Quote:To a certain extent he was just lucky. He tried to trade for Enis and got Fred Taylor as a consolation prize. He had Kenyatta Walker rated ahead of Stroud, but changed his mind at the last minute (although we needed an OT more than a DT). The same with Henderson vs. Haynesworth.


 

Soward was a disaster.


Wynn was a mediocre DL at best.


Hardy was a reach at #2.


Bryant was a very good corner until the league figured out that he had no ball sense and couldn't defend against a pass even though his coverage was very tight.

Soward was the first draft pick pinned directly on the lapel of Gene Smith. He was named the director of college scouting and this was the first of many, many ridiculous Gene Smith glaring red flag picks. Don't blame Tom Coughlin for this one. It was Gene Smith manipulating the local media all the way. Just look at the string of R. Jay Soward's we got AFTER Tom was gone. 

 

Renaldo Wynn was hardly a mediocre defensive tackle. He played twelve years of veteran pro football. He was chopped down by the dirty, nasty Broncos with a blind-side cut block from behind and broke his leg. Renaldo came back and was named a team captain shortly after he signed with Washington and became an immediate starter for the Redskins. Twelve years is a lot for a so called mediocre defensive lineman.

 

Kevin Hardy was an exceptionally talented linebacker for Illinois. No one ever said he was a reach. Kevin and college team mate Simone Rice went two and three in the 1996 draft way ahead of some Ray Lewis guy from the Miami Hurricanes. Kevin was named to the NFL All-Rookie team. He had ten and a half sacks in 1999 to lead all AFC linebackers. He was a big part of the Tom Coughlin Jaguars' team that went to TWO AFC title games in the 1990s, including a 14-2 season and a PRO BOWL appearance for Kevin.

 

Kevin blew out his knee in 2001, but still signed a one year deal with Dallas. He moved on to Cincinnati where they experimented on him by moving him to middle linebacker.

 

Fernando Bryant (round 1, # 26) was a most appropriate pick for the bottom of the first round in 1999. 10 years in the NFL is nothing to sneeze at.

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