2023 NFL Draft: Revisiting top 5 freezing cold takes from Skip Bayless feat. Cam Newton
The NFL Draft, more than any other single event on the NFL calendar, ages like milk in the Mojave desert. After a year, the majority of the players chosen are either on their way out of the league or facing one of their last opportunities. Five years later, many of the top picks once lauded are found left in the dust.
Alongside the players, those who pounded the table for them often get roasted and mocked for believing what they did about the player. Skip Bayless, one of the longest-running opinion-spewers in the business, has seen more than a few hot takes get thrown to the darkside of the moon shortly after Draft Day. Here's a look at five of the worst-aged beliefs of the pundit:
#5 - Paxton Lynch and Cardale Jones over Dak Prescott
In retrospect, this could be the worst take of the pundit's career. Luckily, he wasn't the one at the controls to make the selection at the 2016 NFL Draft. Otherwise, the team could have fallen into the same hole the Denver Broncos are currently in. In 2023, Lynch and Jones are completely off the NFL radar. Lynch can't even hold a job in the XFL.
Luckily, Jerry Jones went against the grain laid out by Skip Bayless. Otherwise, the infamous seemingly impossible bar of winning two consecutive playoff games would be the least of the team's worries in the post-Romo era.
Jerry Jones is covering backside by regretting not landing Paxton Lynch? He should be more worried about taking Dak Prescott over Cardale.
#4 - Tim Tebow over Andrew Luck
While Andrew Luck ultimately didn't last forever in the league, he did quickly become one of the best quarterbacks for the Colts in their history. Had he been able to stay healthy, the Colts likely would have continued to run their division. When healthy, Luck led the team to a 53-33 record and threw for 171 touchdowns and 83 interceptions.
Meanwhile, Tim Tebow, for his one playoff win against the Pittsburgh Steelers with the Denver Broncos, soon found himself on a quick path to exiting the league. He went 8-6 and threw for 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Aside from a brief cameo with Urban Meyer's Jacksonville Jaguars, his career ended after the 2012 season.
I KNOW what Tebow can do in the NFL. I've seen it over/over/over. I'm not sure what Andrew Luck can do or if he has Tebow's It Factor
#3 - Von Miller overrated as No. 2 overall draft pick
In 2023, anyone calling the pass rusher's career overrated has not done their homework or watched the sport as long as they should have. During draft season in 2011, Bayless claimed the pass rusher was not going to live up to his draft stock, even claiming he wouldn't be the best player on the team.
However, despite getting Peyton Manning, one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, the pass rusher did get a certain kind of MVP. After destroying Cam Newton in Super Bowl 50, he earned a Super Bowl MVP. Most Denver fans agree that during the course of his time in Denver, especially in the post-Manning era, he was the face of their franchise.
In advertisements for games, the league would list him as the player taking on the opponent's quarterback instead of the typical "quarterback vs quarterback" marketing strategy.
I'm sorry, but Von Miller is OVERRATED. I didn't love him at A&M - disappeared in too many big games. And HE'S Denver's real MVP? Huh?
#2 - Johnny Manziel was a better draft pick than Khalil Mack
Khalil Mack proved to be one of the single-best moves for the Raiders in the 2010s. However, according to Bayless in 2014, the pass rusher couldn't hold a candle to Manziel, who utimately succumbed to drug issues and failed to elevate the Cleveland Browns to anything other than infamy at the bottom of the NFL.
In the end, he went 2-6 with the franchise. Meanwhile, Mack is still in the NFL today. While no longer in his prime, he's put together a strong career resume with 84.5 sacks and 134 games played.
Mack is a very good pick for Oakland. Johnny Football would've been a much better one.
#1 - Josh Freeman was a better draft option than Cam Newton
Skip Bayless made a lot of freezing cold takes, but Cam Newton's ranking below Josh Freeman takes the cake. One player is still talked about in 2023, and shortly after the claim was made in the 2012 draft season, Newton exploded.
He went 15-1 with the Carolina Panthers and came arguably one score away from unraveling the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50. Freeman went 25-36, throwing for 81 touchdowns and 68 interceptions.
Long term give me Josh Freeman over Cam. Better leader, more consistent passer, more clutch, more poised under fire, more careful with ball.
Many argue that had it not been for Russell Wilson, Newton would have seen even more early career success in the playoffs. As it stands, he reached the playoffs four times, and Freeman never once experienced the post-season.