Green Bay Packers: 15 best first-round draft picks of all-time

Best first-round draft picks in Green Bay Packers history: 11. Cecil Isbell

Back in the day, Cecil Isbell certainly made his mark across several football teams. He might have been a native Texan, but played his college ball in West Lafayette, Indiana for the Purdue Boilermakers. Isbell would be taken as the No. 7 overall pick in the 1938 NFL Draft by the Packers to play tailback and later quarterback.

Isbell might have only played for five years from 1938 to 1942, but he was an outstanding player. He made four Pro Bowls, was an All-Pro in 1941 and was a NFL champion in 1939. Isbell twice led the league in passing, coincidently in his final two years in the league. He would retire with 5,945 passing yards and 61 touchdowns in five years with the Packers.

As a ball carrier, Isbell had 422 career rushes for 1,522 yards and 10 touchdowns. Isbell showed in his brief, but brilliant NFL career that could hang with the best of them as a tailback and certainly shine as an early era signal caller. He is a member of the Packers Hall of Fame.

After abruptly retiring from the NFL, Isbell would return to his alma mater to coach the Purdue football team. He would later become the head coach of the NFL’s Baltimore Colts before retiring from coaching in the early 1950s to pursue a career in business.