One thing that was mentioned during this past 2008 NFL Draft, but didn’t get a ton of attention was the fact that not one wide receiver was drafted in the first round. With a premium on offensive players, usually there are some high profile wide receivers that get drafted early on. It wasn’t until the Rams took Donnie Avery a wide receiver from the University of Houston with the second pick in the second round that a wide receiver got to hear his name announced. That kind of opened the flood gates as a total of ten wide receivers were then selected in the second round. In just last year’s draft, a total of six wide receivers were taken in the first round, including one taken with the second overall pick (Georgia Tech’s Calvin Johnson going to the Detroit Lions).
Has this ever happened before? Has an entire first round gone by with no wide receiver being selected? Let’s see, here is a list of the number of wide receivers taken in the first round of the NFL Draft since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
Number Of Wide Receivers Taken In The First Round:
2008 - 0
2007 - 6
2006 - 1
2005 - 6
2004 - 7
2003 - 3
2002 - 3
2001 - 6
2000 - 5
1999 - 3
1998 - 3
1997 - 4
1996 - 5
1995 - 3
1994 - 4
1993 - 3
1992 - 1
1991 - 4
1990 - 1
1989 - 3
1988 - 6
1987 - 3
1986 - 2
1985 - 4
1984 - 4
1983 - 1
1982 - 4
1981 - 2
1980 - 2
1979 - 2
1978 - 3
1977 - 2
1976 - 1
1975 - 1
1974 - 2
1973 - 5
1972 - 4
1971 - 4
1970 - 2
So, as you can see the answer is no. Never before since the AFL-NFL merger of 1970 has an entire first round of the NFL Draft gone by without a wide receiver being selected. So, if you watched the NFL Draft, you saw history being made.
Six different drafts (1975, 1976, 1983, 1990, 1992, and 2006) have only had one wide receiver taken in the first round. But, there is a technicality here. The 1990 NFL Draft had no wide receiver taken in the first round… technically. The New York Jets drafted Rob Moore out of Syracuse University with a first round pick, but it was a first round pick in the supplemental draft.
Here is a funny article from a recent visit to the Minneapolis Star Tribune website. It’s actually a quite harmless article, but the first sentence struck me as hilarious.
“With the NFL draft behind them, the next item of business for the Minnesota Vikings is selecting the team’s cheerleading squad for the 2008 season.”
Well, I’m sure Vikings fans every where are relieved that the next item of business will not be signing free agents, undrafted rookies, or the players they picked in the draft. No, the next thing to tackle will not be organizing spring practice or re-examining the playbook. Nor will the next important item be going over the off season training program or evaluating player performance from last season. No, all that stuff can wait. Right now, cheerleader selection takes the front and center spotlight for the Minnesota Vikings organization.
With the 2008 NFL Draft over and done with, we’re taking a look back at the worst draft picks of the past twenty years. Since it is way too early to judge this year’s draft, we’ll look at 1988 through 2007. We’re going on a pick-by-pick basis here so, who do you think is the worst #1 overall pick in the last twenty years?
The Worst 10th Overall Draft Pick In The Last 20 Years:
2005 Detroit Lions - Mike Williams - WR - USC
After so much hype coming out of the high powered Trojan offense, in 3 years he has been on 3 teams and scored two receiving touchdowns.
The Worst 9th Overall Draft Pick In The Last 20 Years:
2001 Seattle Seahawks - Koren Robinson - WR - NC State
Showed promise early in his career but off field problems later caused on field problems.
The Worst 8th Overall Draft Pick In The Last 20 Years:
1996 Carolina Panthers - Tim Biakabutuka - RB - Michigan
Highly touted, but in a six year career he had three seasons that he played in eight or fewer games.
The Worst 7th Overall Draft Pick In The Last 20 Years:
1990 Detroit Lions - Andre Ware - QB - Houston
In four total seasons, Andre Ware played in 14 total games. He finished his career with five touchdown passes and eight interceptions.
