Index – Sport – Twenty years ago, you couldn’t touch your side, everything turned to gold

One of the best quarterback drafts in history

It’s hardly surprising that, in addition to fans, writers also have heated debates about which was the best draft of all time in terms of managers. However, there is usually no disagreement about whether it should be 1983 or the 2004you can’t go wrong with any of them.

And to make the story even more beautiful, both times the 1/1 prospect decided that he would definitely not be in the team that can draw first in the draft!

John Elway he predicted that if he had to play for the Baltimore Colts, he would rather go play baseball, and finally the franchise (which moved to Indianapolis a year later) traded him to Denver, where after several great seasons and three losing Super Bowls, he became a champion in both the last two years of his career, and was included among the “immortals” as of the 1983 draft Jim Kelly (who played in four Super Bowls for the Bills) and Danish Marino (who was perhaps the best pass master of all time, who did not become a champion in the end).

No one from 2004 has been inducted into the Hall of Fame yet, but that will take five years after retirement, and it is quite easy to imagine that we will have three future “immortals” from here as well.

He didn’t risk much with this name

Expected to be the most promising player in the draft, he was in the spotlight throughout his amateur career, with little exaggeration. It is not enough that his father, sold for 1/2 in the 1971 player exchange Archie Manning was a great running back in the NFL himself, his brother, Peyton Manning coming in as a generational talent, he was a 1/1 in 1998 and entered the 2004 draft as the league’s MVP.

And Eli Manning attracted attention not only with his name, but also with his performance, so it was clear that he would be the 1/1 pick.

At the same time, the situation was complicated by the fact that he indicated before the player exchange that he did not wish to be a player of the San Diego Chargers with the worst record. He did not talk about the reasons, only that he came to this decision after discussing it with his family, but it was his decision, no one forced anything on him. It was later reported that Archie asked Ryan Leaf’s father for his opinion on his son’s experience in San Diego, and as a result, the Chargers were rejected.

What’s interesting about the story? Leaf was one of the most promising players in the 1998 draft, there was even a debate that he should go first instead of Peyton Manning. Then he was never able to cross his shadow, and his story became one of the biggest downfalls. According to what was said, the team did not provide much help in his personal problems, so Eli thought it better to avoid the Chargers.

Of course, there are bad tongues, who think that the New York market offered by the Giants, who were also hunting for a quarterback in the 1/4 spot, was significantly more attractive than the perspective offered by the Chargers, who were still in San Diego (now Los Angeles)…

Although Elway and Bo Jackson in his case, there was the possibility of the MLB, Manning was clearly considered only an American football player, who only has a chance to be among the best in the NFL.

However, with this name, maybe he didn’t have to worry so much that in the end things burn on his fingernails…

And then came the Chargers

Approaching the draft exactly 20 years ago, this topic clearly dominated the public discourse, until one day before the stock exchange, the news arrived that, as a result of the attacks of September 11, 2001, the American Football League and the “switch” from a sweeper (safety) post to the army Pat Tillman he lost his life during a deployment in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the Chargers still hadn’t agreed to a trade, and as we got to the opening of the event, Eli Manning still didn’t know what his fate would be – but during the lead-up, the New York crowd (because the event was held at a local theater), and the televised crowd in San Diego expressed their displeasure, as they did when Paul Tagliabue, the league’s No. 1 pick at the time, announced at 1/1 that San Diego would draft Manning.

“I’ve been blown before, on the pitch, I’m used to it, it’s the nature of things” – he answered with a small laugh about it Eli Manning.

When asked what will happen to him, he expressed his hope that hopefully a trade offer will come his way, but added that this is new territory for him and he doesn’t know exactly how these things work.

– What if the Chargers don’t trade him in the end?
– We talked with the team about my feelings, what will happen if they choose me.

The Chargers still chose him.

