Top 5 NFL Draft Day Surprises Includes Blockbuster, Shocker Trades
1 Saints trade all their picks to draft Ricky Williams
In 1999 The New Orleans Saints traded every pick they had in that year's daft in order to pick Texas running back Ricky Williams. The Ricky Williams trade was the biggest NFL draft day surprise of all time. Eight draft picks were traded from the New Orleans Saints by then Coach Mike Ditka in order to draft Ricky Williams.
2 Brady Quinn's stock falls
Brady Quinn was expected by many to be a Top 5 NFL draft pick when the quarterback came out of Notre Dame. Instead Brady Quinn's draft stock dropped like the proverbial rock, and the Cleveland Browns traded back into the first round to draft Quinn with the 22nd pick of the draft. Brady Quinn's falling draft stock has to rank as one of the Top 5 NFL draft day surprises ever.
3 Saint Louis Rams trade for Marshall Faulk
This NFL.com video goes into detail of the Marshall Faulk trade from the Colts to the Rams. I was really shocked when a top NFL running back in his prime was traded. This trade helped the Rams win their first Super Bowl.
4 John Elway drafted by the Colts
Speculation was the John Elway would play pro baseball if the Colts drafted him in 1983. The Colts did indeed draft him against his wishes. It was one of the Top 5 NFL draft day surprises because Elway had the leverage of playing for the New York Yankees. A few weeks later the Colts blinked and traded Elway to the Broncos.
5 Oakland Raiders draft Darrius Heyward- Bey over Michael Crabtree
In 2009 Michael Crabtree was considered the best receiver in the NFL draft. The Raiders passed on him to select Darius Heyward-Bey with the 7th pick in the 2009 NFL draft. This was a real draft day shocker as Darrius Heyward-Bey was not considered a top receiver in that draft.
Sources
More info on John Elway's drafting by the Colts from Elway's Website.
Published by Randy Inman
Im 42 years old, Grew up in North Carolina, and descend from the same family as the person the Inman Character was based on in the movie/book Cold Mountain. I run Footballdogz.com and love Pro Football. Spor... View profile
- Revival of Ricky WilliamsRicky Williams has not had a typical career, as he has dealt with extensive drug problems. However, his talent looks like it has ultimately won out over his marijuana issues, as he has had a brilliant season consideri...
- 2009 NFL Draft Results Eventually Turn SurprisingThings went exactly as expected at the top of the NFL draft, until the Jets moved way up to get USC's Mark Sanchez. After that, some surprising results began to occur, which worked out well for some teams, and brought...
NFL Draft 2007: The Five Top Quarterback ProspectsRating the top five quarterbacks in this year's upcoming NFL Draft.
Day Two of the 2009 NFL DraftDay two of the 2009 NFL draft began with the New York Jets, who shocked the world (or at least any and everyone who followed the draft) on day 1 of the draft.
Ricky Williams is Back in the NFL. What Will Be His Impact in 2007 and B...The NFL commissioner has approved Ricky Williams coming back into the league. Can the former Texas star still contribute?
- Questions Abound on NFL Draft Day 2007
- Ricky Williams Reportedly Fails Another Drug Test
- AFC East Areas of Concern
- NFL Draft: Top Five Picks Could Surprise Experts
- Ricky Williams Back on the Football Field?
- Ricky Williams Will Play Again... and He'll Play Well
- Ricky Williams Back to Smoking Marijuana
12 Comments
Post a Commentgreat reporting
How 'bout Superbowl Champs Redskins drafting Heisman Trophy Winner Desmond Howard in '92? That was a surprise to me fer sure!
Seems like half of Indy wanted Faulk gone, the other half screamed at the trade. Good article.
great list
Yes, new blood!
It's an exciting time of year!
Cool beans. The Hershal Walker deal was big too.
Thank you for your submission. Your article has been featured on AC's news category.
You always have the best sports news! :-)
As a Giant fan..i thought of the Eli draft as well...but it certainly was not as dramatic as the five you profiled.