The Worst 6th Overall Draft Pick In The Last 20 Years:
2005 Tennessee Titans - Adam “Pacman” Jones - DB - West Virginia
This was a real no brainer, especially when you consider that also in the running for worst 6th overall pick in the last twenty years was David Klingler and Lawrence Phillips.
The Worst 5th Overall Draft Pick In The Last 20 Years:
1998 Chicago Bears - Curtis Enis - RB - Penn State
Mostly due to injuries, it took three seasons for Enis to rack up less than 1500 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns.
The Worst 4th Overall Draft Pick In The Last 20 Years:
2000 Cincinnati Bengals - Peter Warrick - WR - Florida State
While not having an overall terrible career, it did last six seasons and was somewhat productive, it did not come near the hype caused by his fantastic college career.
The Worst 3rd Overall Draft Pick In The Last 20 Years:
1999 Cincinnati Bengals - Akili Smith - QB - Oregon
Smith sunk to the bottom of the 3rd overall picks, despite stiff competition from Bruce Pickens and Heath Shuler. Through 22 career games over four seasons, Smith “amassed” five touchdowns and eighteen interceptions, only throwing for more than one thousand yards in a season one time.
The Worst 2nd Overall Draft Pick In The Last 20 Years:
1998 San Diego Chargers - Ryan Leaf - QB - Washington State
Hands down the worst number two overall pick in the last twenty years, if not ever. In his entire career (all three seasons), Leaf played in 25 games, threw for 14 touchdowns, and a mind boggling 36 interceptions.
And now, it is time for the unveiling of the worst number one overall draft pick in the last twenty years:
The Worst 1st Overall Draft Pick In The Last 20 Years:
2001 Atlanta Falcons - Michael Vick - QB - Virginia Tech
He probably wouldn’t have made the number one spot without his legal troubles and subsequent incarceration, but when he is sitting behind bars he isn’t helping the team that drafted him.
There you have it, the worst NFL draft picks one through ten in the last twenty years.
A quick analysis:
There are two teams who appear twice in the above list; the Cincinnati Bengals and the Detroit Lions. Is it any coincidence that in the past twenty years these are also two of the least successful franchises in the NFL?
With the help of a great NFL draft resource, here is a look at the top ten colleges based on how many players they’ve had selected through the NFL draft. While this is not a perfect way to analyze the successfulness of a college program, it is a good way to analyze which colleges help their recruits the most to make it to the next level.
So, here they are… the top ten colleges ranked by how many players they’ve had selected through the NFL draft through the 2007 season.
| Notre Dame | 457 |
| USC | 439 |
| Ohio State | 380 |
| Oklahoma | 330 |
| Nebraska | 325 |
| Michigan | 324 |
| Tennessee | 317 |
| Penn State | 310 |
| Texas | 307 |
| Miami (FL) | 290 |
You know how we at IQFB love trivia and little known facts about football. The NFL Draft is coming up shortly and it is one of the most looked forward to events for any NFL fan. The opportunity to find out what direction your team or your main rival is going in is one of the best reasons to watch the draft. If you’re looking for all the information from all the previous drafts, check out DraftHistory.com.
They have all the draft picks from all the previous NFL drafts listed in an easily accessible database that can be sorted by college, position, team, and more. A very valuable resource!
The NFL Draft is still a few days away and we already know who the first pick will be. The Miami Dolphins have reached agreement with University of Michigan Offensive Tackle Jake Long. Bill Parcells is now heading football operations down in Miami, so this pick shouldn’t surprise too many people. Let’s look at draft history though, how many offensive linemen have been selected number one overall?
1939 - Chicago Cardinals - Ki Aldrich - Texas Christian - Center
1949 - Philadelphia Eagles - Chuck Bednarik - Pennsylvania - Center/Linebacker
1964 - Denver Broncos - Bob Brown - Nebraska - Guard
1968 - Minnesota Vikings - Ron Yary - USC - Tackle
1997 - St. Louis Rams - Orlando Pace - Ohio State - Tackle
Of this list, three of the players (Bednarik, Brown, and Yary) are in the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame. One other, Orlando Pace, is generally accepted to be a future hall of famer when his current career is over. So, Dolphins fans, the practice of taking a lineman with the number one overall pick doesn’t look like it has worked out too badly in the past.
