Examining the Greatness of the NFL Draft Class of 1996

We might as well get the worst of it over with at the beginning: This was one of the worst quarterback classes in the history of the league, perhaps even the worst of all time.

There wasn’t a single first-round quarterback selected, with the first QB off the board being the immortal Tony Banks by the St. Louis Rams with the 42nd overall pick out of Michigan State.

As far as impact players go, Banks was it with 97 games played. The next most: Eagles third-round pick Bobby Hoying, who managed all of 22 games with 13 starts in five seasons with the Eagles and Raiders.

The first two backs off the board, Lawrence Phillips to St. Louis and Tim Biakabutuka to Oakland, were disappointments (unless you’re counting arrests and years spent in jail, in which case Phillips is a freaking Hall of Famer).

But once you get past those two, the roster has some depth:

Eddie George: The 14th overall pick out of Ohio State by the Houston Oilers won the Associated Press Rookie of the Year Award and finished his career with more than 10,000 yards and 68 touchdowns, making four Pro Bowls along the way.

Mike Alstott: The fifth overall pick in the second round (35th overall) out of Purdue was a six-time Pro Bowler during his 11-year run with the Buccaneers. He’s also a charter member of the Fantasy RB Vulcher Hall of Fame, scoring 10 touchdowns on just 165 carries in 2001.

Stephen Davis: The seventh pick of the fourth round (102nd overall) out of Auburn racked up more than 8,000 yards rushing and 65 career rushing touchdowns, making three Pro Bowls.

He led the league in rushing touchdowns in 1999 with 17, and rushing attempts in 2001 with 356. For his career, he had four seasons with 1,300 or more rush yards, three of those with better than 1,400 rush yards.

Other notables: Moe Williams (75th overall pick by Minnesota), Karim Abdul-Jabbar (80th overall pick by Miami)

The draft started with Me-Shawn Johnson to the Jets with the first overall pick, and you could argue the era of the Wide Receiver Diva was born.

But no matter what you feel about Keyshawn Johnson, you can’t argue that he wasn’t a hell of a receiver: Nine seasons with 70 or more receptions, four seasons with 1,000 or more receiving yards, 64 career receiving touchdowns and three Pro Bowls.

Marvin Harrison: A sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer, Harrison was the 19th overall pick by the Colts out of Syracuse. All he did was put up three seasons of more than 100 receptions, including a preposterous 143 in 2002, an NFL record by 20! He had two more seasons with more than 90 receptions.

Between 1999 and 2006, Harrison had one of the greatest eight-year stretches of any receiver in NFL history: Eight consecutive seasons with more than 1,100 receiving yards, eight consecutive seasons with double-digit touchdowns, and eight consecutive Pro Bowls.

Final career totals (assuming nobody pays him too much money to come back this year): 190 career games with 188 starts, 1,202 receptions (second most all time), 14,580 receiving yards (fourth most all time) and 128 receiving touchdowns (fifth most all time).

Terrell Owens: Also a future Hall of Famer, T.O. was the 89th overall pick by San Francisco out of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Say what you will about his attitude and coach-killing persona, but you can’t argue with his results on the field: 951 career receptions (sixth all time) for 14,122 yards (fifth) and 139 touchdowns (second), nine seasons with 1,000 or more receiving yards, eight seasons with 10 or more touchdowns, and six Pro Bowls.

Terry Glenn: The seventh overall pick by New England out of Ohio State didn’t start off on a great note, getting called “she” by then-Patriots coach Bill Parcells. But he recovered nicely: 90 catches (then a rookie record) for 1,132 yards and six touchdowns. He finished with 593 career receptions for 8,823 yards and 44 career touchdowns, making the 1999 Pro Bowl.

Other notables: Eddie Kennison (18th overall pick by St. Louis), Eric Moulds (24th overall pick by Buffalo), Amani Toomer (34th overall pick by the New York Giants), Muhsin Muhammad (43rd overall pick by Carolina), Bobby Engram (52nd overall pick by Chicago), Joe Horn (135th overall pick by Kansas City), Jermaine Lewis (153rd overall pick by Baltimore)

This wasn’t a banner year for tight ends, but you could make the argument that Jay Riemersma, the 244th overall pick out of Michigan by the Buffalo Bills, was one of the better finds that late in the draft.

Riemersma played in 112 games with 74 starts over eight seasons and caught 221 career passes for 2,524 yards and 23 touchdowns.

Other notables: Rickey Dudley (ninth overall pick by Oakland), Ernie Conwell (59th overall pick by St. Louis).

You have to start this list with the third deadlock Hall of Famer in this class with left tackle Jonathan Ogden, the fourth overall pick out of UCLA by Baltimore.

Ogden played 12 seasons, making the Pro Bowl the final 11. He started 176 of his career 177 games played and was universally recognized as one of the top two or three tackles in the league for the entirety of his career.

