When Atlanta unearthed future Hall of Famer Brett Favre in second round of 1991 NFL Draft
Every year, the NFL draft is full of "what if" stories.
Tales of the one that got away, passing on that future Hall of Fame star, and settling for the combine monster. If that player is a franchise quarterback, the ramifications for the teams that pass on him can haunt them for decades.
What would the Jets give to travel back to 2000 and select Tom Brady rather than Chad Pennington? Or, more recently, the Chicago Bears, trading up from third to second and deciding that Mitch Trubisky was a better option than Patrick Mahomes.
The pain, and those feelings of regret, take a long time to dissipate. There can surely be no worse feeling for a team.
Well, except one.
You could draft a future HOF and Super Bowl-winning quarterback and then trade him after his rookie season. But no franchise in their right mind would ever be stupid enough to do such a thing, right?
Enter the '91 Atlanta Falcons.
Falcons fumble a Hall of Fame quarterback
Brett Favre on Draft Day 1991.
#TBT #Jorts
es.pn/1OFAk7w http://t.co/kaBSGMy8aN
After drafting Brett Favre with the 33rd overall pick of the 1991 NFL draft, the Falcons traded the quarterback to the Green Bay Packers after just one season.
But why?
Brett Favre: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
Brett Favre is a Southern Mississippi University legend, but when he initially committed to USM, it was through necessity, as they were the D1 team to offer him a spot on their roster. To make matters worse, they wanted him to play defensive back. But Favre was insistent that he was a quarterback.
After starting his freshman season as the seventh string quarterback, he was entrenched as the starter by the midpoint, a position that he would not relinquish. In four years at USM. Favre broke numerous records and lead the Golden Eagles to wins over powerhouses such as Auburn and Florida State.
Favre showcased his talents during his time in Mississippi; unfortunately, he also displayed multiple red flags. By the time the '91 draft rolled around, it was already common knowledge that he had issues with alcohol abuse, once turning up for a game hangover and vomiting on the field before leading his team to a comeback win.
Those issues nearly ended his life in 1990, when he was driving while intoxicated and flipped his car. He was rushed to emergency surgery and lost 30cm of his intestines. His problems with addiction are something he would struggle with his entire life, and this was enough to dissuade several teams, including the Seahawks, from drafting him.
Explore the 2024 NFL Draft with our free Mock Draft Simulator. Take charge of your preferred NFL team as if you were the GM, engaging in an immersive experience of mock drafting and strategic decision-making.
A year in Atlanta
The Falcons front office was delighted after landing Favre in the second round, believing they had found their guy for the next decade or two. But there was one dissenting voice, and unfortunately, it belonged to Atlanta head coach Jerry Glanville, who was vehemently against selecting the future Hall of Famer, claiming It would take a plane crash for him to put Favre into the game.
Favre would infamously only attempt four throws during his time with the Falcons and threw two interception, including a pick-6 on his first NFL pass against the Washington Redskins.
After the '91 season, the Green Bay Packers sent a first-round pick to the Falcons to acquire Favre, who managed to resurrect the ailing franchise. He spent 16 seasons with The Pack, reaching the playoffs on 11 occasions and leading them to victory in Super Bowl XXXI, their first since 1967.
The '91 Atlanta Falcons and the QBs that came after Favre
The Southern Mississippi alumni went on to create his legacy in Wisconsin, but what of the team that let him slip through their fingers?
In 1991 Falcons, under the stewardship of Glanville, recorded their first winning season in nine years, making the playoffs before losing out in the Divisional Round to eventual champions, the Washington Redskins.
Their QB1 that season was Chris Miller, whom Atlanta had selected 13th overall in 1987. Before the start of the season, Miller had been considered a bust, putting together a dreadful record of 11-31. However, the Oregan star had a career year in 1991, perhaps spurred by Favre's presence, throwing for over 3000 yards with 26 touchdowns and 18 interceptions and delivering four game-winning drives.
It would be Miller's only winning season with the Falcons, and he was gone by 1994. He was one of 16 quarterbacks that Atlanta would cycle through during Favre's time in Green Bay, equating to exactly one per season. But it certainly wasn't a complete who's who of average journeymen plying their trade in Georgia.
Before the 2001 draft, the Falcons moved to the top of the board and would end up drafting Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick. The electrifying signal-caller had set the pre-draft process ablaze after recording a time of 4.33 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
Vick is probably the most elusive quarterback in the league's history and was the first to rush for over 1000 yards in a season. While in Atlanta, he took them to an NFC Championship game and was named to the Pro Bowl on three occasions.
Unfortunately for Vick, he was beset by off-field issues that would derail his career and eventually see him suspended from the league for two seasons and complete a custodial prison sentence. This was another case of what might have been for the snake-bitten Falcons.
They did manage to make it to the Super Bowl in 1998, this time with QB Chris Chandler under center, but lost out to the Denver Broncos. Chandler was a journeyman QB, who was familiar with the offense being run in Atlanta and managed to catch lightning in a bottle for a couple of seasons, but he was no Brett Favre.
The NFL is full of sliding door moments for every team but giving away one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time will take some beating.