The Bad Luck Of Kelly Holcomb
Kelly Holcomb, although spending most of his career as a second string quarterback, has had a number of shining moments as a starter in the NFL. Playing for the Browns against the Steelers in 2003, Holcomb became just the third player ever in the NFL to throw for over 400 yards in a playoff game. The very next year he would have the best game of his career going 30 of 39 for 412 yards and five touchdowns in a regular season game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Unfortunately, the Browns would lose both games.
The 2008 NFL Draft is coming up in a few days. Let’s look back at the NFL Draft from one decade ago, here are some highlights of the 1998 NFL Draft.
1st Overall Pick, Peyton Manning - Quarterback
Manning has definitely lived up to his billing coming out of college. Always among the league leaders in most passing statistics and then finally winning a Super Bowl and Super Bowl MVP following the 2006 season.
2nd Overall Pick, Ryan Leaf - Quarterback
There couldn’t possibly be a better example of opposites than Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf. Manning threw for more touchdowns in his rookie season than Leaf did in his career. In a career highlighted by tantrums, outbursts, and of course interceptions, Leaf retired from the NFL following the 2001 season. Among his final numbers are 14 career touchdown passes and 36 career interceptions.
4th Overall Pick, Charles Woodson - Defensive Back
Woodson made an immediate impact for the Raiders and even found his way onto the offensive side of the field.
9th Overall Pick, Fred Taylor - Running Back
Though he was sometimes ridiculed by analysts early in his career due to having multiple and repeated injury problems, Taylor has gone on to become one of the more productive running backs in the last decade.
18th Overall Pick, Robert Edwards - Running Back
The Patriots appeared to have answered their running back needs when Edwards had an exceptional rookie season. Following an off season injury that occurred while playing beach football, Edwards’ hope for an NFL career were all but done. He did make it back to play for Miami during the 2002 season, but after that he was done.
21st Overall Pick, Randy Moss - Wide Receiver
Moss has been controversial at times but has also always been extremely productive, including his down years during his time with the Raiders.
It doesn’t seem possible that the 1998 NFL Draft was ten years ago, these players still seem so young. The excitement of the 2008 NFL Draft is building and in a few days it’ll all be over, what will the stories be about when we look back in ten years?
In getting ready for the NFL Draft arriving soon on this coming weekend, all week long IQFB will bring you their famous Little Known Facts about different aspects of the NFL Draft. Today, we start with Little Known Facts About The NFL Draft itself:
Watching the NFL Draft is a great tradition to start or continue with your family and friends. It is easily made into an all-day event and can be combined with a barbecue or other distractions as you wait for your favorite team to pick its next player. More little known facts about the NFL draft to come this week.
As we work our way through Spring and Summer approaches, its time to think about full blown vacations as well as three or four day weekends. A well planned out trip to a great location can make your time off from work or away from home feel absolutely incredible. There are so many destination choices out there that sometimes it becomes almost like work itself just choosing where to go. Lets look at a great natural area to go to and enjoy, Shangri La Gardens and Nature Center in Orange, Texas.
Whether you’re 80 years old or 8 years old, Shangri La has the unique ability to connect you with nature. You’ll see things you’ve never seen before, especially in this part of the country. You may even come away with a newfound respect for nature and the world around us. With its offering of free educational tours among other things, a visit to Shangri La Gardens and Nature Center is a great learning opportunity as well.
The Shangri La Gardens is also a recognized worldwide leader in the “green” movement. They are very proud of their grounds and structures and have worked hard to make them environmentally friendly. All this hard work paid off when Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center earned the U.S. Green Building Council’s Platinum Certification fo LEED-NC, which verified that both the construction and design of the Gardens reached the highest performance measures for green building. These high standards that the Gardens imposes on itself are seen throughout the park in their other features as well.
