Draft Rewind: Superstars ruled the top of the 1989 class
Draft Rewind: Superstars ruled the top of the 1989 class
Although the 1989 Draft lacked the talent of the combined NFL and Supplemental Drafts from five years earlier, the selections at the top were definitely comparable. Four players who eventually would become Hall of Famers were taken in the first five picks.
No. 1 (Cowboys) Actual pick - Troy Aikman, QB Redraft - Aikman
Aikman underwent early growing pains (Dallas went 1-15 in his first season), but eventually playing his way to the Hall of Fame. The Cowboys won three championships in his career and Aikman was named MVP of Super Bowl XXVII. The six-time Pro Bowler and 1997 NFL Man of the Year Award winner finished his 12-year career with 32,942 yards and 165 touchdowns.
No. 2 (Packers) Actual pick - Tony Mandarich, OT Redraft - Derrick Thomas, LB
Mandarich never lived up to potential, thanks to an initial holdout, attitude issues and a drug and alcohol addiction. The Packers cut him after three seasons, and after three more years in rehab, he signed with the Colts, where he spent three seasons.
Thomas would have made a stellar outside linebacker duo in Green Bay with Tim Harris, who finished second in the NFL with 20 sacks (to Vikings star Chris Doleman’s 21). Inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2009, Thomas finished with 126½ sacks in 11 seasons, all with Kansas City. He was a nine-time Pro Bowler, a two-time All-Pro, the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and the Man of the Year Award winner in 1993. He died from a pulmonary embolism after getting in a car accident on the way to the airport before the 2000 NFC Championship Game.
No. 3 (Lions) Actual pick - Barry Sanders, RB Redraft - B. Sanders
Sanders earned his draft spot by rushing for 2,850 yards as a junior at Oklahoma State, a record in Division I college football that still stands. He was a Pro Bowler in each of his 10 NFL seasons and was named an All-Pro six times. His 15,269 yards not only ranks third on the league’s all-time rushing list, but is the most over a 10-year span in NFL history. The 2004 Hall of Famer was also an Offensive Rookie of the Year, a two-time Offensive Player of the Year and the league’s MVP in 1997 after running for 2,053 yards.
No. 4 (Chiefs) Actual pick - Derrick Thomas, LB Redraft - Broderick Thomas, LB
Kansas City drafts a Thomas either way. While he never made a Pro Bowl or an All-Pro team, Broderick Thomas played 144 games and amassed 47½ sacks in nine years. His best season was 1991 with the Buccaneers, when he totaled 11 sacks, 174 tackles and led the NFL with seven forced fumbles.
No. 5 (Falcons) Actual pick - Deion Sanders, CB Redraft - D. Sanders
Sanders won back-to-back championships with two different teams (the 49ers in 1994 and the Cowboys the following year). The 2011 Hall of Famer was selected to eight Pro Bowls and six All-Pro teams. “Prime Time” was the 1994 Defensive Player of the Year after registering six interceptions and returning three for scores. He had 53 career picks, with five seasons of five or more. Sanders was also a dangerous return man, bringing back six punts and three kickoffs for touchdowns and leading the league with 1,062 kick return yards in 1992.
No. 6 (Bucs) Actual pick - Broderick Thomas, LB Redraft - Trace Armstrong, DE
With the two best linebackers off the board, Tampa Bay grabs the best defensive lineman instead. Armstrong played 211 games over 15 seasons with the Bears, Dolphins, and Raiders. He finished with 106 sacks, including five seasons with 10 or more and a high of 16½ in 2000, his only Pro Bowl season.
No. 7 (Steelers) Actual pick - Tim Worley, RB Redraft - Marion Butts, RB
Worley had a good rookie season, but never really fulfilled his potential in the NFL. Butts was a distant second among selections with 5,185 yards and 52 touchdowns in seven seasons. The two-time Pro Bowler ran for a career-high 1,225 yards in 1990.
