The project, like many iconic NFL events, has become a complete spectacle. Next month, the NFL 2020 project will span three days and be broadcast – in its entirety – on two different networks. It will be consumed by millions of fans, with immediate analysis – from media experts to coaches, players and general managers – just minutes after the selection of a choice.
Many fans do not remember a time when the NFL draft was not a big deal for anyone who was not a scout, general manager or coach. In fact, many players, before the project first aired in 1980, did not even know they had been selected until someone – a team employee, a coach or even a local sports writer – calls to let them know. that their dreams of being a professional soccer player had been realized.
Before the 2020 draft, three former first-round picks shared their unique – and in some cases incredible – experiences from their draft day while comparing them to the pomp and pageantry that exists today.
Dave Robinson, linebacker, three-time NFL champion
Green Bay Packers 1st Round Pick (14th overall): NFL Draft in 1963
There was no combine in the months leading up to the 1963 project. But Dave Robinson, who had a successful university career at Penn State, had a unique advantage before the draft. Joe Paterno, who was then assistant coach of the Nittany Lions, was also a Packers scout for Vince Lombardi, who was looking for a talented linebacker before the 1963 draft.
“(Lombardi) knew how good I was,” said Robinson in an interview with CBS Sports. “Vince would call (Paterno) and ask how good it was and who played against me. Joe could rate the guy I was playing against, knowing how good I was. So Joe recommended Vince to fish me out. “
Lombardi’s academic connections were one of the reasons why he was able to build one of the greatest teams in the history of professional football. His willingness to recruit African-American players in the first round, which was rare at the time, also helped him build a team that would win five titles in seven years while serving as a pioneer in the process.
“I explained to Vince why African-Americans had never been drafted in the first three rounds,” said Robinson. “He said that in the past the south was completely separate. There were only a few schools in the north that had a lot of black ball players. Most of the white ball players went to big name schools and had good equipment and good training. ” So, therefore, if you were tempting a guy from a black school where he didn’t have good equipment or good coaching, you had to coach him.
“But when (Lombardi) drafted Herb Adderley (from Michigan State) in ’61 and I in the first round in ’63, there was no doubt that we had the best equipment and probably some of the best coaches. We had so all the white ball players had. The only difference between us, we were black and they were white. Vince was quoted as saying that he had not drafted by color, he had drafted by football ability. Can you block and attack. “
While Lombardi and the Packers had no doubts about Robinson, there was a potential problem. Robinson, originally from New Jersey, had grown up as a fan of the Giants, which he made no secret of when the Packers called his dorm to tell him that they had picked him 14th in the draft.
“I left my dorm, and when I came back, they said you got a call from the Green Bay Packers for a collect call,” said Robinson. “When I called them back, they asked me who my favorite team was. I told them New York. They laughed and asked, ‘Would you play for us if we got you back?’ I said, “I’ll play for everyone who writes me.” He laughed again and said he would get back to me.
“The next call I got was from the Harrisburg newspaper. The guy said,” How does it feel to be a first-round pick? “I said,” I don’t know. “And he said,” It just fell. The Green Bay Packers took you on the first round. “I said,” Whoa. “It was the first time it hit me.”
Before the Packers could celebrate, there was another problem: Robinson had also been drafted by the Chargers in the third round of the AFL draft. But after signing their first two draft picks, San Diego informed Robinson that if he signed with them, he would be traded to Buffalo immediately. His contract offer: two years, $ 38,000. Conversely, the Packers had the money to sign Robinson and offered him a $ 45,000 contract over two years. The decision was not really the kind; Robinson headed to Green Bay … as soon as he could find him.
“The first thing I did after that was to get a road map and search for Green Bay, Wisconsin,” said Robinson with a laugh. “I couldn’t find it. At that time, everyone who was drafted by Green Bay, the first thing they did was look for it on the map, and most of the maps did not show Green Bay. I knew it was cold there, that was it. “
At Green Bay, Robinson joined a team in pursuit of his third consecutive championship. In a twist of fate, it was the childhood team of the Giants Robinson that ended up winning the NFL title this season. While partially blamed for the Packers’ shortcomings this season, Robinson would help Green Bay win three consecutive NFL titles, including victories in Super Bowls I and II.
