Draft Rewind: Combining the 1984 College and Supplemental Drafts
Draft Rewind: Combining the 1984 College and Supplemental Drafts
In 1984, the NFL faced stiff competition from our neighbors to the north in the Canadian Football League (CFL), as well as from the upstart United States Football League. The USFL, which operated in the spring and early summer, was the brainchild of David Dixon, a former New Orleans antique dealer who helped endorse the Louisiana Superdome and was a co-owner of the Saints.
The NFL, in order to combat the influence of the USFL and the CFL, decided to hold a Supplemental Draft that included college players who signed with the other leagues before the NFL Draft. This would prevent an influx of free agents if the USFL folded.
Players from both drafts will be included in this redraft, so there will be plenty of talent available for future rounds.
No. 1 (Patriots) Actual pick – Irving Fryar, WR Redraft – Reggie White, DE
There were two fairly strange trades involving this pick. Originally the property of the Buccaneers, Tampa Bay traded the pick the year before. The reason: notoriously cheap owner Hugh Culverhouse did not want to pay quarterback Doug Williams what he was asking for, preferring to keep him at the lowest salary among NFL starters. Williams left for the USFL and Tampa Bay traded the pick for Bengals backup Jack Thompson, who went 3-13 in two years. Fast forward a year and Cincinnati was in its own quarterback quandary. The Bengals were interested in drafting BYU’s Steve Young, but he decided to sign with the USFL’s Los Angeles Express for 10 years and $40 million instead. Cincinnati traded the top pick to New England for the 16th and 28th selections.
Reggie White was selected fourth in the Supplemental Draft by Philadelphia. Imagine a Patriots defense pairing White with All-Pro linebacker Andre Tippett. New England would definitely have given those ’85 Bears a better game in Super Bowl XX. White was a Hall of Famer who was a 13-time Pro Bowler and an eight-time All-Pro. He ranks second all-time with 198 sacks, including 12 seasons with 10 or more and a then-record 21 in 1987. White was a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and a champion with the Packers in Super Bowl XXI (against the Patriots).
No. 2 (Oilers) Actual pick – Dean Steinkuhler, OT Redraft – Gary Zimmerman, OT
Steinkuhler made the All-Rookie Team and played 100 games over seven seasons with the Oilers, but Zimmerman was a Hall of Famer who would have been a fixture at left tackle and moved Harvey Salem to the opposite side of Warren Moon. Zimmerman was drafted third in the Supplemental Draft by the Giants, and he went on to start all 184 games he played over the next 12 seasons with Minnesota and Denver. He was a seven-time Pro Bowler, a three-time All-Pro and a Super Bowl XXXII champion with the Broncos in what turned out to be his last game.
No. 3 (Giants) Actual pick – Carl Banks, LB Redraft – Banks
Even with Young and a few other big names still on the board, the Giants should stick with Banks, who joined Lawrence Taylor, Harry Carson and Pepper Johnson as members of the “Big Blue Wrecking Crew” linebackers that harassed opposing quarterbacks throughout the mid- to late 1980s. Banks played 173 games over 12 seasons, nine coming in New York. He amassed 39½ sacks, including nine, to go along with 101 tackles, in his 1987 Pro Bowl and All-Pro season. He was also a two-time champion, winning in Super Bowls XXI and XXV.
No. 4 (Eagles) Actual pick – Kenny Jackson, WR Redraft – Irving Fryar, WR
Jackson scored only 11 touchdowns in eight seasons and played sparingly after 1987. Fryar, on the other hand, more than doubled the production of the next best receiver taken in the NFL Draft. The five-time Pro Bowler totaled 851 receptions, 12,785 yards and 84 touchdowns in 17 seasons with New England, Miami, Philadelphia, and Washington. He was also a key piece for New England’s run to Super Bowl XX.
No. 5 (Chiefs) Actual pick – Bill Maas, NT Redraft – Steve Young, QB
Well, if you remember back to the 1979 redraft, the Chiefs would already have Joe Montana, so why not recreate the 49ers quarterback tandem only in Kansas City? Young, who was taken by Tampa Bay with the first pick of the Supplemental Draft, went on to have a Hall of Fame career. He was a three-time champion and was the MVP of Super Bowl XXIX. He was also the league’s MVP in 1992 and ’94, a seven-time Pro Bowler, a three-time All-Pro, a four-time TD leader and the 1992 Offensive Player of the Year.
No. 6 (Chargers) Actual pick - Mossy Cade, S Redraft - Scott Case, S
Cade lasted just two years in the NFL before going to jail after being convicted of sexually assaulting his aunt. Case, who was drafted by the Falcons early in the second round, had 30 interceptions, including 10 in 1988, his lone Pro Bowl season. He also made 976 tackles in 178 games, with 100 or more four times.
No. 7 (Bengals) Actual pick - Ricky Hunley, LB Redraft - Wilber Marshall, LB
Hunley was a starter for only two of his seven seasons. Marshall played in 179 games and was a Super Bowl champion with the Bears and Redskins. He was a three-time Pro Bowler and a two-time All-Pro who registered 1,043 tackles and 45 sacks in 12 seasons.