No. 8 (Chargers) Actual pick - Burt Grossman, DE Redraft - Wayne Martin, DE
Grossman amassed 10 sacks in each of his first two years and 43½ overall. However, he played only four more seasons before suffering a career-ending neck injury. Martin played 171 games and had 82½ sacks in 11 seasons, including 10 or more five times. He was a Pro Bowler in 1994 and appeared in two playoff games with the Saints.
No. 9 (Dolphins) Actual pick - Sammie Smith, RB Redraft - Eric Metcalf, RB
Smith had two solid seasons in Miami, but fizzled out two years later. He eventually found trouble with drugs and spent seven years in prison. Metcalf was one of the better weapons of the early 1990s. He had 541 catches for 5,572 yards and 31 touchdowns as a receiver out of the backfield, and also totaled 2,392 yards on the ground in 13 seasons. However, his biggest contribution was as a return man. The three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro went over 1,000 kickoff return yards three times and had 400 or more yards on punt returns four times.
No. 10 (Cardinals) Actual pick - Eric Hill, LB Redraft - Hill
Hill went on to play 160 games in 11 seasons, nine with the Cardinals franchise. He made 1,044 career tackles, with five seasons of 100 or more. Hill made 91 tackles in 1989, earning him a spot on the All-Rookie Team.
No. 11 (Bears) Actual pick - Donnell Woolford, CB Redraft - Woolford
This selection was traded by the Raiders along with the 63rd pick for wide receiver Willie Gault. Woolford’s 36 interceptions were tied for second behind Sanders for most among players selected in this Draft. The All-Rookie Team member made his lone Pro Bowl after posting a career-high 101 tackles with Chicago in 1993.
No. 12 (Bears) Actual pick - Trace Armstrong, DE Redraft - Tony Tolbert, DE
The Bears acquired this pick (along with a late first-rounder in 1988) as compensation for the Redskins signing linebacker Wilber Marshall. With Armstrong gone, Chicago takes the next-best option at defensive end. Tolbert was selected by Dallas with the 85th pick in the fourth round, and he went on to win three Super Bowls with the Cowboys. Tolbert amassed 59 sacks in his nine seasons in Dallas, including a career-high 12 in 1996, when he earned his only Pro Bowl berth.
No. 13 (Browns) Actual pick - Eric Metcalf, RB Redraft - Derrick Fenner, RB
Cleveland gave up a lot to move up to this spot, sending picks 20, 47, 134 and 241 to Denver. Sanders was the shifty back, Butts was the straight-ahead runner and Metcalf was the multi-purpose weapon, but all of them are off the board at this point. Fenner, who was taken by Seattle in the 10th round, ran for 2,996 yards and 32 touchdowns in nine seasons with the Seahawks, Bengals, and Raiders. His best season was 1990, when he ran for 859 yards and a league-leading 14 touchdowns.
No. 14 (Jets) Actual pick - Jeff Lageman, DE Redraft - Lageman
Lageman finished with 47 sacks in 122 games over 10 years with the Jets and Jaguars. The athletic pass rusher sacked opposing quarterbacks 10 times in 1991, but was forced to retire after suffering a torn arm muscle in the first game of the 1998 season.
No. 15 (Seahawks) Actual pick - Andy Heck, T Redraft - Heck
Linebacker Fredd Young (Seattle’s third-round pick in 1984) was coming off a season in which he registered nine sacks and was selected to both the Pro Bowl and the All-Pro team. Seattle traded him to Indianapolis for this pick and a first-round selection in 1990. Heck went on to play five seasons with the Seahawks, then five more with the Bears and two with the Redskins. The All-Rookie Team member played 185 games in 12 seasons.
