Sports Illustrated MMQB Hypothetical Draft

[SeahawkFever]

I found an archived article in the Wayback Machine that used to be on Sports Illustrated’s website where 12 people drafted NFL teams. It went 26 rounds and 312 picks counting head coaches.

The whole article can be found here: https://web.archive.org/web/20210620020 ... sults.html

Out of curiosity, which team do you think is the best one they came up with?

I should note that the coaches were drafted in inverse order to how the other 25 rounds were selected.

The 12 resulting teams were the following (players are listed in the order the person picked them):

Team 1:
LB - Lawrence Taylor
QB - Roger Staubach
DE - Bruce Smith
DT - Randy White
WR - Paul Warfield
OT - Forrest Gregg
OG - Gene Upshaw
LB - Mike Singletary
C - Dermontti Dawson
S - Ken Houston
CB - Emmitt Thomas
OT - Dan Dierdorf
CB - Jack Butler
DT - Warren Sapp
DE - Ed Sprinkle
S - Willie Wood
LB - Chris Hanburger
OG - Alan Faneca
RB - Hugh McElhenney
TE - Shannon Sharpe
RB - Larry Csonka
WR - Andre Reed
WC-RB George McAfee
K - Matt Stover
P - Horace Gillom
Coach - John Madden

Team 2:
DT - Joe Greene
DE - Gino Marchetti
DT - Bob Lilly
CB - Deion Sanders
LB - Ted Hendricks
OT - Jim Parker
CB - Mel Blount
OG - Mike Munchak
P - Sammy Baugh
QB - Brett Favre
RB - Eric Dickerson
TE - Dave Casper
C - Mel Hein
OT - Ron Yary
WR - Mac Speedie
K - Paul Hornung
WR - Cliff Branch
RB - Bronko Nagurski
LB - Tommy Nobis
OG - Stan Jones
LB - Robert Brazille
S - Bobby Dillon
DE - Tombstone Jackson
S - Johnny Robinson
WC-RB - Tony Dorsett
Coach - Curly Lambeau

Team 3:
QB - Johnny Unitas
DE - Deacon Jones
LB - Dick Butkus
LB - Jack Ham
LB - Bobby Bell
WR - Lance Alworth
OT - Art Shell
RB - LaDainian Tomlinson
S - Emlen Tunnell
S - Kenny Easley
OG - Will Shields
CB - Darrell Green
DT - John Randle
OT - Bob St. Clair
OG - Randall McDaniel
TE - Antonio Gates
DT - Gene Lipscomb
RB - Roger Craig
CB - Ty Law
K - Morten Andersen
P - Jerrell Wilson
C - Kevin Mawae
WR - Michael Irvin
DE - Neil Smith
KR - Billy “White Shoes” Johnson
Coach - Paul Brown

Team 4:
P - Ray Guy
TE - Kellen Winslow
LB - Ray Nitschke
K - Jan Stenerud
QB - Terry Bradshaw
OT - Bruce Matthews
OG - Larry Little
CB - Mike Haynes
RB - Joe Perry
CB - Willie Brown
S - Mel Renfro
S - Larry Wilson
DE - Fred Dean
LB - Dave Wilcox
C - Jim Langer
ST - Steve Tasker
LB - Tom Jackson
OG - Billy Shaw
DE - Jacob Green
RB - Bo Jackson
WR - Charlie Joiner
WR - John Jefferson
OT - Bruiser Kinard
DT - Gary Johnson
OT - Russ Washington
Coach - Don Coryell

Team 5:
OT - Anthony Munoz
WR - Jerry Rice
S - Ed Reed
OG - Larry Allen
C - Dwight Stephenson
RB - Marshall Faulk
DT - Curley Culp
QB - Aaron Rodgers
LB - Von Miller
TE - Tony Gonzalez
DE - Howie Long
CB - Aenas Williams
LB - Andre Tippett
RB - John Henry Johnson
KR - Devin Hester
LB - Randy Gradishar
OG - Steve Hutchinson
DE - Elvin Bethea
CB - Richard Sherman
WR - Marvin Harrison
LB - Harry Carson
OT - Mike Kenn
K - Nick Lowery
S - Nolan Cromwell
Coach - Bill Belichick

