Best prospect ever?

Not in any order
Peyton Manning
LT
Clowney
Megatron
Joe Namath
Andrew Luck
Paul Horning
Bubba Smith
OJ Simpson
John Elway
Bo Jackson
Tommy Nobis
Eric Flowers

more seriously was gonna say "touched by the hand of God" Barkley, but would agree he has a ways to go to prove that, even if it still looks like a really, really safe bet

In comment 14525582 ChaChing said:

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more seriously was gonna say "touched by the hand of God" Barkley, but would agree he has a ways to go to prove that, even if it still looks like a really, really safe bet

He doesn't. As I said, "regardless of how they did in the NFL". I meant at the time of the draft.

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Everyone on this list was a consensus #1 pick. LT was picked 2nd but everyone said he was the best player in the draft that year (Thank God for the Saints). I guess you COULD say that about SB ... maybe.

In comment 14525583 BestFeature said:

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In comment 14525582 ChaChing said: Quote: more seriously was gonna say "touched by the hand of God" Barkley, but would agree he has a ways to go to prove that, even if it still looks like a really, really safe bet He doesn't. As I said, "regardless of how they did in the NFL". I meant at the time of the draft.

Not a huge deal, but the fact I'm saying we should wait on Barkley given the time frame pretty much made that point...

But Reggie Bush is also very arguable.

Barkley was considered the best prospect in a class with 4 considered franchise QBs. And he’s been highly touted since his first snap in college.

Ryan Leaf HAS to be on this list, no?

There's an almost 0% chance Peyton wouldn't be on anyone's best prospect list, so given it was a legit debate at the time AND he went 2nd in the end...

In all the years he's been doing this, only TWO prospects ever got a grade of 9 (the highest in his system), for both ON the field talent and OFF the field character -- Payton Manning, and Saquon Barkley.

I had also read somewhere else that Elway was the highest graded prospect ever.

If Saquon can have that type of HOF career, I think we'd all take that.

Had everyone absolutely salivating.

Played one year with the best players in college football.

He will be very good propect but he will have a hard time topping John Elway or Peyton Manning as a prospect..as they carried their teams on their back.

Clemson will 15 players drafted.....he will face Haskins issue....too good a supporting cast takes some of the luster away.....and have zero margin of error.

In comment 14525603 George from PA said:

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Played one year with the best players in college football. He will be very good propect but he will have a hard time topping John Elway or Peyton Manning as a prospect..as they carried their teams on their back. Clemson will 15 players drafted.....he will face Haskins issue....too good a supporting cast takes some of the luster away.....and have zero margin of error.

He's a sophomore now; he was a freshman in that one year at Clemson. He will not be draft eligible in the next draft.

He is going to be on level that only Manning and Luck were on. Skill players get hyped like Bush and Calvin Johnson but no one hits the level of qbs.

Part of me doesn’t mind Jones play because if he really struggles next year we may be in position for Lawrence.

after his senior year in high school I’m convinced he goes in the top five. He’s that gifted. And the NFL loves to project at the QB position.

Manadarich was considered a huge can’t miss. So much so he was put on the cover of SI. John Madden put him on his All Madden team while he was still at Michigan State.

Luck. Easily.

Tony Boselli should have been the #1 pick in the 1995 NFL draft over Ki Jana Carter. He was an absolute beast at USC. A great LT prospect. A killer.

Players of all time as was Marcus Dupree.

Marcus Dupree left Oklahoma early and played in the USFL and got hurt and that was about it.

was a stud too.

Another freak who likely goes #1 in the draft after his fresh year at Georgia.

Analytics hadn't been born yet.

But I wonder what toll all of these expectations are going to take on him in the next two years? While many of the other names in this thread had expectations placed on them early, most did not have it in this kind of media environment. Barkley did to an extent, but it is different for a RB. Less to dissect.

Some in the media will want to tear into him just to draw clicks. At some point it will probably become fashionable for some scouts to go against the majority and poke holes in his game. I just wonder how he will be viewed when he actually comes out in a couple of years.

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is that a year ago, Tua Tagovailoa was being talked about as the greatest QB prospect in x number of years. Now he's basically an afterthought relative to this kid.

Elway and Luck are the only flawless prospects I can think of without going for a ride in the Wayback Machine.

Not sure if there were any knocks on Revis, didn't perform at the combines is kind of a knock.

Forgot Megatron. Even Matt Millen couldn't get that wrong.

In comment 14525609 bhill410 said:

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He is going to be on level that only Manning and Luck were on. Skill players get hyped like Bush and Calvin Johnson but no one hits the level of qbs. Part of me doesn’t mind Jones play because if he really struggles next year we may be in position for Lawrence.

The Giants could go 2-14 the season Lawrence comes out and get beat out by a team that went 1-15. It's luck.

Had plenty of doubters, I was a huge fan, Elway and Luck are givens. OJ, was huge, Barkley, Sayers was huge, Jim Brown and Ernie Davis. Randy Moss was off the charts, Jim Plunkett and Jeff George were huge. LT and Butcus, Hornung was huge, Gifford too.

In comment 14525589 Reale01 said:

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Everyone on this list was a consensus #1 pick. LT was picked 2nd but everyone said he was the best player in the draft that year (Thank God for the Saints). I guess you COULD say that about SB ... maybe.

