|
Who
Went |
How the Draft
Should've Gone |
1.
Dallas Cowboys
Troy Aikman, QB UCLA |
QB
Troy Aikman (1st), UCLA
Dallas Cowboys |
|
Three
Super Bowl wins and a Hall of Fame career is just about all
you can ask from the No. 1 pick. |
2.
Green Bay Packers
Tony Mandarich, OT Michigan State |
RB
Barry Sanders (1st), Oklahoma State
Detroit Lions |
|
Some
suggested that Sanders wouldn't be all that effective on
natural grass and therefore not a good pick for the Packers. Some people
are morons. |
3.
Detroit Lions
Barry Sanders, RB Oklahoma State |
LB
Derrick Thomas (1st), Alabama
Kansas City Chiefs |
|
Deion
Sanders was the greatest pure cover corner in NFL history
and would be the third best player in the draft, but Sanders
would've been crying and whining from the get-go for having
to play in a cold weather city. After the 1989 draft,
Sanders was quoted as saying, "If Detroit would've
drafted me, I would've asked for so much money they would've
had to put me on layaway." Fine. So Detroit would get a
Hall of Fame linebacker instead. |
4.
Kansas City Chiefs
Derrick Thomas, LB Alabama |
CB
Deion Sanders (1st), Florida State
Atlanta Falcons |
|
Kansas
City doesn't have the warm weather of Atlanta or any of
several other NFL cities, but Sanders is too good to pass up even
though he'll probably leave after a few years for brighter
lights. |
5.
Atlanta Falcons
Deion Sanders, CB Florida State |
S
Steve Atwater (1st), Arkansas
Denver Broncos |
|
There
are several great offensive linemen on the board and you
hardly ever take a safety this high, but Atwater was one of
the great hitting defensive backs of his era only taking a
back seat to Ronnie Lott. |
6.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Broderick Thomas, LB Nebraska |
CB
Donnell Woolford (1st), Clemson
Chicago Bears |
|
The
1988-89 Bucs needed a ton of help for their pass defense and
while Deion got all the headlines taking the spotlight away
from Woolford, the Clemson star turned out to be a big-time
player. |
7.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Tim Worley, RB Georgia |
DE
Wayne Martin (1st), Arkansas
New Orleans Saints |
|
The
Steelers desperately needed a running back with Merrill Hoge,
Warren Williams and Earnest Jackson carrying the mail, but
Martin would've been a better pick as a starter every game
for over a decade after his rookie year making 82.5 sacks. |
8.
San Diego Chargers
Burt Grossman, DE Pittsburgh |
OG
Steve Wisniewski (2nd), Penn State
Los Angeles Raiders |
|
Grossman
wasn't a bad pick, but he wasn't worth the number eight.
Wisniewski appeared in six straight Pro Bowls from 1990 to
1995 and started 206 times out of 206 games for the
Raiders. |
9.
Miami Dolphins
Sammie Smith, RB Florida State |
WR
Andre Rison (1st), Michigan State
Indianapolis Colts |
|
While
Lorenzo Hampton, Troy Stradford, Ron Davenport and Woody
Bennett weren't getting the job done at running back, Smith
wasn't the solution for Miami's rushing woes. Mark Clayton
had become Miami's only receiving option, so Rison would've
been a huge help. |
10.
Phoenix Cardinals
Eric Hill, LB LSU |
QB
Rodney Peete (6th), USC
Detroit Lions |
|
There
are better players on the board than Peete, but the Trojan
star would've made an instant impact with an
aging Neil Lomax and Cliff Stoudt at quarterback for the
Cardinals. |
11.
Chicago Bears
Donnell Woolford, CB Clemson |
C
Mark Stepnoski (3rd), Pittsburgh
Dallas Cowboys |
|
The
Bear offensive line was starting to wear down, so the
steadiness of Stepnoski would've given the group a boost. |
12.
Chicago Bears
Trace Armstrong, DE Florida |
DE
Trace Armstrong (1st), Florida
Chicago Bears |
|
He
wasn't a superstar, but he was good enough to carve out a
very productive career as a Bear and a Dolphin. Note to
Chicago ... don't let him go to Miami. You'll need him. |
13.
Cleveland Browns
Eric Metcalf, RB Texas |
FB
Daryl Johnston (2nd), Syracuse
Dallas Cowboys |
|
Snow
was never the killer he was in college while Johnston was
one of the premier fullbacks of the 1990s. |
14.
New York Jets
Jeff Lageman, LB Virginia |
LB/DE
Jeff Lageman (1st), Virginia
New York Jets |
|
The
Jets were roundly ridiculed for taking Lageman too early,
but the pick worked out as he turned into one of the stars of the New York
defense until 1994. |
15.