Located in Orange, Texas and sitting on more than 250 acres of land, Shangri La Gardens is a magnificient oasis of vegetation and animals. The gardens themselves contain more than 300 different plant species arranged in five sections. There is also an adjacent bird blind where you and your family can view nesting birds. The Gardens are very proud of their available hands on displays too, allowing visitors to touch, feel, and participate in the happenings going on there.A lot more information about the Shangri La Gardens is available at their website, ShangriLaGardens.org, and there are many more things to see and do in the Orange, Texas area. Located on the southeast edge of Texas, the city of Orange boasts beauty and culture with their parks, gardens, and museums. The city sits on the border between Texas and Louisiana and is a deep water port to the Gulf of Mexico, so there are also outdoor recreation opportunities as well. A visit to Orange, Texas and the Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center are sure to please just about anyone. Enjoy your trip.
The NFL Draft is coming soon (April 26th & 27th), this is the focal point of any NFL fan during the spring. IQFB.com will be giving it the special in-depth coverage that only we can, with a look at the trivia side of the NFL Draft. Pick-by-pick in the first round we will point out the oddities, similarities, and the just plain strangeness of the NFL Draft. Join us, won’t you?
One of the greatest spring vacations I ever took was to San Diego, California. The waterfront, the weather, the city, and the zoo are just awesome and you can truly understand why some people refer to it as the nation’s perfect city. It also is easy to understand why real estate has boomed in this area over the last 5+ years, I mean who wouldn’t want to visit or move there?
Here’s a great site with information on visiting San Diego and tons of other places. You can find out about getting San Diego zoo tickets or look at things to do in Orlando, or any where else for that matter. Information on what there is to do and how to go about doing it in most major cities is available at TrustedTours.com. Embarking on one of many high quality sightseeing tours is a great way to see the real city that you are visiting, not just the things you find in a brochure. The information you’ll find at Trusted Tours & Attractions is top notch and is guaranteed to make your stay in whatever city you choose to be unforgettable.
You can even sign up for the newsletter at TrustedTours.com and have a chance of winning a quality handheld GPS unit. Make your spring vacation the best ever.
Few things project a high class image better than a luxury watch. Having an expensive looking luxury watch on your wrist gives off an aura of class and status. It is possible to get a luxury watch these days without paying luxury prices too. Especially if you check out TheWatchery.com, which is one of the best and easiest to use websites dedicated to displaying fine quality watches.
After finding this site not too long ago, I’ve found what I think is my favorite watch which is a Corum Tourbillon which is one of the nicer luxury watches I’ve ever seen.
Now that we’ve established how great their selection is, you’ll also be happy to hear that it seems like every single watch on display there is marked at least 45% off. Incredible deals on incredible watches, truly an unbelievable selection of luxury watches.
Plus, check out the site to see how it’s possible for you to get a free watch!
Lyle Alzado in the Movies
Lyle Alzado is yet another former NFL player (for the Broncos, Browns, and Raiders) who had a career in television and movies as well as is more successful football career. Here is a look at his acting credits:
1979 – The Double McGuffin
1981 – The Girl, the Gold Watch & Dynamite (TV Movie)
1985 – Riptide (1 Episode)
1986 – Oceans of Fire (TV Movie)
1987 – Ernest Goes To Camp
1987 – The Highwayman (TV Movie)
1988 – Destroyer
1988 – Tapeheads
1988-89 – Learning the Ropes (TV Series)
1989 – Shocktroop
1989 – Who’s Harry Crumb?
1989 – Mike Hammer: Murder Takes All (TV Movie)
1990 – Club Fed
1990 – Zapped Again!
1990 – CBS Schoolbreak Special (1 Episode)
1990 – MacGyver (1 Episode)
1990 – Broken Badges (1 Episode)
1991 – Comrades in Arms
1991 – Hangfire
1992 – Neon City
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