No. 16 (Patriots) Actual pick - Hart Lee Dykes, WR Redraft - Andre Rison, WR
Dykes was a highly recruited two-sport athlete. He was named the Dial Award winner as the nation’s top high school scholar-athlete in 1984, but then was involved in a bidding war that ended with Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Illinois and his eventual choice, Oklahoma State, on NCAA probation. Dykes was taken by the White Sox in the second round of the Major League Baseball Draft earlier in the year. However, his NFL career ended after just two seasons due to a fractured kneecap suffered during a game, as well as an eye injury from a bar fight that also involved Patriots star receiver, Irving Fryar.
Rison had the best statistics among receivers taken in the Draft. Originally taken by the Colts at 22, “Bad Moon” was a five-time Pro Bowler and a 1990 All-Pro who ended his 12-year career with 743 receptions, 10,205 yards, and 84 touchdowns. A champion with the Packers in Super Bowl XXXI, Rison had five 1,000-yard seasons and a league-high 15 touchdown catches in 1993.
No. 17 (Cardinals) Actual pick - Joe Wolf, G Redraft - Steve Wisniewski, G
This pick was originally held by the Seahawks, but was sent (along with a 1988 fifth-rounder and pick 128) to the Cardinals for quarterback Kelly Stouffer. Wolf played in 94 games over nine seasons in Arizona, but was mostly a reserve. Wisniewski was taken by Dallas with the first pick of the second round. He was almost immediately traded to the Raiders in exchange for the 39th pick, which ended up being fullback Daryl “Moose” Johnston. Wisniewski spent 13 years with the Raiders. He started 206 games and was named to eight Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams.
No. 18 (Giants) Actual pick - Brian Williams, C Redraft - Mark Stepnoski, C
Williams was a reserve on the Giants squad that won Super Bowl XXV, and he went on to play 129 games over a nine-year career, which included two missed seasons due to an eye injury that resulted in double vision. The Cowboys took Stepnoski with the first pick in the third round, and he was a stalwart on two Dallas title teams. He made five Pro Bowls and played in 194 games in 13 seasons with the Cowboys and Oilers.
No. 19 (Saints) Actual pick - Wayne Martin, DE Redraft - Tony Martin, WR
New Orleans had a strong defense at this point, led by the “Dome Patrol” linebackers (who were coached by current Broncos head coach, Vic Fangio), so with Wayne Martin off the board, the Saints draft a Martin for the offense. Tony Martin would give quarterback Bobby Hebert another weapon to go with running back Dalton Hilliard and receiver Eric Martin. Originally drafted by the Jets in the middle of the fifth round, Tony Martin totaled 9,065 yards and 56 touchdowns in 12 seasons, including a league-leading 14 in his 1996 Pro Bowl season. He also played in Super Bowls XXIX with the Chargers and XXXIII with the Falcons.
No. 20 (Broncos) Actual pick - Steve Atwater, S Redraft - Atwater
Denver used the pick acquired from Cleveland to select Atwater, an eight-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro who amassed 24 interceptions and 1,180 tackles. He went to three Super Bowls (two wins in the late 1990s and a loss in his rookie year).
No. 21 (Rams) Actual pick - Bill Hawkins, DE Redraft - Glenn Montgomery, DT
Hawkins spent four seasons on the Rams bench before an ACL injury required major reconstructive surgery and ended his career. Montgomery was taken by Houston near the end of the Round 5. He was a special teams player and backup tackle for most of his eight seasons, but he put up six sacks as a starter in 1993.
No. 22 (Colts) Actual pick - Andre Rison, WR Redraft - Wesley Walls, TE
Indianapolis traded guard Ron Solt to the Eagles for this selection, along with pick 106. Rison teamed with Bill Brooks to form a decent receiver pairing with the actual Colts team in 1989, but with him already taken, the Colts addressed an even bigger need, tight end. Pat Beach and Mark Boyer combined for just 25 catches and 145 yards in 1989. Walls was by far the best at the position from this draft. The five-time Pro Bowler amassed 450 catches, 5,291 yards and 54 touchdowns in 14 seasons with the 49ers, Saints, Panthers and Packers. He appeared in Super Bowl XXIV with San Francisco as a rookie and helped Carolina reach the NFC Championship Game in its second season.
