Bo, Elway & Eli: Leveraging the NFL Draft

ESPN Daily

ESPN

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4.6 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 18 April 2024

⏱️ 27 minutes

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Summary

Since the 2023 CFB season came to a close, USC’s Caleb Williams has been penciled in as the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The team holding that pick is the Chicago Bears, who are well known for their inability to draft and develop quarterbacks to their potential. A couple of times throughout history, top prospects have used their leverage to force their ways out of unfavorable landing spots. The stories of John Elway, Bo Jackson, and most recently Eli Manning all come to mind. Even though Caleb Williams does not look to be joining their ranks, there is still a conversation to be had about how these “can’t miss’ players can and have used their standing to buck the system and how NIL adds new leverage to that dynamic. So today, Liz Merril tells us the story of those players who manipulated their landing spots, and why you never know what will happen until “the pick is in”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Liz Merrill, the NFL draft is next week and it looks like the Chicago Bears are set to take USC's Caleb Williams with the number one overall pick.
0:07.0	But you're here today to explain how this isn't always such a cut and drive result, right? What's on the table here, Liz? This is the 20th anniversary of the 2004 draft when Eli Manning bucked the system and said, yes, I'm the number one, presumptive number one pick, and it sure
0:27.3	looks like the San Diego chargers are going to pick me, but I don't want to go to San Diego.
0:38.8	And Eli Manning expected to be the number one pick in this draft. However, Eli Manning, word out, please, San Diego with the first pick, don't draft me, maybe the New York Giants are a better fit.
0:47.0	It was supposed to be discreet.
0:51.0	Archie Manning had hoped and Eli had hoped it wouldn't get leaked and of course it did and then it sort of became a media feeding frenzy.
1:01.0	Archie as we know met with the chargers and reiterated the family position.
1:06.1	We do not want Eli to be a charger.
1:08.1	Why?
1:09.1	The manings have not detailed these issues, the wise, but clearly it is an indictment of the spaniel's family
1:14.4	that owns the charges they don't see much hope they don't see a commitment
1:19.2	why was this so important to you That had only happened twice before in the last four decades.
1:27.5	It happened in the 1980s with John Elway and Bo Jackson.
1:33.0	Both of them said that they didn't want to go to their perspective teams.
1:38.0	Baltimore selects as the first choice in the draft,
1:42.0	quarterback John Elway of Stanford.
1:45.0	We had been a discussion with him two and three months before the draft
1:48.0	that I was not going to play in Baltimore,
1:50.0	that if that came to it I was going to play baseball for the Yankees and I was
1:53.3	fortunate to have an option. Bo Jackson as we know was this incredible athlete
2:00.4	who could be one of the top players if not the top player in either sport.
2:06.0	The Buccaneers select first choice on the first round.
	...

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