Team 6:
RB - Jim Brown
RB - Walter Payton
OG - John Hannah
LB - Derrick Thomas
CB - Rod Woodson
OT - Johnathan Ogden
DT - Arnie Weinmeister
OG - Tom Mack
CB - Charles Woodson
DE - Doug Atkins
OT - Rayfield Wright
WR - Randy Moss
DE - Chris Doleman
LB - Derrick Brooks
S - Cliff Harris
DT - Joe Klecko
S - Donnie Shell
LB - Chuck Howley
WR - Terrell Owens
QB - Troy Aikman
P - Shane Lechler
C - Travis Frederick
K - Justin Tucker
TE - Greg Olsen
DE - Jason Taylor
Coach - Tom Landry

Team 7:
DE - Reggie White
S - Ronnie Lott
DE - Lee Roy Selmon
LB - Junior Seau
WR - Calvin Johnson
OT - Walter Jones
CB - Lem Barney
OT - Orlando Pace
TE - Rob Gronkowski
QB - Dan Marino
C - Mike Webster
WR - Julio Jones
RB - Marcus Allen
LB - Rickey Jackson
LB - Luke Kuechly
LB - DeMarcus Ware
CB - Willie Buchanon
RB - Cookie Gilchrist
OG - Zack Martin
LB - Hardy Brown
S - LeRoy Butler
K/P - Tommy Davis
DT - Pat Williams
WR - James Lofton
OG - Walt Kiesling
Coach - Joe Gibbs

Team 8:
WR - Don Hutson
QB - Peyton Manning
LB - Willie Lanier
LB - Joe Schmidt
WR - Raymond Berry
OT - Ron Mix
C - Jim Otto
RB - Jim Taylor
DE - Jack Youngblood
S - Paul Krause
CB - Roger Werhli
TE - Charlie Sanders
RB - Emmitt Smith
LB - Dave Robinson
OT - Lou Groza
S - Jack Christiansen
LB - Cornelius Bennett
DE - Andy Robustelli
OG - Dick Stanfel
DT - Ernie Stautner
K - Jason Hanson
OG - Danny Fortmann
OT - Ray Childress
CB - Patrick Peterson
P - Sean Landeta
Coach - Don Shula

Team 9:
QB - Tom Brady
RB - Gale Sayers
LB - Jack Lambert
CB - Night Train Lane
DE - J.J. Watt
OT - Joe Thomas
C/LB - Chuck Bednarik
OT - Gary Zimmerman
DE - Carl Eller
DT - Dan Hampton
S - Troy Polamalu
CB - Lester Hayes
WR - Steve Largent
OG - Joe DeLamielleure
LB - Kevin Greene
DT - Bryant Young
WR - Larry Fitzgerald
TE - Jason Witten
RB - Franco Harris
SP - Steve Gleason
S - Brian Dawkins
K - Adam Vinatieri
OG - Bob Kuechenberg
P - Andy Lee
RB/KR - Darren Sproles
Coach - Chuck Noll

Team 10:
QB - Otto Graham
RB - Barry Sanders
DT - Merlin Olsen
RB - Earl Campbell
DE - Charles Haley
DT - Cortez Kennedy
TE - Mike Ditka
DE - Richard Dent
C - Mick Tinglehoff
OT - Jackie Slater
CB - Champ Bailey
CB - Darrelle Revis
S - Jack Tatum
OT - Mike McCormick
LB - George Connor
S - John Lynch
LB - Patrick Willis
OG - Ed Budde
LB - Les Richter
OG - Howard Mudd
P - Reggie Roby
WR - Cris Carter
K - John Carney
WR - Tim Brown
WR - Bobby Mitchell
Co-coaches: Marv Levy and Tony Dungy

