For the Cleveland Browns, the NFL draft has been a minefield of problems. Just in this century, there are clear arguments about which are the worst selections that the team has made. The Browns have made some great picks, including OT Joe Thomas and DE Myles Garrett.
One “could have been” scenario in Cleveland draft history is QB Eli Manning. There have been stories about the then-Browns coach Butch Davis trying to work with Erni Accorsi to move up to the fourth pick, with a shot at moving that selection
to acquire Manning. There were a lot of QBs involved in the 2004 NFL draft, including Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger, whose careers could have looked a lot different with a few moves. (Barry Shuck broke the details down previously)
Manning spoke on the “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast about his decisions around not getting drafted by the San Diego Chargers, how his dad took the brunt of the blame (despite not being in favor of Eli’s request not to play for the Chargers), and other teams involved in the pursuit.
As noted by Pro Football Talk, the Browns were the team that Manning’s agent expected him to be traded to:
When the possibility of a trade came up, Condon told Manning the Chargers were going to trade him to the Browns, and he didn’t want to go there, either. Fortunately for Manning, ultimately the Giants and Chargers made a deal, and Manning won two Super Bowl MVPs in New York.
Manning talked about what his real motivation was, including the Pittsburgh Steelers being the other team, along with the New York Giants, that he wanted to play for:
In the 2004 draft, Davis ended up trading up one spot to select TE Kellen Winslow Jr.
How do you think Manning’s career would have played out had Davis and the Browns been able to acquire him on draft night?
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