NFL Draft: 10 Worst Draft Picks in Philadelphia Eagles History
As April 28th draws ever closer, football fans around the world are turning their thoughts to the 2011 NFL Draft.
However, as we look ahead to what could be a bright future for the incoming draft class, many are reminded of the fantastic first-round flops of years past.
Like any other team in the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles have had their share of both good draft picks and bad draft picks.
However, none are quite so memorable as the following ten men, most noted for their ability to stink up the field, embarrass their team and prove themselves worthy of being called one of the worst draft picks in Eagles history.
#10: Shawn Andrews (2004)
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For many Eagles fans, the oft-injured Shawn Andrews is the personification of the phrase "what could have been." After being selected as the sixteenth overall pick and subsequently getting the starting right guard position handed to him, Andrews looked to have a bright future ahead of him.
The first sign of trouble came when "The Big Kid" broke his leg in the opening game of his rookie season. He would go on to miss the Eagles' entire run to the 2004 Super Bowl.
After a Pro Bowl-alternate season in 2005, Andrews was struck with the injury bug again, this time in the form of a neck injury during the 2006 Divisional Playoffs against the New Orleans Saints. Andrews' injury cost the Eagles dearly, as replacement guard Scott Young committed a game-changing false start penalty which ultimately ended the team's season.
Finally, after his second Pro Bowl selection in 2007, Andrews looked to have finally solidified himself as one of the team's most reliable starters. However, it was unfortunately a short-lived comfort.
In the summer of 2008, Andrews missed the majority of training camp while battling depression. When he finally returned to the field, he lasted a scant two games before sitting out the remainder of the season with back problems. Those would be his last games in an Eagles uniform.
Despite surgery and multiple treatments, Andrews' back continued to give him problems. He quickly lost the support of his once-loving fanbase by developing a Twitter obsession and making references to "getting his Michael Phelps on" (presumably a euphemism for smoking pot), giving the appearance that he wasn't focused on football anymore.
The Eagles finally parted ways with their former golden boy, releasing him following the 2009 season. Ironically, Andrews' back condition improved after his release from Philadelphia, allowing him to return to the field. He continues to start along the offensive line, but now is working against his former team as a member of the New York Giants.
The Eagles have yet to find a replacement for Andrews along the offensive line, and that unit continues to be one of the team's biggest weaknesses.
#9: Antone Davis (1991)
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Offensive tackle Antone Davis' decorated past at the University of Tennessee coupled with his fantastic attitude seemingly gave him a recipe for success. In fact, head coach Rich Kotite was so enamored with Davis that he traded both his 1991 first round pick and his 1992 first round pick to move up to the eighth overall spot in order to select him.
Unfortunately, Davis never lived up to his massive price tag, lasting five mediocre seasons with the team before jumping ship to the Atlanta Falcons in 1996, where he started thirteen games over two seasons.
As Davis stated years later in an interview with PhiladelphiaEagles.com, his lack of success in the NFL likely stemmed from his dysfunctional surroundings:
""One of the things that may have hurt my progression is that I went through three different offensive line coaches in my five years in Philadelphia. They all had different philosophies. One year a coach is teaching us the block step, and the following year we're getting taught the lead step. And if you look around the league at all the great offensive lines today, they all have a coach who has been there for a few years. The continuity between an offensive line and its coach is extremely vital."
"
While he certainly was not the worst starting offensive linemen the Eagles have had over the years, Davis had far too many expectations heaped upon him from the moment he stepped off of the plane in Philadelphia. Anything less than a stellar career would have been unacceptable from a two first-round pick talent, which is exactly what Davis was.
#8: Kenny Jackson (1984)
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With the fourth overall pick in the 1984 NFL Draft, Philadelphia selected one of the most underwhelming wide receivers ever to don an Eagles uniform: Penn State's Kenny Jackson.
In five seasons with the Eagles, Jackson caught a total of 117 balls for 2,067 yards and 11 touchdowns. While those numbers may seem fairly solid for a slot receiver like Jason Avant, they are extremely disappointing for a player drafted in the top five picks.
Jackson went on to have a forgettable season with the Houston Oilers after being released from the Eagles following the 1988 season. He then came back for a two-year encore under new head coach Buddy Ryan, where Jackson recorded five receptions for 74 yards and no touchdowns.
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#7: Leroy Keyes (1969)
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The 1969 NFL Draft will be forever known as the draft that produced legendary first-round selections O.J. Simpson, "Mean" Joe Greene and Roger Wehril.
The Eagles looked to be sitting pretty with the number three overall selection, yet inexplicably ended up using it on Purdue running back/safety Leroy Keyes.
After four disappointing seasons in Philadelphia, Keyes managed to accumulate a scant three touchdowns off of an average of 2.95 yards per rushing attempt. In fact, he performed so horribly in the run game that head coach Jerry Williams moved him permanently to strong safety in 1971.
Keyes was released soon after the 1972 season and attempted a brief stint with the Kansas City Chiefs before being released.
#6: Bernard Williams (1994)
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The sky was the limit for offensive tackle Bernard Williams after the Eagles selected him with the fourteenth overall pick in the 1994 draft. The talented young Georgia product had a promising rookie season, immediately stepping into his role as a left tackle and starting all sixteen games.
