NFL’s No. 1 Draft Picks Haven’t Always Succeeded

The tension had been building for weeks. Which quarterback would the New England Patriots take, Drew Bledsoe or Rick Mirer?

Bill Parcells, the new coach, decided weeks before, but never tipped his hand. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue finally ended the drama, telling the crowd at the Marriott Marquis on Broadway, and the national TV audience, that Bledsoe, of Washington State, would be the choice.

“I always thought (being taken No. 1 in the NFL draft) made you something special,” Bledsoe said on April 25, 1993. “But now that it’s me, I realize it’s no big deal.”

The man who founded the exclusive club that now beckoned Bledsoe would have to agree. Certainly the first draft, in February 1936, was no gala. More like a penny-ante poker game. Nine cigar-puffing, mogul wannabees, some of whom were paying their players with IOUs, met at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia, stubbornly trying to salvage their dream of professional football. Bert Bell, whose Philadelphia Eagles were the worst team in the NFL, sold the other owners on a system in which teams would pick players in the reverse order of the standings -- no more self-defeating bidding wars for the top college players.

Then, as now, picking first did not guarantee success. Bell chose halfback Jay Berwanger of the University of Chicago, winner of the first Heisman Trophy, and dealt his rights to the Bears.

“I found out I was drafted by reading it in the newspaper,” said Berwanger, 80, from his home in Illinois this week. “I didn’t even know the draft was going on.”

Trouble was, Berwanger wanted a real job.

“There was no money in it,” he said of pro football. “It wasn’t until years later (1945) when that receiver, (No. 1 pick Charley) Trippi, signed with the Cardinals for $100,000 for three years. That’s when it started to amount to something. My timing was all wrong, that’s all.”

Some time after the first draft, Berwanger met Bears owner George Halas in the lobby of a downtown Chicago hotel, both heading to a party.

“He asked what I wanted,” Berwanger said, “and I had my tongue in my cheek. I told him, $25,000 for two years. He looked at my date and said, ‘Nice to have met you, have a nice time tonight.’ And that was the end of it.”

Halas gave up and “Breakaway Jay,” the first of the firsts, never played pro football, making a comfortable living in plastics and foam rubber manufacturing instead. Typical. Of the 58 players taken first in the NFL and AFL drafts, only eight are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A handful of others had great careers and may make it someday, and a few active players, such as quarterbacks John Elway (1983) of the Broncos and Troy Aikman (1989) of the Cowboys and defensive end Bruce Smith (1985) of the Bills, could make it.

But don’t take Bledsoe’s word. Much goes with being the No. 1 pick. It’s a lot to live up to.

“It’s an honor that never goes away,” said agent Leigh Steinberg, who has represented four of the past five No. 1s, including Bledsoe.

“It’s a mantle the player carries with him for the rest of his life. And of course, it carries with it great expectations for productivity.”

Then and now, picking first guarantees nothing but expectations. Maybe Ohio State defensive lineman Dan Wilkinson -- yes, a Steinberg client -- who will probably be taken first in the 59th draft Sunday, will be another Bruce or Bubba Smith (Colts, 1967). Maybe he won’t.

“Growing up, watching people on TV,” Bledsoe said, “you get the impression these people are superhuman and different than everybody else. To go from being in high school to being an NFL player in four years, it was kind of a shock to be there and to be the same guy I was in high school.”

Bledsoe had a successful rookie year, as the Patriots improved from 2-14 to 5-11 and raised fans’ hopes. Since the team picking first is usually a bad team, it’s looking for a savior -- a player who possesses special talent and the ability to carry the burden that goes with it.

“People try to (put extra pressure) on you,” Bledsoe said. “The only pressure I get is from myself. I don’t tend to take myself too seriously, or the media too seriously. There were expectations. I didn’t allow that to get in my head too much. It’s something you just have to deal with.”

Said Steinberg: “A lot has to do with self-image. These players have to have a supreme amount of self-confidence. One trait they all have is the desire to be in the center of activity, to be the decision-makers that win or lose games, to be the lead actor. Troy Aikman has that, Drew Bledsoe has it and Dan Wilkinson has it.”

Jets general manager Dick Steinberg had to make the big choice twice during his days with the Patriots, taking defensive lineman Kenneth Sims in 1982 and wide receiver Irving Fryar in ’84.

“You keep coming up with the word ‘pressure,’ ” Dick Steinberg said testily. “This is a business where there is always pressure. You’re dealing with a human element that is very hard to evaluate. You hope to reduce the odds of failure by learning as much as you can about the players you’re considering, but that’s about all you can do.

“The media loves to create pressure, it thrives on it.”

Perhaps the first pick of the draft is not the make-or-break decision, for the franchise or player, the media makes it out to be. Few remember, for instance, that Vince Lombardi, in one of his first acts with the Packers, made a poor No. 1 pick in the 1959 draft. Unhappy with the quarterback situation he inherited, he took Randy Duncan of Iowa.

Duncan, deterred by Green Bay’s 1-10-1 record in 1958, convinced the rookie coach would make little difference and fearing he was too small to play in the NFL, went to Canada and left Lombardi with a wasted pick. Stuck with incumbent quarterback Bart Starr, Lombardi went on to win five championships; he and Starr are in the Hall of Fame.

Today, the CFL is only one option. The first pick can negotiate beforehand and can often force a team to trade the pick, as did quarterback John Elway, who forced the Colts to trade him to Denver in 1983.

“That’s another factor in all this,” Leigh Steinberg said. “The first player picked has to be ready to negotiate before the others, and he is often dealing with several teams. He has some control in where he goes.

“Also, there (are) the financial rewards involved -- Drew Bledsoe got $4.5 million (his first year), so fans are not going to show the patience they normally would with a young player. There will be some resentment. The player has to be prepared for that.”