![]() The Jaguars, unlike their expansion brethren, weren’t pressed for a quarterback. “The one thing you don’t know is how he’ll handle the sophisticated, faster-by-a-lot-defenses in the NFL.” “The only real downside is that he’s played at a low level of competition and he’s making a huge jump to the NFL in the premier position.” “He’s a great athlete with terrific arm strength and the ability to avoid (pass rushers) in the pocket,” Polian told The Journal News prior to the draft. And everybody knew there were only two to choose from.įrom the beginning, Panthers GM Bill Polian made it clear that he was concerned about the level of competition he’d played against. The Panthers, meanwhile, were locked in on getting a quarterback. The Bengals were one of several teams that coveted Penn State running back Ki-Jana Carter, and they were willing to give up several picks to compensate. The Panthers kicked the day off by officially trading out of the first overall pick, handing it to the Cincinnati Bengals. McNair became the first black QB taken in the first round in nearly 20 years.įinally, the big day had come. Kiper speculated that he could fall as low as 11 to Minnesota, who was looking for a potential replacement to Warren Moon. But the day before the draft he noted that several teams seemed to have moved Collins ahead of McNair on their draft boards, due to his ‘low-key approach and quiet demeanor.” had Steve McNair as his top-rated quarterback, stating that McNair could be “spectacular” in four years. Long-time NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. He’s one of the few guys I would actually pay to watch as a fan.” I don’t know where this (dumb) tag came from, but we put him through extensive classroom work, and he’s one of the most intelligent players I’ve seen. He can show every pass that’s imaginable. “This kid will be better than Steve Young, and he’ll redefine the quarterback position. One scout Moore mentioned was Glenn Cumbee who worked for the then-Houston Oilers. They laughed at Walter Payton, a former star at Jackson State. “They frowned upon Jerry Rice, because they said he caught all of those passes courtesy of an “unstructured” system at Mississippi Valley State. The week before the April 22nd draft, Moore wrote a column called “It should be a snap,” pointing out how scouts were using an unfair, but not unfamiliar, tactic to try to downgrade McNair’s stock. Terrence Moore, a long-time reporter, and columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution had seen it all play out before. ![]() “This kid will be better than Steve Young…” Some had him falling out of the top 10 of the draft. Still, despite strong performances in all-star games, the buzz prior to the draft was that Steve McNair- stop us if you’ve heard this before - possessed all the physical tools but perhaps wasn’t smart enough to be a franchise quarterback. He threw for 14,496 yards and 119 touchdowns, 44 of them thrown his senior season. McNair had just completed a career in which he owned just about every Division I-AA (now FCS) record and finished third in Heisman Trophy voting despite playing at a lower level. He had the look and feel of what a franchise quarterback was (and to some extent still is) supposed to be.Īnd then there was Steve “Air II” McNair from tiny Alcorn State. He was a pocket passer from a Big Ten school with the “big-time” pedigree that has suckered many a scout into choosing the wrong quarterback. ![]() ![]() There was Penn State’s Kerry Collins, who had just led his team to a perfect season in 1994. Then there were the two quarterbacks that people thought had the potential to be franchise players. ![]()
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