By Ryan Bologna
The NFL Draft is boring to some, but there have been many moments where nothing went as expected and chaos was let loose. Here are three of the craziest moments from the NFL Draft.
Oh No Roger Vick! – 1987
This is a moment that makes me wish the draft was still at Radio City Music Hall in New York, especially with the Giants and Jets both picking in the top 10 a lot recently. But this is an all-time funny clip. The comedic timing of the fan yelling “oh no!” in disbelief is just perfect.
There have been many picks that were received poorly that worked out for teams, but this is not one of them. Roger Vick is regarded as one of the biggest busts in Jets history.
Time Runs Out On The Vikings – 2003
Everyone has wondered what would happen if the time runs out for the team that is on the clock, but no way that has actually happened right? That would be wrong, it has happened a couple of times. One of the most notorious was in 2003 when time ran out on the Vikings when they were picking 7th overall because they were trying to negotiate a trade.
The rules state that the Vikings were still able to make their pick, just that the teams behind them no longer had to wait. The Jacksonville Jaguars took quarterback Byron Leftwich and the Carolina Panthers took tackle Jordan Gross before the Vikings decided on their pick. It worked out for the Vikings in the end, as they eventually took defensive tackle Kevin Williams, who was voted first team all-pro five times and inducted into their ring of honor.
The craziest part of it all is that this is not the first time the Vikings have done this. Time expired on them in the 1985 draft. They eventually took defensive end Chris Doleman. The Ravens also had time expire in 2011 before picking Jimmy Smith.
It must have been mind-blowing to viewers back then. I could only imagine how magnified it would be by social media if this happened again.
Mike Ditka Trades His Whole Draft Away
Mike Ditka’s tenure with the Saints did not go over too well. That did not mean he was afraid of making controversial moves. At the 1999 owners meetings Ditka said publicly that he would trade his whole draft to get running back Ricky Williams out of Texas, leaving him with no leverage.
So what did Ditka do? He traded even more than his whole draft to get Williams. The Saints sent their 1999 first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh round picks along with their 2000 first and third round picks to Washington in return for the 5th overall pick in 1999.
That is an astronomical package, and what makes it even more mind-blowing is that Williams was not even the first running back off the board. Hall of Famer Edgerrin James was picked 4th overall by the Colts.
Ditka and the Saints went 3-13 in 1999, leading to his firing. Williams was not a bust, but he was mostly good in Miami and was obviously not worth trading a whole draft away. Washington ended up trading many of those picks they received away as well.
Although trades are still very common, they are much more even and no team would trade up into the top 10 for a running back. This really was not that long ago, it shows how much the league has changed and is easily one of the craziest NFL Draft moments.
Picture Credit: Marianne O’Leary
