#TBT: Looking back, the 1995 NFL draft was a really weird one
Looking back, the 1995 NFL draft was, well, not so hot. But the top 10 picks were a fascinating historical study.
We had a trade involving the No. 1 overall pick, only the fourth time that ever has happened in the league history, and the pick — Ki-Jana Carter — turned out to be a major bust. He’s also the final running back to be taken first overall. Maybe for good reason.
The expansion Carolina Panthers traded down out of that spot, down to No. 5, where they took quarterback Kerry Collins with their first-ever selection. Fellow expansion club Jacksonville Jaguars took Tony Boseli second. Although Boseli played fewer than half the NFL games that Collins did, the offensive tackle had a brilliant run when healthy.
Steve McNair out of Alcorn State went third, followed by Michael Westbrook fourth, Collins fifth and Kevin Carter sixth. McNair had a great career but never won a Super Bowl, beaten out by the St. Louis Rams’ Carter in the 1999 season. Westbrook never fulfilled his potential after making one of the more incredible catches in college football history.
Also falling under the category of unfulfilled potential is Mike Mamula — perhaps the most famous “workout warrior” of all time, tearing up the NFL scouting combine workouts and moving up to the No. 7 pick all time. But to call him a bust is roundly unfair; he had 31.5 sacks and eight forced fumbles in a good but not great (and injury-plagued) six NFL seasons.
The problem? The Philadelphia Eagles traded up from No. 12 to select him, swapping picks with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Their pick: Warren Sapp, whose stock had tumbled after a positive drug test.
Another team passing on Sapp was the New York Jets, whose fans tore into them when the pick of Penn State tight end Kyle Brady, he of the nine touchdown catches in 45 college games.
We also had a trade to round out the top 10, with one coaching genius (Bill Walsh) swapping picks with another (Bill Belichick). Word is that Belichick loved Brady — insert punch line here — and moved out when he was off the board. Walsh wanted to draft his top-rated receiver in the draft, J.J. Stokes.
Like Westbrook, Stokes had a fairly nondescript NFL career. In fact, only one receiver in the entire draft class — Joey Galloway, who was taken eighth overall — had more receiving yards in the NFL than Wayne Chrebet, who went undrafted that year.
Yeah, it was one of those years.
Incidentally, the two players in the ’95 draft Belichick acquired in the Stokes deal —linebacker Craig Powell and defensive end Mike Frederick — barely contributed. Of course, the 1996 first-round pick the Browns acquired in the deal turned out to be pretty good … for the Baltimore Ravens. That pick was Ray Lewis.
Here are 10 more interesting facts on the 1995 NFL draft:
Ki-Jana Carter before Curtis Martin, Terrell Davis
Two running backs selected, respectively, in the third round (Hall of Famer Curtis Martin) and the sixth round (Hall of Fame candidate Terrell Davis) rushed for a combined 21,708 career yards in their careers, which is only 1,099 fewer than the eight running backs who were selected ahead of Martin. That included No. 1 overall pick Carter, who ran for 1,144 yards — fewer than two quarterbacks and four fullbacks from the same draft class — in an injury-plagued career.
A lose-lose deal?
The expansion Panthers originally held the No. 1 selection prior to their maiden season but traded out of the pick. The Bengals moved up from the fifth overall pick, throwing in their second-rounder (No. 36 overall) as well, to select Carter. Call it a lose-lose deal. Carter tore his ACL on his third preseason carry as a rookie and never was the same. Collins had his moments as a Panther, leading the team to the NFC title game in 1996, but he flamed out there after a bout of alcohol abuse before resurrecting his career elsewhere. Shaun King, a defensive end from Louisiana-Monroe, was the Panthers’ other pick in the deal, and he tallied 8.5 sacks in six nondescript seasons that were plagued by multiple substance-abuse suspensions.
The Bucs’ draft grade: A+
There are three Hall of Famers to date in the 1995 class — Martin, Derrick Brooks and Sapp. Brooks and Sapp both were first-round picks of the Tampa Buccaneers, at Nos. 12 and 28 overall. Brooks and Carter, who was the sixth overall pick, each played in 224 career regular-season games — the most from this class. Kansas City Chiefs first-round pick (31st overall) Trezelle Jenkins played in only nine games over three seasons.
And the Iron Man Award goes to …
Collins was the final member of the 1995 draft class to play a game in the NFL. He started the first three games, losing all three, of the 2011 season for the Indianapolis Colts when Peyton Manning was out for the season with a neck injury. Second-round pick Jimmy Oliver (61st overall) by the San Diego Chargers was the highest selection that year never to appear in a regular-season game. Shane Hannah, a guard picked by the Dallas Cowboys two spots later, also never appeared in a regular-season game.
“We want Sapp! We want Sapp!”
The Jets were one of the teams to pass on Sapp, setting off one of the great mass Jets fan apoplexies of all time.
Instead, the Jets selected Brady (and listen to the creepy way Chris Berman says, “ooohhhhh” when they do), who played in 197 games in the NFL but only 63 for the Jets. In the four seasons with the team that drafted him, Brady caught 93 passes for 949 yards and 10 touchdowns. In his 13-year career, Sapp made seven Pro Bowls, was named first-team All Pro four times and collected 96.5 sacks. Uh, yeah, he was > Brady.
Not exactly football factories
The 1995 draft was the last time a player was drafted from the following schools: Augustana (S.D.) College — Brian Schwartz, second round; Central Oklahoma — Joe Aska, third round; Concordia (Quebec) — Mark Montreuil, seventh round; Howard Payne College — Brandon Harrison, sixth round; University of Pacific — Craig Whelihan, sixth round; Wayne State (Nebraska) — Byron Chamberlain, seventh round; Trinity (Texas) — Herb Coleman, seventh round.
Top of their class
This year also featured the highest-drafted players ever from the following schools: Alcorn State —McNair, third overall; Central State (Ohio) — Hugh Douglas, 16th overall; Fort Valley State — Tyrone Poole, 22nd overall; Stephen F. Austin — Terrance Shaw, 34th overall; and Augustana (S.D.) — Schwartz, 64th overall.
Rocky Mountain High
The two schools that produced the most draft picks in 1995, with 10 apiece, were Florida State and, interestingly, Colorado. In the 19 drafts since then, FSU has produced 108 NFL draft picks. Colorado has had 56.
Punters and kickers are people, too
The Chicago Bears made punter Todd Sauerbrun the 50th overall selection, which made him the second-highest punter taken since 1980. The St. Louis Rams made kicker Steve McLaughlin the 82nd overall pick; only eight kickers were drafted higher in that same time range. Sauerbrun had a very respectable 13-year NFL career, making three Pro Bowls, being named first-team All Pro twice and currently sitting 30th all time in punting yards. McLaughlin, however, flamed out after a mere eight games, missing half of his 16 field-goal attempts as a rookie.
RIP McNair, Stringer
Two first-round picks from the class are deceased. McNair was murdered on July 4, 2009 by his mistress, Sahel Kazemi. Korey Stringer, the 24th overall pick by the Minnesota Vikings, died on August 1, 2001, suffering a heat-related stroke during a training camp practice after a six-year NFL career.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