Seattle Seahawks
Andy Heck, OT Notre Dame |
G
Mark Schlereth (10th), Idaho
Washington Redskins |
|
Heck
was a great player during his time with Seattle, but he left
after 1993 for Chicago. Sure
Schlereth would have to go under the knife about 154 times
on his bad knees, but he was still a great rock for the Redskins and
the Broncos. |
16.
New England Patriots
Hart Lee Dykes, WR Oklahoma State |
WR
Tony Martin (5th), Mesa State
New York Jets |
|
Dykes never became the player the Patriots so
desperately needed.
Martin has had a very productive career catching 593 passes
for 9.065 yards and 56 touchdowns for Miami, San Diego and
Atlanta through 2001. |
17.
Phoenix Cardinals
Joe Wolf, OG Boston College |
OT
Andy Heck (1st), Notre Dame
Seattle Seahawks |
|
Wolf
never panned out for the Cardinals. Heck would've been the
far better choice had he lasted this long in the redraft. |
18.
New York Giants
Brian Williams, C Minnesota |
RB
Dave Meggett (5th), Towson
New York Giants |
|
Meggett
was one of the team's most electrifying players as both a
running back and a kick returner. The Giants were able to
get him five rounds later. |
19.
New Orleans Saints
Wayne Martin, DE Arkansas |
TE
Wesley Walls (2nd), Mississippi
New Orleans Saints |
|
The
Saints were a solid team only missing a good receiving tight
end to complement John Tice. Walls would've been a nice fit. |
20.
Denver Broncos
Steve Atwater, S Arkansas |
RB
Marion Butts (7th), Florida State
San Diego Chargers |
|
Denver
needed rushing help with an ancient Tony Dorsett and an
average Sammy Winder leading the team. Butts was a decent six
year player rushing for 5,185 yards and 43 rushing
touchdowns. |
21.
Los Angeles Rams
Bill Hawkins, DE Miami |
PK
Pete Stoyonovich (8th), Indiana
Miami Dolphins |
|
With
the wildly inconsistent Mike Lansford kicking the ball,
Stoyonovich would've been a big help to the high-powered Ram
offense. |
22.
Indianapolis Colts
Andre Rison, WR Michigan State |
RB
Eric Metcalf (1st), Texas
Cleveland Browns |
|
The
Colts needed receiving help with Bill Brooks the team's No.
1 receiver with 54 catches and Mark Bouza No. 2 with 25.
Metcalf would be an interesting option for the Browns if
moved to receiver right away. |
23.
Houston Oilers
David Williams, OT Florida |
DB
Myron Guyton (8th), Eastern Kentucky
New York Giants |
|
Guyton
was a very productive player for the Giants and Patriots and
as you'll see, the productive talent falls off the map in
the draft in a real hurry. |
24.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Tom Ricketts, OT Pittsburgh |
RB
Derrick Fenner (10th), North Carolina
Seattle Seahawks |
|
The
Steelers needed a runner and Fenner had a better career
(2,996 yards and 42 touchdowns) than Cleveland Gary (2.645
yards and 29 scores.) |
25.
Miami Dolphins
Louis Oliver, S Florida |
S
Louis Oliver (1st), Florida
Miami Dolphins |
|
Oliver
could hit as well as any linebacker in the league.
Unfortunately as a safety, he ran like a linebacker. Even
so, Oliver wasn't all that bad and is better than anyone
else left on the board. |
26.
Los Angeles Rams
Cleveland Gary, RB Miami |
DE
Burt Grossman (1st), Pittsburgh
San Diego Chargers |
|
Grossman
spent too much time wanting to be what Tony Siragusa turned
out to be,
but he wasn't all that bad when he was in his prime.
Grossman would've helped the sagging Ram defense. |
27.
Atlanta Falcons
Shawn Collins, WR Northern Arizona |
RB
Cleveland Gary (1st), Miami
Los Angeles Rams |
|
Gary
was considered a bust, but he ran for 808 yards 14
touchdowns in 1990 and 1,125 and seven touchdowns (and caught 52
passes for 293 yard and three scores) in 1992. John
Settle was coming off a 1,024 yard season for the Falcons, but it wouldn't
last. |
28.
San Francisco 49ers
Keith DeLong, LB Tennessee |
RB
Todd McNair (8th), Temple
Kansas City Chiefs |
|
The
Niners didn't need much help and McNair would be the type of
do-it-all type of back they could've used to back up Roger
Craig and Tom Rathman. |