What draftees that you thought would become a HOFer, did?

You just knew he was going to be an elite OL coming into the NFL.

In comment 14533943 figgy2989 said:

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You just knew he was going to be an elite OL coming into the NFL.

And we “almost” had him, or so many of us thought

Never saw anything like him.

I was certain about Sayers and Butkus

Adrian Peterson

Woodson.

In comment 14533965 Giantophile said:

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Woodson.

I realize he's not in yet but he's a lock. I'd throw Peyton Manning in there as well.

Urlacher, Gonzalez, Randy Moss, P. Manning, Reed.

In comment 14533955 Big Blue '56 said:

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I was certain about Sayers and Butkus

BB, you should have called Giant Central.

he was so very special

I remember Peyton saying he was better than him.

.

I thought these players were absolutely can’t miss prospects in college. So seeing them go to Canton, or on their way, is no surprise...

Barry Sanders
Prime
Rod Woodson
Ronnie Lott
Cortez Kennedy
Warren Sapp
Julius Peppers
Troy Polamalu
Andrew Luck
Randy Moss

.

He will be one day.

Russel Wilson. He will too, if he keeps this up.

Marshall Faulk (so did everyone else)

Eli Manning.

Peter Warrick — lol

In comment 14534067 djm said:

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He will be one day. Russel Wilson. He will too, if he keeps this up. Marshall Faulk (so did everyone else) Eli Manning. Peter Warrick — lol

But the question my friend, is whether or not, for example, you thought Wilson was a good bet for the HOF coming out of college

For those who watched Jerry Rice in College, did you believe coming out he was destined for the HOF?

Went to a lot of Gator games while living in Orlando in the late 80's and I thought he was cant miss.

In comment 14534129 Big Blue '56 said:

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For those who watched Jerry Rice in College, did you believe coming out he was destined for the HOF?

All you Mississippi Valley State fans, please make yourself known:). I dont recall ever having seen him play in college. He was certainly a shark in a pond full of guppies.

Eric Dickerson
Ronnie Lott

In comment 14534171 John In CO said:

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In comment 14534129 Big Blue '56 said: Quote: For those who watched Jerry Rice in College, did you believe coming out he was destined for the HOF? All you Mississippi Valley State fans, please make yourself known:). I dont recall ever having seen him play in college. He was certainly a shark in a pond full of guppies.

Were his games ever televised?

.

Champ Bailey being the latest...

RB is the easiest position to scout.

Coach Red Beaulieu said:

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RB is the easiest position to scout.

Easy to scout? Perhaps. Easy to predict NFL success? Not so much. Here are the RBs selected in the top 5 between Tomlinson (2001) and Barkley (2018):
Cadillac Williams
Cedric Benson
Ronnie Brown
Darren McFadden
Trent Richardson
Ezekiel Elliott
Leonard Fournette

Elliott is terrific, but I’ll be surprised if his overall body of work rises to HoF level. The rest? Yuck.

where Gale Sayers ran for something like 18 carries for 16 yards and I said this guy will never make it.:))

In comment 14534216 carpoon said:

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where Gale Sayers ran for something like 18 carries for 16 yards and I said this guy will never make it.:))

Oh that’s funny. That is one game I did not see..

after seeing him break six tackles on a 12-yard TD run.

In comment 14534213 Big Blue Blogger said:

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Coach Red Beaulieu said: Quote: RB is the easiest position to scout. Easy to scout? Perhaps. Easy to predict NFL success? Not so much. Here are the RBs selected in the top 5 between Tomlinson (2001) and Barkley (2018): Cadillac Williams Cedric Benson Ronnie Brown Darren McFadden Trent Richardson Ezekiel Elliott Leonard Fournette Elliott is terrific, but I’ll be surprised if his overall body of work rises to HoF level. The rest? Yuck.

I never projected any of them as HoFer, none of them exhibited the otherworldly skillet of Barkley. They are mortals that have a good chance to bust. I wouldn't be surprised if Barkley is better than all of them in every measurable (Fournette is bigger?)

I was definitely wrong predicting HOF status for
Joe Don Looney!

In comment 14534317 Phil in Joisey said:

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I was definitely wrong predicting HOF status for Joe Don Looney!

Lol..He was a sicko, that’s for sure. A very apt name..Oddly, I never saw Brown play at Syracuse. I had no idea that he would turn out to be the greatest offensive player ever, imo

"Oh, he's going to be a Hall of Famer." But I'm always saying about the draft that there are 5-7 HOFers, on average, in every rookie class — the GM's job is to get those guys. Find a bunch of HOFers in a short space of time and you can build a dynasty.

Elway was maybe the closest. Maybe Peyton too. Those guys were just so hyped coming out of college.

It's much easier to think that way about the NBA. Kareem, Magic, Bird, Hakeem, Jordan, Ewing, LeBron... lots of guys look like they're on their way to the HOF before they step on an NBA court for their first game. Usually everybody can see it and those guys go instantly at the top of the draft. But not always.