I remember when LT was drafted and I don't recall everyone saying he was the best player in the draft. George Rogers wasn't a controversial pick at #1, either.

I have confessed on this board that I didn't really like the LT pick because he already had a reputation for being sort of a difficult personality, or something like that, and the Giants hadn't done well with those guys. I was thinking of Fred Dryer and some of the other guys who flourished elsewhere after leaving the Giants.

In comment 14525607 jeffusedtobeonwebtv said:

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In comment 14525603 George from PA said: Quote: Played one year with the best players in college football. He will be very good propect but he will have a hard time topping John Elway or Peyton Manning as a prospect..as they carried their teams on their back. Clemson will 15 players drafted.....he will face Haskins issue....too good a supporting cast takes some of the luster away.....and have zero margin of error. He's a sophomore now; he was a freshman in that one year at Clemson. He will not be draft eligible in the next draft.

You know, it's going to make the 2020 season very interesting for Lawrence, especially if he (most likely) lights it up again, and even more so if he wins another title. Namely ... should he sit out 2021? He would've been the consensus #1 in this draft and likely would go over Tua, Fromm, and Herbert this draft. What's he have left to play for in college?

In comment 14526250 FStubbs said:

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In comment 14525607 jeffusedtobeonwebtv said: Quote: In comment 14525603 George from PA said: Quote: Played one year with the best players in college football. He will be very good propect but he will have a hard time topping John Elway or Peyton Manning as a prospect..as they carried their teams on their back. Clemson will 15 players drafted.....he will face Haskins issue....too good a supporting cast takes some of the luster away.....and have zero margin of error. He's a sophomore now; he was a freshman in that one year at Clemson. He will not be draft eligible in the next draft. You know, it's going to make the 2020 season very interesting for Lawrence, especially if he (most likely) lights it up again, and even more so if he wins another title. Namely ... should he sit out 2021? He would've been the consensus #1 in this draft and likely would go over Tua, Fromm, and Herbert this draft. What's he have left to play for in college?

Sorry, I meant sit out 2020.

- Michael Vick
- Adrian Peterson
- Orlando Pace
- I believe Parcells once said Billy Sims was the the highest graded prospect he's ever scouted

In comment 14526273 Strahan91 said:

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- Michael Vick - Adrian Peterson - Orlando Pace - I believe Parcells once said Billy Sims was the the highest graded prospect he's ever scouted

I was planning to say people forget how dominant Billy Sills was, and he had every tool in the chest for a great RB. And he was great at the NFL level too till his knee blew out.

Quite a few USC running backs
Elway
Peyton
Jeff George
Mandarich

nothing new here.

In that historic 1983 draft class, the other QBs were sort of lumped together. Marino was a standout talent, but the off-field concerns were real and he fell all the way to #27, behind Blackledge, Kelly, Eason and O’Brien.

There was never any question who would be #1, despite Elway’s threats to play baseball if the Colts picked him. Those were the days before the Draft was a media sensation, and the hype around Elway remains nearly unmatched.

Been following college football and the draft since the late 90s and he was basically a sure thing at QB. He's currently hitting his floor right now because of the franchise he was drafted into and injuries.

Non-QB I would say Orlando Pace. Not that I was following line play as a 12 year old but he had prototype size and measurables while being a f'n Heisman candidate at OL in college.

In comment 14526521 AcesUp said:

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Been following college football and the draft since the late 90s and he was basically a sure thing at QB. He's currently hitting his floor right now because of the franchise he was drafted into and injuries. Non-QB I would say Orlando Pace. Not that I was following line play as a 12 year old but he had prototype size and measurables while being a f'n Heisman candidate at OL in college.

Yeah, I've always wondered if Luck was a bit of a disappointment. It was a REALLY hard act to follow though.

... one big difference is that those Stanford teams, under Paul Wiggin, were profoundly mediocre. So Elway has to carry the team, but on the other hand he wasn’t really battle-tested in big games.

Physically, I doubt Lawrence’s arm and overall frame are as strong as Elway’s. Lawrence is still filling out, and Elway was a real specimen.

I thought he was a special prospect. That was one of the saddest injury situations ever. Tore up his knee bad in his first pre season game was never the same player. Rare for a RB to go #1 overall but imo he deserved it.

Picked BEFORE one of if not the greatest QB ever

was up theere

In comment 14526458 Motley Two said:

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Quite a few USC running backs Elway Peyton Jeff George Mandarich

Good call on Mandarich. Dubbed the greatest OL prospect ever by some

In comment 14526518 Big Blue Blogger said:

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In that historic 1983 draft class, the other QBs were sort of lumped together. Marino was a standout talent, but the off-field concerns were real and he fell all the way to #27, behind Blackledge, Kelly, Eason and O’Brien. There was never any question who would be #1, despite Elway’s threats to play baseball if the Colts picked him. Those were the days before the Draft was a media sensation, and the hype around Elway remains nearly unmatched.

This. Even in an era before all the media scrutiny, there was more hype around Elway than any other prospect. Ever. The threat to play baseball and playing for the Yankees instead of playing football only added to the spectacle. The talk of Elway was EVERYWHERE at the time. His skill set was something not many had ever seen before. And not many have seen since. A true generational talent that everyone in the world knew would be great.

stick out as the best ever.