7. Aaron Ross
Position: Cornerback
College: Texas
Overall Pick: 20
Year Drafted: 2007
Aaron Ross often gets a lot of stick. After all, during his six seasons with the Giants, he had a tendency to give up big plays, and often times got burned in the secondary. However, Ross played a key role on two Super Bowl winning teams, and for that reason, he ranks at #7 on our list.
Ross spent his first five seasons with the Giants– he won the Super bowl in his first and last year of that stint– before joining the Jacksonville Jaguars for one year, before returning to the Giants for the final year of his career. In that time, Ross racked up 250 tackles and 11 interceptions, including 7 in the two seasons that the Giants won the Super Bowl.
In college, Ross won the national title with Texas in 2005, and won the Jim Thorpe award as the best defensive back in the nation in 2006.
As a Giant, perhaps the biggest contribution the former Longhorn made was during the 2011 season. In 2010, Terrell Thomas broke out and established himself as a top tier cornerback in the NFL. However, in the preseason that year, Thomas tore his ACL, which thrust Ross into the starting lineup alongside Corey Webster. That year, while the Giants did struggle at times, he managed to play all 16 games, and set career highs in tackles and interceptions.
