Peyton Manning Only QB Left in 2014 NFL Playoffs Who Wasn't Drafted by MLB Team
January 14, 2014
The Denver Broncos' Peyton Manning is arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history. However, he is the odd man out on a wild fact pertaining to the quarterbacks remaining in the 2014 NFL playoffs.
Of the four quarterbacks left—Manning, Tom Brady, Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson—Manning is the only one who wasn't drafted by an MLB team.
Here's a look at which MLB teams drafted the talented quarterbacks, via CBSSports.com's John Breech:
NFL QBs Drafted By MLB Teams | |||
Player | MLB Team | Year | Round |
Tom Brady | Montreal Expos | 1995 | 18 |
Russell Wilson | Baltimore Orioles/Colorado Rockies | 2007/2010 | 41/4 |
Colin Kaepernick | Chicago Cubs | 2009 | 43 |
CBSSports.com |
Wilson has a history in baseball. He was drafted twice—once by the Baltimore Orioles in 2007 and again by the Colorado Rockies in 2010. As noted by CBS Sports Eye on Baseball's Mike Axisa, Wilson did play in Colorado's farm system for a part of the 2010-11 seasons, hitting .229/.354/.356 with five home runs, stealing 19 bases and striking out 118 times in 93 Class A games as a second baseman.
Even though he is succeeding in the NFL, the Texas Rangers selected Wilson in the Rule 5 draft this past December.
Despite being left off the crazy list, Manning does a have a connection to MLB. The man he replaced as quarterback at the University of Tennessee due to a midseason knee injury, Todd Helton, played 17 years for the Colorado Rockies.
Manning may not have been drafted by an MLB team, but the four-time NFL Most Valuable Player has certainly made the most of his opportunity in the league that he was drafted into.
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