick in Tennessee football history: Peyton Manning
1998 NFL Draft: Round 1, Pick 1
Indianapolis Colts, 1998–2011
Denver Broncos, 2012–2015
I mean, duh.
Outside of Neyland Stadium, Peyton Manning Pass is a walk for all students into the Volunteers’ homefield — a sea of checkered orange and white ready to cheer on Tennessee and ruthlessly boo the opposition. No more fitting namesake deserves the honor of leading the Knoxville faithful into battle than the player whose NFL QB career will go down as one of, if not the, best from a pure passing standpoint.
Per the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s website, Manning owned the records for career passing yards (71,940), career passing touchdowns (539), single-season passing touchdowns (55) in 2013, single-season passing yards (5,477) in 2013, total wins including playoffs (201), 4,000-plus-yard passing seasons (14), consecutive seasons with at least 25 passing touchdowns (13) at the time of his retirement in 2016. Few athletes in any sport displayed such dominance over 17 seasons, or any period of time for that matter.
Winning two Super Bowls, one with the Indianapolis Colts and one with the Denver Broncos, puts him at the same total as brother Eli Manning, and puts him squarely behind Tom Brady in his generation as QB2. No Volunteer left a greater impact on the NFL than Manning.