No. 8 (Colts) Actual pick - Leonard Coleman, S Redraft - Shaun Gayle, S
Coleman lasted just five seasons and started 16 games in total. Gayle was a steal for Chicago late in round 10. He played 160 games and was Marshall’s teammate on the Super Bowl XX champion Bears team. The 1991 Pro Bowler also had 14 interceptions and 770 tackles in 12 years.
No. 9 (Falcons) Actual pick - Rick Bryan, DE Redraft - William Fuller, DE
Bryan played 109 games over nine seasons and amassed 29 sacks. Fuller was taken by the Rams 21st in the Supplemental Draft. He went on to be a four-time Pro Bowler, play in 194 games and register 100½ sacks, including four seasons with 10 or more.
No. 10 (Jets) Actual pick - Russell Carter, S Redraft - Jim Sweeney, C
Carter played only 64 games and had six sacks in six NFL seasons. Sweeney was the Jets’ second-round pick (37th overall). The All-Rookie Team member went on to play 166 games in 11 seasons on New York’s offensive line, mostly at center.
No. 11 (Bears) Actual pick - Wilber Marshall, LB Redraft - Vaughan Johnson, LB
With Marshall gone, Vaughan Johnson, who was taken by New Orleans 15th in the Supplemental Draft, is the easy choice here. He was a member of the Saints’ vaunted “Dome Patrol” linebacker corps that also included Pat Swilling, Rickey Jackson, and Sam Mills. Johnson, and he was a four-time Pro Bowler who made 664 tackles in nine years.
No. 12 (Packers) Actual pick - Alphonso Carreker, DE Redraft - Sean Jones, DE
Carreker registered 24 sacks in seven seasons, including nine in 1985. Jones played 201 games and had 113 sacks in 13 seasons with the Raiders, Oilers, and Packers, with five seasons of 10 or more. The 1993 Pro Bowler also appeared in 18 playoff games, and his final contest was a Super Bowl XXXI win with Green Bay.
No. 13 (Vikings) Actual pick - Keith Millard, DT Redraft - Millard
Millard played just six years with the Vikings, but he was a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro twice each. He had 58 sacks, including a career-high 18 in 1989, a record among defensive tackles that stood until Aaron Donald notched 20½ in 2018. His potential as a dominant force was cut short by a knee injury suffered in 1990.
No. 14 (Dolphins) Actual pick - Jackie Shipp, LB Redraft - Fredd Young, LB
This selection was originally the property of the Bills, who traded it for picks 26, 79 and 82. Shipp played six mostly uneventful seasons, the last one with the Raiders. Originally taken by the Seahawks late in the third round, Young was a four-time Pro Bowler and an All-Pro in 1987, when he had nine sacks.
No. 15 (Jets) Actual pick - Ron Faurot, DE Redraft - Lee Williams, DE
Quarterback Richard Todd was not working out as much as the Jets would have liked, so the team traded him to the Saints for this pick. Faurot only played 20 games in two seasons before retiring. Williams, who the Chargers originally took sixth in the Supplemental Draft, falls to New York at this spot. He was a two-time Pro Bowler who played 140 games and totaled 82½ sacks in 10 seasons.
No. 16 (Bengals) Actual pick - Pete Koch, DT Redraft - Bill Maas, NT
Acquired as part of the trade for the top pick, Koch lasted five seasons and 58 games before transitioning to acting. Maas was a two-time Pro Bowler who played 130 games and had 40 sacks in 10 NFL seasons.
No. 17 (Cardinals) Actual pick - Clyde Duncan, WR Redraft - Gary Clark, WR
Duncan’s short career started with a contract dispute and ended with just four receptions in two seasons. Clark totaled 699 catches, 10,856 yards, and 65 touchdowns. The four-time Pro Bowler and 1987 All-Pro had five seasons with at least 70 receptions and 1,000 yards. He was also a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Redskins, who drafted him late in the second round of the Supplemental Draft.
No. 18 (Browns) Actual pick - Don Rogers, S Redraft - Earnest Byner, RB
Rogers was the Defensive Rookie of the Year, but his career and his life were ended two seasons later due to a cocaine overdose the day before his wedding. The selection of Byner gives the running back to Cleveland more than nine rounds sooner than he was originally drafted (pick 280, the final pick of the 10th round). Byner was a two-time Pro Bowler who totaled 8,261 rushing yards and 56 touchdowns, including three seasons with 1,000 or more. He also was a receiving threat out of the backfield with 4,605 yards in 14 years. He played in two AFC Championship Games with the Browns and was a part of the Super Bowl XXVI winning Washington squad.
No. 19 (Colts) Actual pick - Ron Solt, G Redraft - Guy McIntyre, G
This pick originally belonged to the Broncos but was traded to the Colts as part of a package that brought John Elway to the Mile High City in 1983. Solt had a decent career, playing 116 games in nine seasons and making the Pro Bowl in 1987. However, McIntyre was a three-time champion and a five-time Pro Bowler who played 186 games, mostly with San Francisco.
