1989 DraftBy Patrick Mondout
New Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson proved to be one of the all-time talent
evaluators and traders during his relatively short stay in Dallas. The
first future Hall of Famer he obtained, however, was as a result of the
poor finish of his predecessor (Tom Landry, who went 3-13 in his last
season). UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman was a consensus #1 pick and went on
to win three Super Bowls.
Another consensus grew around Michigan State tackle Tony Mandarich. An
incredible workout warrior, nearly everyone projected him as a 10 year Pro
Bowl left tackle and he was called the "best offensive line prospect
ever." He held out for a big contract and report less than a week
before the season started. In no shape to help the team and with no real
knowledge of offense, it was a wasted season spent mostly on special
teams.
He started at right tackle for the next two seasons but was a huge
disappointment and was beaten like a drum by opposing linemen. Injuries
and personal tragedies ended his 1992 season before it started and his
contract was not renewed by the Packers. When Sports Illustrated ran a
cover story calling him "The Incredible Bust" and blaming his
problems on steroids, many of us thought we had seen the last of
Mandarich. Once again we were wrong about Tony Mandarich.
He resurfaced in 1996 with the Indianapolis Colts and eventually became
a serviceable offensive lineman and played for three seasons. However, he
did not live up to the hype and the next three picks were either
borderline or certain Hall of Famers. He is rightly viewed as a huge draft
bust.
Oklahoma State running back Barry Sanders had one of the most
remarkable college football seasons ever in 1988. He set 25 NCAA records
and averaged over 200 yards running per game! He ran up over 3,200
yards in total offense and scored 39 touchdowns. It wasn't just that he
was putting up great numbers, it was the way he was doing it. He was the
most elusive RB I'd ever seen and was the reason I tuned in to Sports
Center on Saturday nights in the fall of 1988.
The Lions selected Sanders with the third pick overall and watched as
he ran for over 15,000 yards and scored over 100 touchdowns in a 10 year
career that included a 2,000 yard season and nine Pro Bowls. He retired
while young and healthy and could have easily topped 20,000 yards had
statistical feats been his motivation.
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Another Sanders, the flashy one, was selected by Atlanta with the fifth
pick overall. He was an immediate sensation and by the mid-1990s was
perhaps the greatest shut-down cornerback in the history of the game.
Deion, though he only played for the Falcons for five seasons, was easily
one of their best choices.
Prior to the 1989 draft, there was much debate about which of the two
unrelated Thomas's was the better linebacker prospect: Derrick of Alabama
or Broderick of Nebraska. The Kansas City Chiefs chose correctly and
Derrick Thomas went on to have a Hall of Fame type career before dying
tragically in a car accident shortly after the 1999 season.
Another elusive halfback was the subject of much speculation. Eric
Metcalf of Texas, whose father Terry had been an electrifying runner but
one who did not carry the ball enough to get 1000 yards a season, was also
thought to be too small to carry the workload in the NFL. Cleveland did
not let that deter them and traded up with Denver to get him at #13
overall. Denver was sent the #20 pick plus second- (Warren Powers) and
fifth-round (Darren Carrington) selections.
Each year there is one player who drops down the board much lower than
expected. This season it was Florida defensive back Louis Oliver. The
Broncos were once again in need of help on its porous defensive and the
experts were sure they'd pick up Oliver at the bargain position of #20.
Instead they went with Arkansas safety Steve Atwater. It was a wise choice
as Oliver turned in eight good but not great seasons while Atwater played
in eight Pro Bowls and three Super Bowls (two wins) in his 11 seasons and
is a borderline candidate for the Hall of Fame.
The Bears not only had the number 11 and 12 picks in the first round,
the ended up selecting 20 players in the 12 round draft!
Below is the first round of the 1989 NFL draft and the supplemental
draft. We also have the entire 12 round draft.
1 - Pick acquired from the Los Angeles
Raiders
2 - Pick acquired from the Washington Redskins
3 - Pick acquired from the Denver Broncos
4 - Pick acquired from the Indianapolis Colts
5 - Pick acquired from the Seattle Seahawks
6 - Pick acquired from the Cleveland Browns
7 - Pick acquired from the Philadelphia Eagles
8 - Pick acquired from the Minnesota Vikings
9 - Pick acquired from the Chicago Bears
10 - Pick acquired from the Buffalo Bills
11 - Pick acquired from the Cincinnati Bengals
Supplemental Draft
Prior to the 1989 season, a supplemental draft was held and the
following teams used their 1990 draft picks to take these players:
As Dallas used a first round supplemental pick on Steve Walsh, it gave up
what turned out to be the first pick overall in the 1990 draft. Though it
seemed a terrible decision at the time (they had just drafted Troy Aikman
#1 overall), the first two picks of the 1990 draft were underachievers QB
Jeff George and RB Blair Thomas and Dallas was able to use a pick it
received in the Herschel Walker trade (21st overall) and a third round
pick to move up and to take Emmitt Smith with the 17th overall selection.
Jimmy Johnson was also able to get a first, second, and third round pick
for Walsh from New Orleans.
The 1989 Denver Broncos badly needed a quality tailback as they had
throughout the Elway era (prior to Terrell Davis arriving as a 6th round
pick in 1995) and felt very fortunate to pick up the Crimson Tide's Bobby
Humphrey. He helped lead them to a Super Bowl in his rookie season but
drug problems derailed his promising career.
The Cardinals selection of Cougar's QB Timm Rosenbach looked like a
solid selection until he decided to give up football in 1992.
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