Sticking with the spirit of the post, you have to consider O'Brien was taken over Marino. Nobody except the Jets had heard of O'Brien whereas Marino was highly touted. O'Brien was good but not great. Thomas was considered by most a top pick at the time.
You are absoloutely correct. And just to add a very telling point. Jimmy Johnson on the Fox Pregame the week that Emmitt retired mentioned how Emmitt Smith should be considered the "Diamond in the Ruff" of all draft picks, becuase there was much disention in the war room about drafting him. Fox then showed the RB's selected that year and one of the trolls at the podium commented regarding the Jets pick of Blair Thoimas and Johnson without hesitation said that if he had the pick the Jets did he would have picked Thomas as well.
Rumors were rampant about Marino and drug use before the draft. O'Brien although from a small school was seen as a better QB by several teams not just the Jets. As for worst pick it's Blair Thomas.
Wow the thought of Ken O'Brien never entered my mind, granted we passed on Marino but with that OL Kenny had Marino never would have been the great QB was. Ya never know if Kenny goes to Miami we might be saying " we passed on O'Brien for Marino. I would say just based on where he was drafted Jeff Lageman might be the worst 1st round draft pick of all time. He definately was a good player with us but he never warranted being drafted with the 14th overall pick. We passed on both Andre Rison and Steve Atwater for Jeff. I remembr Kiper giving the same speech for Lageman that he did for the Bills when they drafted John McCargo this year. Clearly a guy the Jets could have gotten in the 2nd or 3rd round. Johnny Mitchell also gets honorable mention as there were some pretty good players taken after Mitchell. The reason he isn't #1 was because he was supposed to be very good coming out of college. Great speed, good hands, who knew he was afraid to get hit?
Blair Thomas was heavily misused by Coslet, possibly one of the worst coaches we ever had. He made one mistake and was in the doghouse from that day on. While he wasn't the toughest guy, his numbers as a rookie weren't terrible. Fact of the matter is the Jets didn't really do much to help him develop. Dave Cadigan was pretty awful. Lam Jones was REALLY awful. Kyle Brady was probably as bad as both. Probably the worst Jets picks were not ones, but twos and threes. Rick Terry never played an NFL down. Dorian Boose, Coleman Rudolph...ecch. We took Alex Van Dyke ahead of Muhsin Muhammad, Terrell Owens, and Amani Toomer.
great post. Lam Jones could be one of the worst picks in the history of the NFL. At least Blair Thomas gave something. I agree totally with your post. good one.
Thank you for pointing this out. I feel Bruce Coslett ruined whatever chance Blair Thomas had. Who takes a running back third in the draft then buries him on the bench? In 1990, it wasn't like the Jets were going to be good. Why not hand the ball to your new stud and see what happens.? How many times did Blair ever get 20 carries in a game? What did Coslet accomplish with his approach to Thomas?(and O'Brien, and Terrance Mathis,)
Hope this post isn't so long it puts people to sleep - last year I put together this team of Jets draft busts and posted it on a UK board. Hope you get some enjoyment out of it... With the draft fast approaching I have put together a team that should serve as a warning to anyone who is looking for instant Pro Bowlers on draft day. This team is composed (almost) entirely of Jets draft picks from rounds 1 to 3 – in other words, the picks who are expected to contribute in some way to the team and, hopefully, develop into solid starters. In order to fill the team out a few later round picks have been squeezed in (the round they were taken in is shown in brackets). It is also extremely likely than in my brief research I have missed some other clunkers, or picked some players badly out of position. It could also be said that putting some of these guys on a football field would qualify as playing them out of position. It struck me how awful Bill Parcells’ drafts were – right up until he did a very nice job in 2000. The worst draft I could see was a toss-up between 1986 (Mike Haight, Doug Williams, Tim Crawford, Rogers Alexander etc.) and 1990 (Blair Thomas, Reggie Rembert, Tony Stargell, Troy Taylor etc.) QB Browning