8. Eddie Edwards
Drafted 3rd overall in 1977
With the third overall pick in 1977, the Bengals drafted Eddie Edwards out of Miami. What followed was a 12-year NFL career, all of which was spent in Cincinnati with the team that drafted him in the first round.
Edwards took a few years to get into double-digit sack totals but even then, he was still getting after the quarterback. He actually leads the franchise in all-time sack numbers with 84.5 with his best season coming in 1983. That year saw the first-round pick garner 13 sacks in 16 games.
As I mentioned on the Dunlap section, with sacks not becoming an official stat until 1982, Edwards technically only had 47.5 during his playing career. Pro Football Reference, however, has him as the all-time sacks leader so that’s what I went off of.
Edwards was a part of both of the team’s Super Bowl runs in the 80s with him calling it a career after the team lost to the 49ers in the ’88 season’s big game. He’s one of the best draft picks in franchise history.