Thursday 27 April 2017 10:58, UK
The 2017 NFL Draft is just a day away, with exclusively live coverage of the first round on Friday morning from 1am on Sky Sports 2 HD.
We're gearing up to the big day by looking at some of the biggest stories to have come from drafts past. Here's a run through of the top 10...
It’s common-place now for players drafted to cry but Vernon Davis is best-remembered for setting the trend in 2006. Players had shown emotion before but none to the extent of Davis, who was seen crying his eyes out when selected with the sixth pick by the San Francisco 49ers. It wouldn’t be the first and only time Davis would be drawn to tears either, he famously broke down after scoring the winning touchdown for the 49ers in the dying seconds of a dramatic play-off win over the New Orleans Saints in the 2011 season.
Randy Moss is a future hall-of-famer, having set a number of NFL records throughout his 14-year career. The best known of the wide-receiver’s records are his most touchdown receptions in a season (23) in 2007 and the most by a rookie (17) in 1998. Moss played like he had a chip on his shoulder that year, having fallen in the draft from a top-projected pick to the 21st selection by the Minnesota Vikings.
Tim Tebow was a college football sensation, winning two National Championships with the Florida Gators at the college level and the Heisman Trophy – awarded to the best individual player – but people didn’t think the quarterback’s skill-set was up to professional standards. He was projected to be a third round pick, but the Denver Broncos shocked everyone by parting with a second, third and fourth round pick to trade places with the Baltimore Ravens and take Tebow in the first. Sadly, despite taking Denver to the play-offs in his second year, Tebow was discarded and has since turned his attention to making at baseball.
Philadelphia host this year's draft for the first time since 1961. The reaction of Eagles fans to their picks should certainly add to the intrigue this year, especially considering their 1999 pick in New York. With the number two pick in the 1999 draft, fans had made it very clear who they wanted – a running-back called Ricky Williams who was a college superstar coming out of Texas. So when quarterback Donovan McNabb from Syracuse was selected, Eagles fans made their dissatisfaction well-known. Williams ended up going to New Orleans – who traded all of their draft picks to get him – but never achieved sustained success in the NFL, while McNabb took the Eagles to five Conference Championships and a Super Bowl. Be careful what you wish for Philly fans.
Sure as eggs is eggs, the Oakland Raiders would select an unknown player with their first pick of a draft. In 2000 they made the unheard move of picking a kicker in the first round, Sebastian Janikowski. In 2007 arguably their biggest flop came in the form of number one overall pick, quarterback JaMarcus Russell. Plus, wide-receiver Darrius Heyward-Bay (2009) and linebacker Rolando McClain (2010) never worked out, although both found some some success since leaving the Bay Area.
Letting time expire and missing your pick one year is a disaster, doing it twice in consecutive years is unforgivable, but that’s exactly what happened to the Minnesota Vikings. In 2002 they were guilty of the Kansas City Chiefs beating them to a trade with Dallas and grabbing the player – defensive tackle Ryan Sims – they wanted. And in 2003 it only got worse, as two teams – the Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers – overtook them. It worked out fine for the Vikings in the long run though as both of their eventual selections in those drafts – offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie and defensive tackle Kevin Williams – became pro bowl players.
The Indianapolis Colts had two first-round picks in 1994 and created little fuss with their first, picking running-back Marshall Faulk as expected. Although it was their selection of linebacker Trev Alberts with the fifth pick that caused a stir. ESPN analyst Mel Kiper criticised the move with an on-air rant, claiming the Colts should have picked quarterback Trent Dilfer. It prompted a retaliation from Colts general manager, Bill Tobin, who said: “Who in the hell is Mel Kiper? We don’t have to take anybody that Mel Kiper says we have to take. He has no more credentials to do what he’s doing than my neighbour, a postman.”
That was the chant that rang around Madison Square Garden when the first pick of the 2004 draft was announced. Manning – selected by the San Diego Chargers – had been making it very clear in the weeks leading up to the draft that he didn’t want to go to San Diego. He eventually got the move he wanted, with the New York Giants striking a trade and bringing Manning to the Big Apple, but not before an uncomfortable-looking Manning and his family had to take to the stage to pose awkwardly with a Chargers jersey as the crowd turned on him.
This could apply to any year of the draft really. The long-suffering New York Jets fans are the most vocal in their disapproval of the players their beloved Jets have picked. The two greatest examples of their anger were in 1983 when picking 24th and with future hall-of-famer, Dan Marino, still on the board they took another quarterback, Ken O’Brien instead. And then in 1995 they passed on another eventual hall-of-famer, defensive tackle Warren Sapp, for tight end Kyle Brady. Oh dear.
The quarterback-needy San Francisco 49ers held the first pick in the 2005 NFL draft and much of the debate was down to whether they’d pick Alex Smith out of Utah or Californian native and 49ers fan Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers seemed like the obvious pick but the 49ers went for Smith and Rodgers had a four-and-a-half hour wait till eventually being picked up by the Green Bay Packers with the 24th pick. It was good preparation for Rodgers as he had to wait till 2008 till he replaced Brett Favre as the Packers starting quarterback, ultimately leading them to a Super Bowl title in the 2010 season and becoming one of the best in the game at the position.