Nagle The Jets wanted Brett Favre, but Atlanta took him one spot before them. Still, Nagle was a good fallback option, right? RB BLAIR THOMAS Hugely hyped college star, but never seemed to find his confidence in the pros. FB ROGER VICK A first-round pick on a fullback? Oh, those crazy Jets… WR Alex Van Dyke One season, one TD for a second-rounder. WR Reggie, Rembert 36 total career catches for this second-rounder – all for Cincinnati TE KYLE BRADY Did better for Jacksonville when he joined them. Struggled badly for the Jets LT Doug Williams Won a Super Bowl with Washington to finally dispel the myth of black quarterbacks not being able to win the big game… no, wait a minute, that was another Doug Williams. This one was cut in training camp and never played a down in the NFL. LG MIKE HAIGHT Actually had an okay career, but still disappointing for a first-round pick. C Ed McGlasson, (10) Gets sympathy for being a 10th-rounder and just about the only failed center the Jets have ever drafted. The position had to be filled, however. RG DAVE CADIGAN I feel guilty about this one. He looked good until a serious knee injury in his rookie campaign. Never fully recovered. RT Melvin Hayes (4) Four career games for a fourth-rounder. There’s something poetic about that. DE Dorian Boose Did nothing for the Jets. Went to the expansion Texans and did nothing there either. Part of the wonderful Bill Parcells draft class of 1998 DT Rick Terry Can’t find anything about him, probably because he never did anything. Part of the wonderful Bill Parcells draft class of 1997. DT Lou Benfatti A defensive tackle whose career highlight was a 25-yard kickoff return. Maybe the Jets should have converted him to defensive back. DE Coleman Rudolph A bust for the Jets, then had the gall to turn in a half-way decent four-sack season for the Giants in 1995. LB Kurt Barber Stuck around for four seasons but never translated his excellent size into productivity. LB Joe Mott Touted as an intense linebacker when at Iowa, lasted just two seasons with the Jets. LB Onzy Elam Weird name, weird draft pick. Played in 10 career games. CB Tony Stargell Kicked around the league for a while, but only stuck with the Jets for two seasons. CB Terry Williams This one is strange. In a draft where the Jets got DBs Erik McMillan, James Hasty and John Booty, they also managed to pick a complete bust in the second round – higher than any of the others! SS George Floyd (4) Needed to fill out the secondary, Floyd should have some leeway because he was a fourth-rounder and not, as far as I know, a strong safety. FS Scott Frost A project player who played quarterback in college. He actually played safety in the pros, but I still consider him more out of position here than George Floyd is at strong safety. Part of the great Bill Parcells draft class of 1998.
Great post, I was too young to really remember Lam Jones, I remember him being on the roster but not the draft. Boose was a bad pick, come to think of it Parcells didn't have great drafts with the Jets. His last draft was great but Groh was the HC then. I think every teams fans go through thsi stuff too. How many teams are kicking themselves that they passed on Coles or Cotchery or Rhodes? How many teams could haves used a Leon Washington last year? It seems that as Jet fans whenever we pass on somebody we really miss the boat. Maybe moreso than most teams
I agree with Blair Thomas being the worst pick we made (though when we picked him, I thought we had a winner) The worst First Round pick that was panned from the second we made it was Jeff Lageman in 1989. People said that he was of 4th round quality (would have easily been available in round two or maybe even three) yet we picked him in the first round. I remember when we picked him everybody went "WHO???" and then started to laugh. He wasn't that bad of a player but for a First Round pick, but we could have done better.
I remember Johnson saying this too. Actually, I remember this being mentioned in the early 90s. After the Cowboys won a few Super Bowls with Emmitt, I had a friend who would say to me, "Man, the Jets should have drafted Emmitt that year." I always admired my friend's ability to be an expert on a draft that happened five years earlier.
At least wait until next season to label him one of the worst draft picks in Jets history... Even then he isn't near the worst...