Manning’s ordeal didn’t last long (although teams still had a quarter of an hour between first-round picks). In fact, at the moment the New York Giants, arriving at 1/4, said it Philip Rivers name, it became clear to practically everyone that if the exchange did not work out before the start, it was only a matter of time.

There was a strong rumor that if the Giants missed out on Manning, they would rather imagine their future with Ben Roethlisberger, while the Chargers would have voted for Philip Rivers if there was no chance of another Manning.

From there, it was no surprise that the Giants took Rivers in order to trade him for Eli Manning, which happened.

The New Giants got it

He was given to the San Diego Chargers

Philip Rivers, Controller
a 2004 3rd rounder (kicker Nate Kaeding was taken)
a 2005 1st rounder (drafted rusher Shawne Marriman)
a 2005 5th round (later traded)

The most beautiful thing of all? In retrospect, it really wasn’t possible to make a big mistake!

Each player became a superstar

Manning became a two-time champion with the Giants, In Roethlisberger he also peaked twice with the Steelers, and though it didn’t end up happening either time Philip to Rivershe was perhaps even better in the game than his two rivals – together with whom they are also among the top ten passers on the all-time list in terms of yards and TD passes.

The Chargers ended up getting the Rivers they liked in the same way with this exchange, but they also got a player who performed excellently in his era, and until the end of the 2000s, he was regularly among the biggest championship contenders, even if he couldn’t overcome his shadow in the end.

Has the top 10 passing yards in NFL history

Tom Brady 89,214
Drew Brees 80,358
Peyton Manning 71,940
Brett Favre 71,838
Ben Roethlisberger 64,088
Philip Rivers 63,440
Matt Ryan 62,792
Dan Marino 61,361
Aaron Rodgers 59,055
Eli Manning 57,023

He is the quarterback with the 10 most touchdown passes in NFL history

Tom Brady 649
Drew Brees 571
Peyton Manning 539
Brett Favre 508
Aaron Rodgers 475
Philip Rivers 421
Dan Marino 420
Ben Roethlisberger 418
Matt Ryan 381
Eli Manning 366

In this player exchange, excellent players were also sold, such as his second on the all-time list with 17,492 receiving yards and sixth with 121 TD catches Larry Fitzgerald, finishing with 11,438 rushing yards and 69 TD runs Steven Jacksonseventh with 1,077 installations Carlos Dansby12th with 136 sacks. Jared Allen, or the one with 43 interceptions DeAngelo Hall.

And it wasn’t just the introduction of the draft about a safety who died young, the 1/5 Sean Taylor he broke into the league with great success, he also led the league in steals in the 2007 season, he was preparing for his second Pro Bowl appearance, when he was broken into, shot, and died of his injuries the next day.

This is what awaits us in the next few days

The 2024 Player Exchange will be held from April 25 to 27 in Detroit. The first round will be held at 2 a.m. Hungarian time on Friday, the teams have 10 minutes to announce their choice, if this is not done in time, they will slip and can overtake. This is not unprecedented, but it rarely happens.

The second and third rounds will be held on Saturday from one o’clock, at which point only seven minutes are available, and, like the first day, they will end roughly around six-thirty to six o’clock.

The 4-7. round on Saturday from 6 p.m., and although there is only five minutes of thinking time left, the event still ends around midnight.

Arena4 will provide live coverage of the player exchange, and you can also follow the first day with Hungarian commentary on Net4+.

The 32 teams are ranked opposite to the results of the previous season, so the worst performer at the beginning of the rounds and the champion at the end, but due to various exchanges these orders may change, for example, 1/1 as a result of last year’s exchange instead of the Carolina Panthers it will belong to the Chicago Bears.

Just as the Bears, the following Washington Commanders and the New England Patriots have the biggest shortage position is the quarterback, so it is very much in the deck that all three will draft a QB.

The most likely Caleb Williams He is considered a 1/1 pick, but Jayden Daniels and Drake May his name is also included in the deck.

All three players are highly regarded by the experts, but whether they can grow up to the management class of 2004 and 1983 is still the music of the future…