1987 NFL Re-Draft

This is the first of my NFL Re-Drafts. I thought it would be interesting to go back in time and look at how the draft would shake out knowing what we know now. I wanted to try to do every draft of my lifetime which would start with 1987. The 1987 draft was 1 week after my birthday on the nose. 

For accuracy purposes I only did the 1st round in each of these drafts.

1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Select: Rod Woodson     CB           Purdue

Woodson was actually selected with the 10^th pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers

Bucs Actual Selection: Vinny Testeverde               QB          Miami

The Bucs pick was not terrible in Testeverde, but he did nothing in Tampa. Meanwhile, Rod Woodson is the only current Hall of Famer in the 1987 Draft Class. Therefore, this pick is a slam dunk and the most obvious selection in this re-draft if we went back through time.

2 Indianapolis Colts

Select: Cornelius Bennett             LB           Alabama

Bennett was the actual selection and was traded to the Bills in a three team deal that landed the Colts Eric Dickerson

Bennett was not the 2^nd best player in the 1987 draft, but he was a top 10 guy and he did work out very well for the Colts. Whether they stuck with the trade of Bennett or kept him, it would have been a solid move for the Colts and I believe they would have stuck with the pick.

3 Houston Oilers

Select: Bruce Armstrong               OT          Louisville

Armstrong was actually selected with the 23^rd pick by the New England Patriots

Oilers Actual Selection: Alonzo Highsmith             RB           Miami

Bruce Armstrong was the top tackle in the 1987 draft and adding a top tackle that was a multiple time Pro-Bowler is a no brainer if you got to re-do it. Armstrong was fantastic in his NFL career and would have been a difference maker for the Oilers.

4 Green Bay Packers

Select: Tim McDonald    S              Southern Cal

Tim McDonald was actually selected in the 2nd round, #34 overall by the then St. Louis Cardinals

Packers Actual Selection: Brent Fulwood                               RB           Auburn

McDonald was a great safety over his NFL career. Brent Fulwood had a decent NFL career, but McDonald was much better and would have been a better pick for the Packers.

5 Cleveland Browns

Select: Greg Lloyd            LB           Fort Valley State

Lloyd was actually selected in the 6^th round, #150 overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers

Browns Actual Selection: Mike Junkin     LB           Duke

You could argue that Greg Lloyd was the second best player in the draft this season. However, you can’t argue that Junkin is a better player than Lloyd. This switch is an easy switch.

6 St. Louis Cardinals

Select: Jerome Brown    DT           Miami

Brown was actually selected with the 9^th pick by the Philadelphia Eagles

Cardinals Actual Selection: Kelly Stouffer              QB          Colorado State

Jerome Brown was arguably headed for the Hall of Fame before his untimely death in 1992. You would hope that with this switch Jerome Brown would have never died early. Kelly Stouffer did nothing in the pros, but there is no denying Brown’s impact.

7 Detroit Lions

Select: Hardy Nickerson                LB           California

Nickerson was actually selected in the 5^th round, #122 overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers

Lions Actual Selection: Reggie Rogers     DT           Washington

Hardy Nickerson was the 3^rd best player the Steelers obtained in the NFL Draft, but you can argue he was the 3^rd best player in the draft as well. Nickerson was one of the most productive linebackers of his generation and a game-changer on Dungy’s Bucs teams in the 90s. Picking him at #7 would have been a much better pick for the Detroit Lions than the unproductive Reggie Rogers.

8 Buffalo Bills

Select: Shane Conlan      LB           Penn State

Conlan was the actual selection of the Buffalo Bills and was NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. He was quite productive for the Bills and I believe they would have stuck with him here at #8.

9 Philadelphia Eagles

Howard Ballard OT          Alabama A & M

Ballard was selected in the 11^th round, #283 overall by the Buffalo Bills

Eagles Actual Selection: Jerome Brown who is off the board in this re-draft

The Eagles missed out on Jerome Brown in the redraft after the Cardinals snatched him up. Therefore, they went with the best player available and second best tackle in the draft, Howard Ballard out of Alabama A & M.

