Eli

I recently have heard some people criticizing Eli Manning, wondering if he was a solid No. 1 overall draft choice. For example, in a column ranking the No. 1 overall picks in NFL history from best to worst, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ranked Eli 27th and wrote "He's been somewhat disappointing but lived up to the hype in 2007, leading the Giants to four postseason wins including the stunning upset of the Patriots in the Super Bowl."

Amazing. In five seasons as a starter, Eli has never missed a start, made the playoffs four times and never had a losing record. He has always won two division championships and a Super Bowl. Yet he's considered "somewhat disappointing." We should all be so "somewhat disappointing."

And from a statistical standpoint, I would say Eli's 2009 season was pretty impressive. He completed 62% of his passes for 4,021 yards, 27 touchdowns and just 14 interceptions for a passer rating of 93.1. He did this without any established veterans receivers (in fact, Manning himself developed Steve Smith, Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks last season) and a terrible running game. He also did it while playing at Giants Stadium, one of the least quarterback-friendly stadiums in the league because of its crazy wind patterns. 2009 was easily Eli's best statistical season.

Truth be told, over his last 38 starts (regular and postseason), Manning has more than lived up to being a No. 1 overall pick, posting a 24-14 record, throwing 58 touchdowns and only 28 interceptions. And I repeat, he's done this despite having a very young receiving core that was completely unestablished prior to 2009, without any sort of running game in 2009 and in a stadium that chews up passing games. Eli has more than lived up to being selected No. 1 overall.