“I walked in with Vince for the pre-game walk (before Super Bowl I,” recalls Robinson. “Vince said,” Look at this. “I looked around and said,” What do you mean? “He said,” Look at it on the field, how it is decorated. Football is far from the cow fields we played in. “I said,” Yes, coach, I guess yes. “I just giggled a little. If he saw what it was today, with all the glamor and all the excitement of the show and all the shows, he would probably have a heart attack. I never imagined it would get as big as it is, and I don’t think it did either. “
Billy Joe Dupree, 3-time close final of the Pro Bowl, Super Bowl champion
Choice of Dallas Cowboys in 1st round (20th overall): NFL Draft in 1973
Unlike most draft picks, Bud Dupree did not expect pins and needles during his draft day. Dupree, a Michigan construction management major who was preparing to graduate in the winter of 1973, had higher priorities.
“On the draft day, I was basically more interested in going to class than I expected someone to call me,” said Dupree, who aspired to become a civil engineer after graduation. “I got home from class around 3:30 p.m., 4:00 p.m., and my wife said this guy by the name of Gil Brandt called, and said he would call back.”
About 20 minutes later, Brandt called again.
“The first thing that came out of Gil’s mouth was,” Hey, congratulations, Billy Joe! Aren’t you excited? We just saw you in the first round. “I said,” Who are you really? He said, “I’m Gil Brandt from the Dallas Cowboys. We won the Super Bowl last year. “I said,” It’s great, but what can I do for you? “He said,” Well, we were hoping you and your agent would come down and would talk about a contract. “
Shortly after his first conversation with Brandt, Dupree and his agent met Brandt in Dallas to discuss his contract. Unlike today, Dupree era players had little or no leverage when it came to negotiating contracts. After about 30 minutes of conversation, the Dupree agent informed his client of the Cowboys’ offer: $ 30,000 a year, about $ 10 less than Chuck Foreman, the first offensive player caught in the 73 draft, had received from the Vikings. While his agent was reluctant, Dupree accepted the offer.
“Mr. Brandt, we’re going to take what’s on the table,” Dupree recalls at the end of his negotiations. “But, I want you to understand … you made a comment that I wasn’t going to be able to make the team. I’ll tell you what. I’m going to make the team, and I’m going to do well, and when I come back to see you, whatever I ask, below the market, at the market, above the market, that’s what I anticipate. “
Dupree delivered, starting all 14 games as a rookie while receiving rookie of the year consideration. This next off-season, he and the Cowboys negotiated a five-year contract. And although he never planned to play past five, Dupree, who won three consecutive Pro Bowl selections from 1976 to 1978, played 11 seasons for the Cowboys while helping Dallas win three titles. NFC and a Super Bowl at the end of the 1977 season.
“I just started having so much fun after this second Super Bowl, I just lost track of time,” said Dupree. “I’m a country boy, and all the thrills (that come with playing in the NFL) really have a lot of impact or impression on me. I had a different personality type that got into the NFL as opposed to the average guy. It was a job, nothing more, nothing less. But I loved the job. “
As a rookie, Dupree was asked to do something that no NFL player would be asked to do today.
“(Tom) Landry started my first year as a rookie,” said Dupree, “but he wanted to develop a new system, so he started calling parts from the sideline, so I became Western Union boy .
“From time to time, I played with Roger (Staubach) and Roger called time out. I guess it may be the third time it has happened, I have a guy who called one of my friends and said to me, “Hey, every time you go into the game and give Roger a game, he calls time out. What’s going on, are you forgetting the game? I said: “No, Roger didn’t want to play the game, so he called a timeout.” “
It didn’t take long for Dupree to establish himself as one of the best tight ends of his time, a priceless member of a Cowboy football era who earned the nickname “America’s Team”.
“The attitude we developed was, no matter what the score, if we have enough time on the clock to overcome it, that’s what we’ll be working with,” said Dupree of the Cowboy football era. “Never enter a game thinking you are going to lose. Play a game thinking about the number of points you are going to win, then start doing it.”
Today Dupree sits on the board of the Pro Football Retired Players Association, an association “exclusively designed to develop programs and benefits for the improvement of retired NFL players”. The association currently offers dental and visual insurance to retired players.
“We are always looking for new ways to support the guys,” said Dupree. “Hopefully in the future, we can perpetuate this thing so that it is much more self-sufficient and offers many more benefits to former players.”
Mike Haynes, Hall of Fame BC, Super Bowl Champion, NFL 100th Anniversary Team Member
1st England Patriots’ first round pick (fifth overall): 1976 NFL Draft
While Joe Burrow left question marks over his level of desire to be drafted by the Bengals with the No. 1 overall choice, Mike Haynes said nothing about his desire not to be the best player selected during from the 1976 draft. After helping Arizona State remain unbeaten in 1975, Haynes had no interest in being drafted by Tampa Bay or Seattle, the two NFL expansion teams in 1976.