10 Pittsburgh Steelers

Select: Harris Barton       OT          North Carolina

Barton was selected with the 22^nd pick by the San Francisco 49ers

Steelers Actual Selection: Rod Woodson who is off the board in this re-draft

The Steelers had a fantastic draft in 1987 as 3 of the top 7 selections in this re-draft were picks actually made by Pittsburgh. They are the team that is definitely most hurt if a re-draft did occur. That being said, the player remaining with the most value is certainly guard Harris Barton.

11 New Orleans Saints

Select: Jessie Tuggle       LB           Valdosta State

Tuggle was an undrafted free agent signing of the Atlanta Falcons

Actual Selection: Shawn Knight  NT          BYU

Jessie Tuggle was one of the top linebackers of his generation during his tenure with the Atlanta Falcons. Tuggle also was an undrafted free agent signing for that team. There is no doubt that he would be a 1^st round pick though if the 1987 draft was redone. This pick could have helped changed the identity of the New Orleans Saints during the 1990s.

12 Dallas Cowboys

Select: Nate Odomes     CB           Wisconsin

Odomes was selected in the 2^nd round, #29 overall by the Buffalo Bills

Actual Selection: Danny Noonan                               DT           Nebraska

The Cowboys knowing they would get Aikman the following year would probably not be trying to nab Rich Gannon or Vinny Testeverde here where their value is saying to select them. Instead, they’d go for someone like Nate Odomes a very productive NFL corner to set up for the next draft that they would have. The Cowboys still improve in quality in the draft.

13 Atlanta Falcons

Select: Rich Gannon        QB          Delaware

Gannon was selected in the 4^th round, #98 overall by the New England Patriots

Actual Selection: Chris Miller       QB          Oregon

The Atlanta Falcons never had a great quarterback from this time until Mike Vick and arguably Matt Ryan so adding an NFL MVP is the no-brain move. This team would not care about the length of time it took Gannon to develop because he would eventually be the missing piece they needed and never got.

14 Minnesota Vikings

Select: Henry Thomas    DT           LSU

Thomas was actually selected in the 3^rd round, #72 overall by the Minnesota Vikings

Actual Selection: DJ Dozier           RB Penn State

Do you know who DJ Dozier was? Me neither. I do however know that Henry Thomas had over 1, 000 tackles and 93.5 sacks.

15 LA Raiders

Select: Kevin Gogan        OG         Washington

Gogan was selected in the 8^th round, #206 overall by the Dallas Cowboys

Actual Selection: John Clay          OT          Missouri

The Raiders went o-line in 1987, but they picked a guy that wasn’t very good. Kevin Gogan however went to multiple pro-bowls and won multiple Super Bowls. Amazing that a guy that good who played in the Pac 12 lasted until the 8^th round which isn’t even around today.

16 Miami Dolphins

Elbert Shelley    S              Arkansas State

Shelley was selected in the 11^th round, #292 overall by the Atlanta Falcons

Actual Selection: John Bosa         DE           Boston College

Interesting side note is that John’s son Joey is the star of the Ohio State Buckeye defense currently. John however never lived up to his first round status. One guy that was great value in that draft is Elbert Shelley who was an 11^th round selection of the Atlanta Falcons. Shelley would be a 1^st rounder in the redraft after an NFL career with multiple Pro Bowl appearances and a quite productive career.

17 Cincinnati Bengals

Select: Dan Saleaumua  DT           Washington

Saleaumua was actually selected in the 7^th round, #175 overall by the Detroit Lions

Actual Selection: Jason Buck       DE           BYU

In the re-draft I have the Bengals sticking with d-line, but picking the far more productive Dan Saleaumua over the disappointing Jason Buck. Buck played for 6 years, but he never lived up to his 1^st round status.

18 Seattle Seahawks

Select: Tyrone Braxton  S              North Dakota State

Braxton was actually selected in the 12^th round, #334 overall by the Denver Broncos

Actual Selection: Tony Woods    DE           Pitt

Tony Woods wasn’t a bust because he was actually pretty good over his NFL career. He probably would go late 1^st or early 2^nd round in a re-draft of this draft. However, Tony Braxton was a better player and a member of a few Super Bowl teams along with being a ballhawk.

