1998 Draft Redo - What Should've Happened

What should each team have done in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft?

2005 Draft Redo | 2004 Draft Redo | 2003 Draft Redo | 2002 Draft Redo
2001 Draft Redo | 2000 Draft Redo | 1999 Draft Redo | 1998 Draft Redo
1997 Draft Redo | 1996 Draft Redo | 1995 Draft Redo | 1994 Draft Redo
1993 Draft Redo | 1992 Draft Redo | 1991 Draft Redo | 1990 Draft Redo
1989 Draft Redo

Here's a look at past NFL drafts looking to see what each team needed, who they all took in the first round, and in hindsight, who should've gone based on how their pro careers turned out (forgetting about proper coaching and other circumstances).

If each team could draft knowing what we all know now and not taking future drafts into account, this is how the first round should've gone.

There were 30 picks in the first round of the 1998 draft. It starts to get really fun now as this draft is recent enough that it's time to call players out for being busts.

Who Went	How the Draft Should've Gone
1. Indianapolis Colts Peyton Manning, QB Tennessee	QB Peyton Manning (1st), Tennessee Indianapolis Colts
Manning finally shook the can't-win-the-big-game tag and threw himself into the discussion for the greatest quarterbacks ever. Even so, Randy Moss deserves consideration at the one. You could pick a fan out of the stands and he'd throw 35 touchdowns a year with Moss (at least when he first came to the league) and Marvin Harrison to throw to.
2. San Diego Chargers Ryan Leaf, QB Washington State	WR Randy Moss (1st), Marshall Minnesota Vikings
When he decided to play and was really on, Moss was one of best players in the NFL. As sacrilegious as this may sound considering how great Jerry Rice was, Moss, when he was right, might have been the most dangerous receiver to ever play the game. The Leaf pick was an all-timer.
3. Arizona Cardinals Andre Wadsworth, DE Florida State	RB Fred Taylor (1st), Florida Jacksonville Jaguars
Wadsworth looked like a lock to go to several Pro Bowls and reverse Arizona's draft luck. He held out way too long, looked lost when he reported, then got injured. Taylor would've finally been a productive Cardinal back.
4. Oakland Raiders Charles Woodson, CB Michigan	DE Grant Wistrom (1st), Nebraska St. Louis Rams
The Raiders needed an all-purpose running back and would've considered Ahman Green. Al Davis would've gone with the ultra-productive Wistrom, who might not have been a No. 4-caliber pick, but would've been a major plus.
5. Chicago Bears Curtis Enis, RB Penn State	RB Ahman Green (3rd), Nebraska Green Bay Packers
Enis was weird, slow, weird, unproductive, goofy and weird from the second he came to Chicago. Green would've been the back the Bears would've wanted.
6. St. Louis Rams Grant Wistrom, DE Nebraska	QB Matt Hasselbeck (6th), Boston College Green Bay Packers
In 1998, no one knows Kurt Warner is Kurt Warner yet. The Rams needed a QB to replace Mark Rypien and Tony Banks. Wouldn't Hasselbeck have turned into a superstar under Mike Martz?
7. New Orleans Saints Kyle Turley, OT San Diego State	OG Alan Faneca (1st), LSU Pittsburgh Steelers
Turley might be a bit of a reach with the seventh pick, but you don't find fiery tackles who start every game. He was a key leader for the Saint line, but Faneca became special.
8. Dallas Cowboys Greg Ellis, DE North Carolina	LB Keith Brooking (1st), Georgia Tech Atlanta Falcons
Ellis wasn't a bad pick. Brooking would eventually turn into the type of linebacker who would've been a star for Dallas.
9. Jacksonville Jaguars Fred Taylor, RB Florida	OT Flozell Adams (2nd), Michigan State Dallas Cowboys
When healthy, Fred Taylor was the NFL's second best running back behind Marshall Faulk. Paired with Tony Boselli, taking Flozell the Hotel (a 2004 Pro Bowl performer) here and his consistent starting ability would give the Jaguars the league's best tackles.
10. Baltimore Ravens Duane Starks, CB Miami	WR Hines Ward (3rd), Georgia Pittsburgh Steelers
Starks was a nice player for the Ravens picking off twenty passes, but he left for Arizona after four years and they want a player who might stick around longer. Ward would've been the team's best receiver by far for a long, long time.
11. Philadelphia Eagles Tra Thomas, OT Florida State	OT Tra Thomas (1st), Florida State Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles got several years of starts and some Pro Bowls from Thomas as he got better and better. No need to mess with the pick.
12. Atlanta Falcons Keith Brooking, LB Georgia Tech	QB Jake Delhomme (undrafted), UL Lafayette Carolina Panthers
Atlanta doesn't have Michael Vick yet and needs a quarterback to work with. Would Delhoome be worth taking the chance here? Yeah.