RT Jon Runyan: The 109th overall pick out of Michigan by the Houston Oilers played the majority of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles before being let go this offseason. Runyan has started all 16 games in a season the last 12 years, making the Pro Bowl in 2002. Not bad for a fourth-round pick.

G Pete Kendall: Drafted in the first round (21st overall) by the Seattle Seahawks out of Boston College, Kendall has started 188 games with Seattle, Arizona, New York Jets, and Washington.

G Marco Rivera: The 208th pick out of Penn State by Green Bay was a huge reason Brett Favre made it out of Green Bay as the NFL’s all-time Iron Man. A three-time Pro Bowler, Rivera played in 155 career games in a 10-season career with the Packers and Cowboys.

C Jeff Hartings: The 23rd overall pick out of Penn State by the Detroit Lions played 163 games with two Pro Bowls, the final one as the anchor for the 2005 Super Bowl-champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

Other notables: T Willie Anderson (tenth overall pick by the Bengals), G Jermane Mayberry (25th overall pick by Philadelphia), T Roman Oben (66th overall pick by the New York Giants), C Mike Flanagan (90th overall pick by Green Bay), T Fred Miller (141st overall pick by St. Louis), G Chris Villarrial (152nd overall pick by Chicago)

(We’re going with a 3-4 here. You’ll see why when we get to the linebackers.)

DE Simeon Rice: The third overall pick out of Illinois by the Arizona Cardinals played 174 games in 12 seasons with Arizona, Tampa Bay, Denver, and Indianapolis, finishing with 122 sacks and three Pro Bowls. He had double-digit sacks in eight different seasons, including a combined 30.5 in 2002 and 2003, and forced 28 fumbles.

DE Phillip Daniels: Selected with the fourth pick in the fourth round (99th overall) by the Seattle Seahawks, Daniels has 351 tackles and 59 sacks in 171 games with Seattle, Chicago and Washington.

DT La’Roi Glover: Glover was selected out of San Diego State with the 166th overall pick by the Oakland Raiders. And though he only lasted one season with Oakland, he went on to have a great career, playing all 16 games in each of his final 11 seasons with New Orleans, Dallas, and St. Louis. Glover ended his career with 193 games played, 436 tackles, 83.5 sacks, 16 forced fumbles, and six Pro Bowls (final two years with the Saints and all four years with the Cowboys).

Other notables: DE Regan Updshaw (12th overall pick by Tampa Bay), DE Duane Clemons (16th overall pick by Minnesota), DT Daryl Gardener (20th overall pick by Miami), DE Tony Brackens (33rd overall pick by Jacksonville), DE Lance Johnstone (57th overall pick by Oakland), DT John Browning (68th overall pick by Kansas City), DE Brady Smith (70th overall pick by New Orleans), DT Orpheus Roye (200th overall pick by Pittsburgh)

Holy Moses is this group stacked!

Ray Lewis: Let’s start it off with the fourth Hall of Fame lock out of this class. Lewis, the 26th overall pick out of Miami by the Baltimore Ravens, has been widely regarded as one of the top few linebackers of this generation, right up there with Dick Butkus, Mike Singletary, and Jack Ham among the all-time greats.

With 1,225 career tackles, Lewis has made 10 Pro Bowls and been named the First Team All Pro six times. He’s a two-time AP Defensive Player of the Year and won the Super Bowl MVP in 2001. With two more interceptions, he will join Rodney Harrison as the only players ever with more than 30 sacks and 30 interceptions in a career.

Oh, and he also scares the living crap out of opposing running backs. Just ask Steelers back Rashard Mendenhall if he’ll be talking smack before the two teams meet this year.

Tedy Bruschi: I think Pats fans are kidding themselves if they think Bruschi is going into the NFL Hall of Fame, but that doesn’t change for a second that he was an absolutely fantastic linebacker and team leader on a franchise that sucked when he got there and turned into the most dominant in the league. I mean, when Bill Belichick, former coach of guys like Harry Carson, Lawrence Taylor, and Pepper Johnson, calls you the perfect player, you’re pretty damn special.

For his career, Bruschi played in 189 games over 13 seasons, finishing up with 680 tackles, 30.5 sacks, 17 forced fumbles, and 12 interceptions, four of which he returned for touchdowns. He made just one Pro Bowl in 2004, but his class, energy, and enthusiasm for the game made him one of the greatest players to ever put on a Patriots uniform.

Donnie Edwards: Like Bruschi, Edwards only made one Pro Bowl, but that doesn’t diminish the impact he had over a distinguished career with Kansas City and San Diego.

The 98th overall pick out of UCLA by the Chiefs, Edwards played in 197 games, 180 of those as a starter. He finished with 1,133 tackles, 23.5 sacks, 28 interceptions (four for TDs), and 15 forced fumbles. He was also incredibly durable for his position, having a nine-season streak between 1999 and 2007 where he started all 16 games every season.