In comment 14534129 Big Blue '56 said:

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For those who watched Jerry Rice in College, did you believe coming out he was destined for the HOF?

Even if anyone did, I doubt they could feel great that Rice’s success conveying to the NFL level.

I saw Moss a few times at Marshall. He was nasty. But he was very well known because he was headed to Notre Dame before getting jailed for fighting. And then he was off to Florida State, where he got kicked off by Bowden for smoking weed. So the talent was very high level...

this production for another 5 years and there is no chance he is out.

.

In comment 14534129 Big Blue '56 said:

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For those who watched Jerry Rice in College, did you believe coming out he was destined for the HOF?

Remember that Rice wasn't a top pick. 16th overall. Questions about his speed, lower level of competition, blah blah blah. But at the same time, I remember paying attention to that draft (may have even watched it on TV, if that was a thing then) and thinking that Rice to the 49ers was the rich getting richer. He was known to have huge upside.

He was a funny case. People knew he could be very good, but wasn't a considered a sure thing, and I don't remember anybody projecting him as a HOFer, never mind the GOAT at his position.

In comment 14534253 Coach Red Beaulieu said:

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In comment 14534213 Big Blue Blogger said: Quote: Coach Red Beaulieu said: Quote: RB is the easiest position to scout. Easy to scout? Perhaps. Easy to predict NFL success? Not so much. Here are the RBs selected in the top 5 between Tomlinson (2001) and Barkley (2018): Cadillac Williams Cedric Benson Ronnie Brown Darren McFadden Trent Richardson Ezekiel Elliott Leonard Fournette Elliott is terrific, but I’ll be surprised if his overall body of work rises to HoF level. The rest? Yuck. I never projected any of them as HoFer, none of them exhibited the otherworldly skillet of Barkley. They are mortals that have a good chance to bust. I wouldn't be surprised if Barkley is better than all of them in every measurable (Fournette is bigger?)

watching Randy Moss in college i was positive he would transition to the NFL.

I am sure he had a better read on Fournette than Tom Coughlin, on McFadden than Al Davis, on Bush than Mickey Loomis, on Brown than Randy Mueller, on Benson than Jerry Angelo, and on Williams than Bruce Allen. What have those guys ever done?

In comment 14534411 81_Great_Dane said:

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Remember that Rice wasn't a top pick. 16th overall. Questions about his speed, lower level of competition, blah blah blah. But at the same time, I remember paying attention to that draft (may have even watched it on TV, if that was a thing then) and thinking that Rice to the 49ers was the rich getting richer. He was known to have huge upside. He was a funny case. People knew he could be very good, but wasn't a considered a sure thing, and I don't remember anybody projecting him as a HOFer, never mind the GOAT at his position.

Rice struggled in his first year, too. He had a deserving reputation for big drops.

on a TD pass from Montana in 1985 at the Meadowlands? He beat Mark Collins, iirc

Collins wasn’t here yet in 1985.

In comment 14534492 Big Blue Blogger said:

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Collins wasn’t here yet in 1985.

Ok, thanks. I mostly recall the last minute killer play. Was that Collins who was beat? Or?

in ‘88. And then I think it was Kenny Hill who came over to help and collided with Collins...

Darrelle Revis will be a great example where people knew he was the best CB in the draft and nothing Reese could do to get him.

The late Sean Taylor was also a guaranteed stud who likely would have been HOF with a full career.

In comment 14534647 Bobby Humphrey's Earpad said:

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Darrelle Revis will be a great example where people knew he was the best CB in the draft and nothing Reese could do to get him. The late Sean Taylor was also a guaranteed stud who likely would have been HOF with a full career.

Reese had a hubristic disdain for trading picks, except to trade up for Webb of course. I think he even stated so?

Man that was a big dropoff from Revis to Ross.

But one guy I loved to watch and thought he was going to be better than he was (I know that’s not the question in this thread) was Archie Griffin. I guess maybe he was just a little to small for that era of the NFL, but he was awesome in college.

In comment 14534075 Big Blue '56 said:

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In comment 14534067 djm said: Quote: He will be one day. Russel Wilson. He will too, if he keeps this up. Marshall Faulk (so did everyone else) Eli Manning. Peter Warrick — lol But the question my friend, is whether or not, for example, you thought Wilson was a good bet for the HOF coming out of college

I loved Wilson not long after the training camp reports started coming in from his first summer in Seattle. Liked him out of college, loved him once the glowing reports started to flow. I’ve owned him ever since in the BBI keeper FF league. HOF is always a bit of a leap but I was convinced early on that Wilson would be a legit player in this league.

In comment 14534605 bw in dc said:

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in ‘88. And then I think it was Kenny Hill who came over to help and collided with Collins...

Yep, good memory. I was there that day.

To be fair, I recall Rice dropping a sure TD earlier in the game too

Kenny Hill took the wrong angle to the ball and knocked Collins off his coverage. One of the worst losses in the 80's.

Pace

beast.

One player I regret injury took him down was Billy Sims.