No. 23 (Oilers) Actual pick - David Williams, OT Redraft - Mark Schlereth, G
Williams appeared in 128 regular season and five playoff games with the Oilers and Jets. Schlereth, a mid-10th round selection by the Redskins, was a two-time Pro Bowler and a three-time champion who played in 156 games with Washington and Denver.
No. 24 (Steelers) Actual pick - Tom Ricketts, OT Redraft - Floyd Turner, WR
Pittsburgh acquired this pick from Minnesota for linebacker Mike Meriweather. Ricketts played just 53 games in five seasons. Turner, taken by the Saints late in the fifth round, totaled 3,805 yards and 31 touchdowns in nine NFL seasons. His best year was 1991, when he set career-highs with 927 yards and eight scores. Those numbers would have made him and Louis Lipps a pair of decent weapons for Bubby Brister.
No. 25 (Dolphins) Actual pick - Louis Oliver, S Redraft - Carnell Lake, S
Miami traded picks 36 and 65 to Chicago to get another first-round selection. Oliver played 117 games and had 27 interceptions in eight seasons with the Dolphins and Bengals. Lake only had 16 picks, but played 185 games over 12 years. The five-time Pro Bowler and 1997 All-Pro appeared in 17 career playoff games despite missing the 2000 season with a foot injury.
No. 26 (Rams) Actual pick - Cleveland Gary, RB Redraft - Daryl Johnston, FB
This pick was originally held by the Bills, but was involved in a three-team trade. Just before the trade deadline of the 1987 season, Buffalo sent this selection, along with pick 45, a 1988 first-rounder and running back Greg Bell to the Colts for linebacker Cornelius Bennett, the second pick of the 1987 Draft, who had been holding out. Indianapolis took this whole package, and added to it their own first-round pick in 1988, second-rounders in ’88 and ’89 and running back Owen Gill for eventual Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson.
Gary ran for 2,634 yards and 24 touchdowns in five years with the Rams, including an NFL-high 14 scores in 1990. Johnston was taken by the Cowboys at pick 39 and went on to be a part of three championship teams. The two-time Pro Bowler was the lead blocker for all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith, but “Moose” ran for 2,227 yards and 14 scores.
No. 27 (Falcons) Actual pick - Shawn Collins, WR Redraft - Robert Massey, CB
Atlanta acquired this selection in exchange for picks 35, 89 and 256. Collins had 862 yards as a rookie, but faded away soon after. While the Falcons offense needed help, their defense was the worst in terms of points allowed in 1989. Massey and Sanders would give Atlanta two new starters at cornerback. Massey had 14 interceptions in nine seasons, and he made the Pro Bowl in 1992 after returning three picks for scores.
No. 28 (49ers) Actual pick - Keith DeLong, LB Redraft - Ray Crockett, CB
DeLong won a title in San Francisco as a rookie, but he only played 64 games in five years. A fourth-round pick by Detroit, Crockett tied Woolford with 36 interceptions. The two-time champion played 214 games in 14 seasons with the Lions, Broncos, and Chiefs.
Pro Bowlers/All-Pros not selected in the redraft: TE Marv Cook (63rd by the Patriots), RB David Meggett (132nd by the Giants), K Chris Jacke (142nd by the Packers, 1993 All-Pro), K David Treadwell (undrafted, signed by the Broncos, Pro Bowler and All-Pro as a rookie), S and Special Teams player Bennie Thompson (undrafted, signed by the Saints, Pro Bowler in 1991 with New Orleans and ’98 with the Ravens), P Rick Tuten (undrafted, signed by the Eagles, Pro Bowler in 1994 with the Seahawks) and RB Bobby Humphrey (taken in the first round of the Supplemental Draft by the Broncos, Pro Bowler in 1990).
Next: A glimpse into the 1994 Draft
-By: Kevin Rakas