13. Cincinnati Bengals Takeo Spikes, LB Auburn	CB Charles Woodson (1st), Michigan Oakland Raiders
Cincinnati needs defensive help, and while Woodson wouldn't turn out to be star everyone thought he'd be, he'd be good enough to be a key corner for a struggling Bengal secondary.
14. Carolina Panthers Jason Peter, DT Nebraska	DT Jamal Williams (undrafted), Oklahoma State San Diego Chargers
Peter was a Panther for a while, but he was a bust. Williams would've been the better pick as a future Pro Bowl star
15. Seattle Seahawks Anthony Simmons, LB Clemson	LB Takeo Spikes (1st), Auburn Cincinnati Bengals
Simmons never became a star, but he was a nice pick. Trotter would've been better.
16. Houston Oilers Kevin Dyson, WR Utah	LB Jeremiah Trotter (3rd), Stephen F. Austin Philadelphia Eagles
I'm not taking Dyson here on principle alone as the receiver-challenged Oilers choice to wuss out on Randy Moss cost them at least one Super Bowl. Trotter became a steady defender who'd have made a far bigger impact.
17. Cincinnati Bengals Brian Simmons, LB North Carolina	C Olin Krutz (3rd), Washington Chicago Bears
A nasty leader, Krutz would've been the anchor for the middle of the Cincinnati line for more than ten years.
18. New England Patriots Robert Edwards, RB Georgia	OT Kyle Turley (1st), San Diego State New Orleans Saints
Edwards was one of the league's best young running backs before an NFL sanctioned game of beach football tore up his knee almost costing him his leg. Without a top running back left on the board (Michael Pittman was the best left), Turley would've been the anchor of the Patriot line for a few years.
19. Green Bay Packers Vonnie Holliday, DT North Carolina	C Matt Birk (6th), Harvard Minnesota Vikings
Not only would Birk have been a Pro Bowl steal at 19, but the Packers would also keep him from going to rival Minnesota.
20. Detroit Lions Terry Fair, CB Tennessee	DE Greg Ellis (1st), North Carolina Dallas Cowboys
Fair was, well, a fair selection considering he went one pick before Moss. Ellis turned into a better pass rusher as his career went on.
21. Minnesota Vikings Randy Moss, WR Marshall	CB Patrick Surtain (2nd), Southern Miss Miami Dolphins
In the eternal battle to find productive corners, the Vikings would've had the player who might have put them over the top.
22. New England Patriots Tebucky Jones, DB Syracuse	DB Donovin Darius (1st), Syracuse Jacksonville Jaguars
Jones was a good pick, but Darius became a fixture in the Jacksonville secondary for years and probably should've gone higher.
23. Oakland Raiders Mo Collins, OT Florida	OL Jeremy Newberry (2nd), California San Francisco 49ers
The versatility of Newberry would make him vital to a quickly fading Raider line.
24. New York Giants Shaun Williams, DB UCLA	DB Patrick Surtain (2nd), Southern Miss Miami Dolphins
The light finally went on for Williams who turned into a solid all-around player for New York after a painful and totally unproductive first two seasons. Surtain would've been the far better defensive back for the Giants.
25. Jacksonville Jaguars Donovin Darius, DB Syracuse	DL Vonnie Holliday (1st), North Carolina Green Bay Packers
It took a while, but Holliday turned into a solid run stuffer and an underappreciated interior pass rusher.
26. Pittsburgh Steelers Alan Faneca, OG LSU	LB Brian Simmons (1st), North Carolina Cincinnati Bengals
Simmons might have slipped way too far in this draft. He had too many big years to not be a major player for the Steelers.
27. Kansas City Chiefs Victor Riley, OT Auburn	OT Victor Riley (1st), Auburn Kansas City Chiefs
Injuries slowed Riley down a little bit and the Chiefs lost him to New Orleans. It's probably not fair to punish a player in this draft exercise when he leaves for free agency, but it is a factor and that's why he slipped.
28. San Francisco 49ers R.W. McQuarters, DB Oklahoma State	CB Duane Starks (1st), Miami  Baltimore Ravens
Isn't R.W. McQuarters the mid-priced restaurant by the mall next to T.G.I. Friday's, Bennigan's and Chili's? The Niners gave up on McQuarters too early and he's turned out to be a decent player for Chicago. Starks turned out to be far too productive right off the bat to slide any further than this for a team that always needed secondary help.
29. Miami Dolphins John Avery, RB Mississippi	LB Anthony Simmons (1st), Clemson Seattle Seahawks
The Avery experiment just didn't work. Simmons is a good enough tackler to have fit in well in the Miami defense.
30. Denver Broncos Marcus Nash, WR Tennessee	WR Joe Jurevicius (2nd), Penn State New York Giants
Nash was a mega-bust while Jurevicius would've been steady. Maybe he wouldn't have been spectacular, but he would've been a big help.