“I spent a lot of time talking to the general manager (of the Seahawks) about not taking me,” recalls Hayes. “He should probably take a quarterback or a ball carrier, not a defensive back.”
When Hayes finally got his wish, the team that drafted him, the New England Patriots, started a 3-11 season.
“So I think,” Wow, I wonder what’s really different between going to a team that has won only three games and a team that has just started, “said Hayes.” They quickly educated me and said they had a really good team and they had been lucky the previous year with injuries and felt like they were going to have a great year this year and that I would be able to help with this. “
The Patriots did not sell a bean hill in Hayes. Less than a year later, New England was at a penalty point for being in the AFC Championship game, a game that Hayes said he would not have played if the Patriots had won the eventual Raiders champion during the division round. Hayes, a Pro Bowler during his rookie season, suffered a leg injury while playing wrestling with the son of Patriots head coach Chuck Fairbanks on the eve of the game.
“During the night, my calf swelled up like you wouldn’t believe,” said Hayes, “and I didn’t think I was going to play, and I really shouldn’t have played. I think if the Raiders had Knowing I was injured, we would have been killed. But because I came in and did what I could – I couldn’t run 100%, I don’t even think I could run 60% – but because I played so well the first time we played, they didn’t challenge me. I couldn’t play other games after that. I couldn’t run for more When the next season started, it was just when I started running I couldn’t do anything. It was really crazy of me to do it, but I felt I owed it to my team. “
Ironically, it was the Raiders who gave Hayes’ career a much-needed rebirth in 1983, a season that saw Hayes and the Patriots in a bind when it came to his contract. After spending the first half of the season, Al Davis called Hayes to inform him that the Raiders were going to get him before the trade deadline. And although no agreement was reached before the deadline, Davis called Hayes again to inform him that they had actually traded for his services and told him to pack for Los Angeles.
But upon arriving in Los Angeles, Hayes learned that the NFL had canceled the trade. Hayes decided to take the case to court, where a solution was quickly found.
“In the courtroom, the judge wanted to hear the case, and I don’t think the NFL was really ready to open his books to show what the teams were doing and things like that,” said Hayes. “We set a date but we went straight out of the courtroom. The two sides looked at each other there, and the lawyers said,” We will settle this. “I can’t repeat the exact words they said, but we shook hands right there, and they said, ‘We’ll work on the draft choices and details later, but Mike, you’re a Raider.’ “
Hayes served as the missing piece in the Raider Championship puzzle. Less than three months after joining the team, Hayes helped the Raiders defeat the Seahawks – the team he convinced him not to rescue him seven years earlier – in the AFC championship game to win a confrontation against the defending Super Bowl champion Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII. With Hayes patrolling on one side of the field and All-Pro cornerback Lester Hayes on the other side, Los Angeles eliminated the favorite Redskins while producing one of the most shocking results in Super Bowl history: a 38-9 win that gave the Raiders their third Super Bowl victory in eight years.
“When I watched these guys warm up, I just didn’t feel like they respected us at all,” said Hayes, who recorded an interception in the Raiders’ sweeping victory. “Everyone we played, they seemed to have an idea of who we were and the kind of game we played. They didn’t do it. I thought it must have been because they had beat the Raiders earlier (in the season). When we came back to the locker room before our second outing, we were definitely a different team. We were going to stay focused until the last whistle. There was no doubt that this match was going to be a battle. We were all 100% prepared for it.
“It was a great game. It was a good feeling. I had never felt that before.”
Hayes, considered one of the greatest cornerbacks of all time, says he would have loved to have played in the NFL today. Regarding the project, Hayes would also have appreciated the modern hoopla which has just been a first round choice.
“It was a very short conversation (when I was drafted),” said Hayes, who was actually asleep when the Patriots drafted him earlier in the morning. “Just, ‘Congratulations, you’ve just been drafted by the New England Patriots. Wait for the press.’ Then they put the phone on the speaker, and I started getting questions from journalists.
“Nothing like today when they put you on the plane. They took you to New York, they introduced you to the commissioner … staying in a nice hotel on Park Avenue. And then the next day , you’re with your family and you “all sat in a room waiting to hear your name and then you shake the commissioner’s hand and all that. It would have been a really nice way to do it. I would have liked them to do it as they do today. That’s really nice. “