Team 11:
QB - Joe Montana
RB - O.J. Simpson
DT - Alan Page
RB - Jim Thorpe
DE - Willie Davis
OT - Roosevelt Brown
OT - Bob Brown
C - Jim Ringo
CB - Herb Adderley
OG - Gene Hickerson
OG - Jerry Kramer
WR - Art Monk
WR - Bob Hayes
DT - Jerome Brown
TE - Ozzie Newsome
DE - Claude Humphrey
DT - Leo Nomellini
CB - Albert Lewis
S - Joey Browner
LB - Bill Willis
K/P - Don Cockroft
S - Steve Atwater
LB - Brian Urlacher
LB - Wilber Marshall
WR - Isaac Bruce
Coach - Bill Walsh

Team 12:
QB - John Elway
RB - Lenny Moore
LB - Ray Lewis
RB - Marion Motley
DE - Len Ford
OT - Willie Roaf
TE - John Mackey
DT - Buck Buchanan
DE - Michael Strahan
CB - Jimmy Johnson
WR - Otis Taylor
LB - George Webster
P- Yale Lary
OT - Al Wistert
C - Bulldog Turner
LB - Maxie Baughan
DT - Art Donovan
OG - Russ Grimm
CB - Dick LeBeau
OT - Lou Creekmur
WR - John Stallworth
K - Gary Anderson
S - Rodney Harrison
RB/KR - Willie Galimore
RB/KR - Steve Van Buren
Coach - Vince Lombardi

[Reaser]

John was part of that. Should be a thread on here somewhere with everyone's thoughts.

[conace21]

Here is the previous thread


viewtopic.php?t=4415

As I recall, I really liked John Turney's team, and was not particularly enthusiastic about Team Fouts..

[SeahawkFever]

Here is the previous thread


viewtopic.php?t=4415

As I recall, I really liked John Turney's team, and was not particularly enthusiastic about Team Fouts..

Wasn’t aware of that thread, thank you for pointing it out to me.

Turney’s team is Team 5, and Fouts’ team is Team 4.

Also, no knock on Ray Guy, but if you are trying to make the best possible all-time team you can, why would you use your first pick on a punter? A kicker in round four also feels early in a draft like that.

[74_75_78_79_]

Imagine if after the draft, trades can be made! This way, you can be like Ozzie Newsome and pick strictly on who you think the best available player is regardless of position (have everyone ranked ahead of time before picking).

And then, after the trade deadline, determine who the best teams are.

This exercise is really a discipline to be greatly appreciated. To be a Fantasy Football contender takes more than enough skill. But this...it's almost as if it takes the brain-power, maybe, to be a Chess Master! To pick a great team and, even better, be allowed to make trades and come up with the better team after that...

If all of us posters here would have a 'draft' (and then trades), very sure-enough I'd have the worst roster. And definitely worse than Fouts. That said, though, I didn't actually labor through all the rosters still. So though maybe I'd see Turney's as Numero Uno, maybe I'd see good playoff potential in Team Fouts. #14's a much more knowledgeable football historian than I either way, of course.

That he picking Ray Guy at #1 due to his own experience still sticks well with me though. Or at least I see it as wise ONLY if you knew, for sure, ahead of time that no one else would actually pick him anytime soon which, I'd guess, would be the case. So, I guess, pick him later. But what round then?? You GOT to have Ray Guy on your team!

See? Just a serious difficult exercise. To pick the 'best' team in a 'league' - or a 'playoff' team - is Chess-brain stuff!

And, end of day, only God can decide/know the rankings!

How do you even do a computer/fantasy simulation of every regular season, playoff, and League Championship 'game' between each team??

I wonder what Jaworski's team would have been?

And Last...but not Least,,,T.J. Troup's!!

And the late-Rupert's, etc, etc, etc...

A regular-sized team roster, a full-sized coaching staff (head and every assistant), all special-teams starters...make TRADES, and then's all's SET! That's the way it should be.