No. 20 (Lions) Actual pick - David Lewis, TE Redraft - Clarence Kay, TE
Lewis posted just 731 yards and eight touchdowns in four seasons. Kay was by far the best tight end selected in either the NFL or Supplemental Drafts. Taken by Denver midway through the seventh round, Kay totaled 193 receptions, 2,136 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He was a member of the All-Rookie Team and played in three Super Bowls with the Broncos.
No. 21 (Chiefs) Actual pick - John Alt, OT Redraft - Alt
The Rams traded this pick in 1983 for cornerback Gary Green, who went to a Pro Bowl and earned two All-Pro selections in two seasons in Los Angeles. Alt was a two-time Pro Bowler who played in 179 regular season and 10 playoff games in 13 years.
No. 22 (Seahawks) Actual pick - Terry Taylor, CB Redraft - Kevin Ross, CB
Taylor had a successful career, intercepting 25 passes and making 482 tackles over 12 seasons. Ross, who was selected at the top of the seventh round (pick 173), was a two-time Pro Bowler. He had 38 interceptions (tied for the most among selected players) and 1,099 tackles in 13 years, and he played eight playoff games with the Chiefs.
No. 23 (Steelers) Actual pick - Louis Lipps, WR Redraft - Lipps
Lipps was the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year and a Pro Bowler his first two seasons. He led the NFL with 656 punt return yards in 1984 and registered 1,134 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns the following year. He totaled 6,019 yards and 39 scoring catches in nine seasons.
No. 24 (49ers) Actual pick - Todd Shell, LB Redraft - Mike Johnson, LB
Shell registered seven sacks in 38 games. Although the Browns haven’t won any titles, they nearly rivaled San Francisco’s success in the late 1980s thanks to Johnson, a two-time Pro Bowler who totaled 1,224 tackles in 10 years, with 100 or more seven times.
No. 25 (Cowboys) Actual pick - Billy Cannon Jr., LB Redraft - Jumpy Geathers, DE
Cannon, the son of a Heisman Trophy winner, had to retire after just eight games due to a congenital spinal condition that was aggravated when he made a tackle. Geathers, who was taken 42nd by the Saints, played 183 games and had 62 sacks in 13 years, including nine in 1986.
No. 26 (Bills) Actual pick - Greg Bell, RB Redraft - Bell
The pick was originally owned by the Dolphins. Bell was a Pro Bowler and an All-Rookie Team member after running for 1,100 yards in 1984. He ran for more than 1,000 yards two more times and led the NFL in rushing touchdowns in 1988 and ’89.
No. 27 (Giants) Actual pick - William Roberts, G Redraft - Roberts
The Giants acquired this selection from the Redskins for picks 31 and 125. Roberts was an integral piece of a New York offensive line that paved the way for Joe Morris and Ottis Anderson. He played 195 games, and was a two-time Super Bowl participant and a Pro Bowler in 1990.
No. 28 (Bengals) Actual pick - Brian Blados, OT Redraft - Heller
The pick was originally owned by the Raiders, but was sent to the Patriots for cornerback Mike Haynes, who was selected to three more Pro Bowls (nine in total). The Bengals acquired the selection as part of a trade for the top pick.
Blados was an All-Rookie Team member who played 107 games in nine years with the Bengals, Colts, and Buccaneers. Heller, who was selected by Tampa Bay with the last pick in the fourth round, joined Blados on the All-Rookie Team and started 166 contests in 12 seasons.
Pro Bowlers not selected in the redraft: RB Mike Rozier (2nd in Supplemental by the Oilers, Pro Bowls in 1987 and ’88), FB Kevin Mack (11 th in Supplemental by the Browns, Pro Bowls in 1985 and ’87), G Ron Solt (19th by the Colts, 1987 Pro Bowler), QB Boomer Esiason (38th by the Bengals, Pro Bowler in 1986, ’88 and ’89 with Cincinnati and 1993 with the Jets), KR Mel Gray (42nd in Supplemental by the Saints, Pro Bowler in 1990-92 and ’94 with the Lions), WR Gerald McNeil (44th in Supplemental by the Browns, Pro Bowl in 1987), QB Jeff Hostetler (59th by the Giants, Pro Bowler in 1994 with the Raiders), QB Jay Schroeder (83rd by the Redskins, Pro Bowl in 1986), WR/KR Clarence Verdin (83rd in Supplemental by the Redskins, Pro Bowler in 1990 and ’92 with the Colts), DT Michael Carter (121st by the 49ers, Pro Bowl in 1985, ’87 and ’88), LB Jason Grimsley (141st by the Oilers, Pro Bowl in 1988), P Brian Hansen (237th by the Saints, Pro Bowl as a rookie), K Dean Biasucci (undrafted, signed by the Colts, Pro Bowler in 1987).
Other non-Pro Bowlers who would be high picks: WR Ricky Sanders (16th in Supplemental by the Patriots), CB Eugene Daniel (205th by the Colts).
Next: A look at the 1989 Draft
-By: Kevin Rakas