Zach Thomas: Thomas lasted all the way to the fifth round (154th overall) coming out of Texas Tech due to his diminutive stature, but once he got on the field for the Dolphins, he didn’t come off of it. Thomas started all 16 games his rookie season and would go on to play 184 games with 182 starts over the course of his career with the Dolphins and Cowboys.

A seven-time Pro Bowler, Thomas finished* with 1,106 tackles, 20.5 sacks, 17 interceptions (four for touchdowns), and 16 forced fumbles.

(* Thomas’ agent says he’s not done and Thomas will play this season for the Kansas City Chiefs, but that might be a case of wishful thinking. Then again, he’s been underestimated before and proven the doubters wrong. Let’s just call his return to the field slightly less than likely.)

Other notables: Kevin Hardy (third overall pick by Jacksonville), John Mobley (15th overall pick by Denver), Randall Godfrey (49th overall pick by Dallas), Earl Holmes (126th overall pick by Pittsburgh), Carlos Emmons (242nd pick by Pittsburgh)

FS Brian Dawkins: Dawk could be the fifth Hall of Famer out of the Class of 1996, though I’m not ready to put him in the same lock status as the others.

Regardless, the 61st overall pick out of Clemson by the Philadelphia Eagles has been one of the most dominant safeties of the past 15 years. His combination of toughness, athleticism, and intelligence made him the prototypical free safety and team leader for a franchise that made the playoffs in seven of the past nine seasons, five times advancing to the NFC Championship Game.

Entering his first season in Denver, Dawkins has made 723 tackles with 34 interceptions, 21 sacks, and 32 forced fumbles. He’s been elected to seven Pro Bowls and been named First Team All Pro four times.

SS Lawyer Milloy: The 36th overall pick out of Washington by the Patriots, Milloy was the leader of the secondary for New England’s first Super Bowl title and a key cog in their upset of the Rams’ "Greatest Show on Turf."

Milloy made four Pro Bowls during his tenure with New England before moving on to Buffalo and then Atlanta. He finished with 945 career tackles, 25 interceptions, 17 sacks, and 10 forced fumbles.

CB Donnie Abraham: Abraham was the 71st overall pick out of East Tennessee State by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was a key member of the defense that transformed the Bucs from league laughingstock to perennial playoff contender in the late 1990s under Tony Dungy.

In nine seasons (six with Tampa and three with the Jets), Abraham picked off 38 passes, including back-to-back seasons with seven interceptions in 1999 and 2000 (his own Pro Bowl year).

CB Walt Harris: The 13th overall pick out of Mississippi State by Chicago has played in 193 games, 173 of those starts with Chicago, Indianapolis, Minnesota, and San Francisco. Harris has 35 career interceptions (four of those returned for touchdowns) and 17 forced fumbles. He made his one and only Pro Bowl in his first year with the 49ers in 2006.

Harris will miss this season after tearing his ACL in summer workouts and will be a free agent after this season, so it’s in doubt whether he will resume his career at the age of 35.

Other Notables: S Jerome Woods (28th overall pick by Kansas City), CB Tory James (44th overall pick by Denver), CB Ray Mickens (62nd overall pick by the New York Jets), CB Aaron Beasley (63rd overall pick by Jacksonville), CB Tyrone Williams (93rd overall pick by Green Bay), CB/S Marcus Coleman (133rd overall pick by the New York Jets)

So where does 1996 stand in the pantheon of all time?

With four sure fire Hall of Famers and two other possibles in Dawkins and Thomas, 1996 definitely has an argument for top 5-7. It falls short of the amazing 1957 draft that produced seven Hall of Famers, including Don Maynard, Jim Brown, Paul Hornung, and Sonny Jurgensen.

Five others I would put above it:

1961: Produced Deacon Jones, Fran Tarkenton, and Mike Ditka among its six Hall of Famers.

1964: Had the most Hall of Famers with ten, including Paul Warfield and Roger Staubach

1969: O.J. Simpson and Mean Joe Green among its five Hall of Famers.

1974: Jack Lambert, John Stallworth, Lynn Swann, and Mike Webster, all future Steelers Hall of Famers, plus Raiders tight end Dave Casper.

1983: Not just the quarterbacks with Dan Marino, John Elway, and Jim Kelly, but also Eric Dickerson, Bruce Matthews, and Darrell Green.

And there may be others. Doing a full rank of each class goes way beyond just the big names and Hall of Famers. That’s a project for another day.

For now let’s just say there have been a lot of great draft classes over the years, and 1996 was one of them. It might take some time before people really start appreciating that year’s class, but it was one of the most impactful drafts in NFL history.

Now you know.