Then in 1995, Williams' career went down the drain as he was suspended for the first six games of the season for for failing to complete a drug-treatment program after testing positive for marijuana. Williams would then go on to fail a eye-popping total of fifteen drug tests, effectively smoking himself out of the league.
After brief stints with the CFL, AFL and XFL, Williams attempted an unsuccessful comeback with the NFL in 2001, but never again took the field in an Eagles uniform.
#5: Freddie Mitchell (2001)
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In his first year as the Vice President of Football Operations, Andy Reid managed to completely flub the Eagles' first round pick. Selected five spots above five-time Pro-Bowler Reggie Wayne, Freddie Mitchell will stay in the minds of Eagles fans for years to come, unfortunately as much due to his mouth as his play on the field.
In his four years in Philadelphia, "FredEx" managed to talk a bigger game than most players do in their entire lives. He became infamous for such lines as “I'd like to thank my hands for being so great,” and "I am the People's Champ." His ridiculous swagger during interviews knew no limit.
Unfortunately, despite the memorable "Fourth and 26" play which sent the Eagles to the 2003 NFC Championship game, Mitchell had little to show for being a first-round pick. He accumulated below-average stats, racking up a mere 1,263 yards and five touchdowns off of 90 receptions.
Mitchell's underwhelming numbers led to him criticizing Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens for lacking confidence in him as a receiver. He further alienated himself by trash-talking the Patriots' secondary before the Super Bowl and then lashing out at his teammates when they refused to back him up.
Finally, Andy Reid cut the cord on his mistake and unceremoniously dumped Mitchell during the 2005 offseason. Freddie Mitchell has been the punchline of many of Eagles' jokes ever since.
#4: Jon Harris (1997)
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Jon Harris' brief time with the Eagles stunk from start to finish. In the 1997 NFL Draft, head coach Ray Rhodes chose to gamble the team's first round pick on a player who should have been a mid-round prospect at best.
Harris had only started nineteen games at the University of Virginia when he declared himself eligible for the NFL draft, and his inexperience was evident in his professional career. After two years and only two sacks, Harris was shipped off to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for fellow first-round bust John Michels.
As a final insult, fellow defensive line prospect Trevor Pryce, who was selected three spots below Harris, went on to enjoy a fifteen (and counting) year career in the NFL. As of the 2010 season, Pryce has accumulated four Pro Bowl selections and two Super Bowl championship rings.
#3: Kevin Allen (1986)
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Selected ninth overall in the 1986 NFL Draft, offensive tackle Kevin Allen was the antithesis of class. After his very sub-par rookie season, Allen showed up to the following training camp testing positive for cocaine usage. Shortly afterward, he was charged with sexual assault and spent the next three years in prison.
His performance was so awful during his short time in Philadelphia that head coach Buddy Ryan called him a good player..."if you want someone to stand around and kill the grass."
After learning of Allen's delinquent history, it was an easy decision for the NFL to ban him for life. If only the Eagles had taken offensive tackle Jim Lachey, who went three picks later to the San Diego Chargers, they would have had a three-time Pro Bowler with a ten year NFL career.
#2: Jerome McDougle (2003)
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In a draft where big-name defensive players like Kevin Williams, Terrell Suggs, Troy Polamalu and Nnamdi Asomugha littered the first round, the Eagles managed to come away with their biggest draft disappointment in the past decade: Jerome McDougle. The worst part was that they had to give up both their 30th and 63rd overall picks to move up and draft McDougle at the fifteenth spot.
Over four seasons with the team, the oft-injured McDougle gave next to nothing back on the Eagles' massive investment. He appeared in a total of 33 games, starting in none of them, and accumulated only 35 tackles and three sacks.
Starting with his ankle/knee/hip injury during the final game of the 2003 preseason, the hapless McDougle racked up a laundry list of maladies over the next four years, including an irregular heartbeat, a sprained knee, getting shot in the abdomen by armed robbers, rib fractures and a triceps tear.
Perhaps if McDougle has been spared one or more of his injuries, he could have developed into the player that the Eagles wanted him to become. Unfortunately, he merely became another case of "what might have been."
#1: Mike Mamula (1995)
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Not a draft goes by where the name Mike Mamula isn't whispered nervously amongst the Eagles faithful. Drafted seventh overall in the 1995 NFL Draft, the defensive end out of Boston College has become a classic example of how Combine numbers don't tell the whole story.
Mamula was one of the first players to train specifically for the Combine drills, and the results certainly paid off for him. After ranking among the top prospects at every measurable, including the Wonderlic test, Mamula's draft value skyrocketed higher than it ever should have gone.
Mamula's 4.58 40-yard dash time was considered extremely fast for his position, and he racked up more bench press reps (26) than the top-ranked offensive tackle in the draft. His Wonderlic score, reportedly a 49 out of 50, remains tied for the second-highest score ever by an NFL player.
After the Combine, Eagles head coach Ray Rhodes became so enamored with Mamula that he gave up his twelfth overall pick, as well as his two second round picks, for Tampa Bay's seventh overall pick. The Buccaneers subsequently used those picks to draft Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks, who combined for eighteen Pro Bowl selections.
Mamula went on to have an average NFL career, lasting six seasons as an Eagle before retiring due to injuries in 2000. His lifetime stats include 209 tackles and 31.5 sacks over 64 starts.
However, since the Eagles gave up so much to get what should have been a mid-round selection in any other draft, Mike Mamula will forever be labeled as one of Philadelphia's greatest draft busts.
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