19 Kansas City Chiefs

Select: Vinny Testeverde             QB          Miami

Testaverde was actually selected #1 overall by the Bucs

Actual Selection: Paul Palmer     RB Temple

Vinny Testeverde took a long time to develop, but he eventually ended up being a pretty good quarterback in the long run. It is quite possible that he goes higher than 19, but the Chiefs would be hard pressed to pass up Testeverde.

20 Houston Oilers

Select: Haywood Jeffires              WR         NC State

Jeffires was the Oilers actual selection and made multiple Pro-Bowl Appearances. He was a quite productive pick and I don’t think the Oilers would go with any of the other options available if they got another chance.

21 New York Jets

Select: Eric Thomas         CB           Tulane

Thomas was actually selected in the 2^nd round, #49 overall by the Cincinnati Bengals

Actual Selection: Roger Vick        FB           Texas A & M

Eric Thomas was a very productive cornerback during his NFL tenure. However, Roger Vick only played for 4 seasons.

22 San Francisco 49ers

Select: Jerry Ball               DT           Southern Methodist

Ball was selected in the 3^rd round, #63 overall by the Detroit Lions

Actual Selection: Harris Barton

Barton was already selected in this re-draft. With Barton already selected, the 49ers picked the productive Jerry Ball here. Ball played in 3 Pro Bowls.

23 New England Patriots

Select: Thomas Everett S              Baylor

Everett was actually selected in the 4^th round, #94 overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers

Actual Selection: Bruce Armstrong

Armstrong was already selected in this re-draft. The best player available was Thomas Everett in this re-draft. The Patriots did worse than Armstrong in this re-draft, but Everett was a productive NFL player.

24 San Diego Chargers

Select: Frank Winters     C             Western Illinois

Winters was actually selected in the 10^th round, #276 overall by the Cleveland Browns

Actual Selection: Rod Bernstine RB           Texas A & M

Frank Winters has been to a Pro Bowl and is in the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. The Packers Hall of Fame is perhaps the hardest to get into as well.  Bernstine actually had a decent career between RB and TE, but never lived up to his first round pick.

25 San Francisco

Select: Christian Okoye RB           Azusa Pacific

Okoye was actually selected in the 2^nd round, #35 overall by the Kansas City Chiefs

Actual Selection: Terrance Flagler             RB           Clemson

The best two runningbacks in this draft ended up being Okoye and Jackson. Bo Jackson was the better of the two, but because he was playing baseball at the time and wasn’t a guarantee to come back, he wasn’t a 1^st round pick. If we had the ability to go back in time, I’m still not sure Jackson was a 1^st rounder so Okoye would be the 1^st RB selected.

26 Chicago Bears

Select: Steve Beuerlein QB          Notre Dame

Beuerlein was actually selected in the 4th round, #110 overall by the LA Raiders

Actual Selection: Jim Harbaugh  QB          Michigan

Harbaugh didn’t work out for the Bears, so I see them trying to go with another QB that had a pretty similar career path. Beuerlein was also a tad better IMO.

27 Denver Broncos

Select: Jeff Criswell         OL           Graceland

Criswell went undrafted in 1987

Actual Selection: Ricky Nattiel    WR         Florida

Despite being a first round pick, Ricky Nattiel only had 17 career starts and less than 2,000 yards in the league. Meanwhile, the undrafted Criswell had 146 NFL starts in his productive career on the offensive line.

28 New York Giants

Select: Ed Simmons         OL           Eastern Washington

Simmons was selected by the Washington Redskins in the 6^th round, #164 overall

Actual Selection: Mark Ingram   WR         Michigan State

Mark Ingram was a productive NFL receiver that had nearly 4,000 yards. However, Ingram was not really worthy of a 1^st round pick. Ed Simmons who was drafted by the rival Redskins was. Simmons was selected as one of the 70 Greatest Redskins ever in 2002. He had 104 NFL starts and played 10 years with Washington. Tackles have also been historically much harder to find than wide receivers, making this an easy selection.

*Cris Carter (the second Hall of Famer in this group) was a supplemental draft selection and not actually in the NFL Draft in 1987.

-Noland