Draft Flashback: 14 years later, Ray Lewis still a beast

A look back at the best and worst picks of the 1996 draft 14 years ago:

 

Baltimore Ravens: Round 1, Pick 26

Lewis continues to intimidate ball carriers as the familiar face and motivating force of Baltimore’s defense, which has taken all different shapes over the past 14 years. Every team would love to draft a player who would compete so passionately and well for so long.

 

San Francisco 49ers: Round 3, Pick 89

It was a great draft for wideouts — from Keyshawn Johnson at No. 1 to Marvin Harrison at No. 19 to well beyond the first round. But Owens has proved to be the most productive in the class, as he ranks third all-time in career receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.

 

Philadelphia Eagles: Round 2, Pick 61

Dawkins was the 11th defensive back chosen, but he has been the best of the group. An eight-time Pro Bowl player, Dawkins was the standout playmaker in the Eagles’ secondary for 13 seasons before leaving to become a vital leader for a young Broncos defense in ’09.

 

Miami Dolphins: Round 5, Pick 154

At 5-11, 230 pounds, Thomasremains the inspiration for all undersized linebackers. He was a tackling machine who consistently ranked with Lewis in AFC honors. His quickness, heart and determination made his lack of height a non-issue.

 

Oakland Raiders: Round 5, Pick 166

He was named to the all-decade team on the strength of six Pro Bowls and 83.5 career sacks. Unfortunately for Oakland, all those sacks came after his rookie year during productive stints in New Orleans, Dallas and St. Louis. In his prime, Glover repeatedly burned opposing linemen with great quickness.

 

St. Louis Rams: Round 1, Pick 6

Phillips was loaded with the talent to become an explosive superstar, but his off-field explosions cost him. His life has been marred by numerous arrests for assault, including domestic abuse. He also was lacking as a team player and was cut by St. Louis after a season and a half. He found brief success in the CFL, but last year he started serving a prison sentence of more than 31 years.

 

Pittsburgh Steelers: Round 1, Pick 29

Pittsburgh has a habit of finding stars from smaller schools, but Stephens never put in enough work or rounded himself into shape to take advantage of his raw physical gifts. He was cut in 1999 and became a short-lived Bengals backup.

 

Washington Redskins: Round 1, Pick 30

Don’t worry: No one will ever confuse him with the Texans wide receiver of the same name. His Nittany Lions pedigree didn’t help one bit in the NFL, as Johnson flamed out in Washington after only one season. He ended up playing in three career games — all with the Lions, his third team.

 

New York Jets: Round 2, Pick 31

Somehow, the Jets whiffed on what turned out to be a very deep and productive wide receiver class. Van Dyke ended up with 26 career

receptions. He was taken between Eric Moulds and Amani Toomer, and both

Muhsin Muhammad and Bobby Engram went later in Round 2.

 

Houston Oilers: Round 2, Pick 38

After hitting on Alcorn State quarterback Steve McNair with the third

overall pick in 1995, the Oilers made a mistake by going back to that well. Mix played in seven games for Houston/Tennessee, registering one sack. After Simeon Rice went third overall, it was a bad end class.

 

1. New York Jets, Keyshawn Johnson, WR, Southern Cal

2. Jacksonville, Kevin Hardy, OLB, Illinois

3. Arizona, Simeon Rice, DE, Illinois

4. Baltimore, Jonathan Ogden, OT, UCLA

5. New York Giants, Cedric Jones, DE, Oklahoma

6. St. Louis, Lawrence Phillips, RB, Nebraska

7. New England, Terry Glenn, WR, Ohio State

8. Carolina, Tim Biakabutuka, RB, Michigan

9. Oakland, Rickey Dudley, TE, Ohio State

10. Cincinnati, Willie Anderson, OT, Auburn

11. New Orleans, Alex Molden, CB, Oregon

12. Tampa Bay, Regan Upshaw, DE, California

13. Chicago, Walt Harris, CB, Mississippi State

14. Houston, Eddie George, RB, Ohio State

15. Denver, John Mobley, OLB, Kutztown

16. Minnesota, Duane Clemons, DE, California

17. Detroit, Reggie Brown, LB, Texas A&M

18. St. Louis, Eddie Kennison, WR, LSU

19. Indianapolis, Marvin Harrison, WR, Syracuse

20. Miami, Daryl Gardener, DT, Baylor

21. Seattle, Pete Kendall, G, Boston College

22. Tampa Bay, Marcus Jones, DE, North Carolina

23. Detroit, Jeff Hartings, C, Penn State

24. Buffalo, Eric Moulds, WR, Mississippi State

25. Philadelphia, Jermane Mayberry, G, Texas A&M-Kingsville

26. Baltimore, Ray Lewis, ILB, Miami (Fla.)

27. Green Bay, John Michels, OT, Southern Cal

28. Kansas City, Jerome Woods, S, Memphis

29. Pittsburgh, Jamain Stephens, OT, North Carolina A&T

30. Washington, Andre Johnson, OT, Penn State

 

31. New York Jets, Alex Van Dyke, WR, Nevada

32. Arizona, Leeland McElroy, RB, Texas A&M

33. Jacksonville, Tony Brackens, DE, Texas

34. New York Giants, Amani Toomer, WR, Michigan

35. Tampa Bay, Mike Alstott, FB, Purdue

36. New England, Lawyer Milloy, S, Washington

37. Dallas, Kavika Pittman, DE, McNeese State

38. Houston, Bryant Mix, DE, Alcorn State

39. Cincinnati, Marco Battaglia, TE, Rutgers

40. New Orleans, Je’Rod Cherry, S, California

41. San Diego, Bryan Still, WR, Virginia Tech

42. St. Louis, Tony Banks, QB, Michigan State

43. Carolina, Muhsin Muhammad, WR, Michigan State

44. Denver, Tory James, CB, LSU

45. Minnesota, James Manley, DT, Vanderbilt

46. San Francisco, Israel Ifeanyi, DE, Southern Cal

47. Seattle, Fred Thomas, CB Tennessee-Martin

48. Houston, Jason Layman, OT, Tennessee

49. Dallas, Randall Godfrey, ILB, Georgia

50. San Diego, Patrick Sapp, LB, Clemson

51. Indianapolis, Dedric Mathis, DB, Houston

52. Chicago, Bobby Engram, WR, Penn State

53. Buffalo, Gabe Northern, DE, LSU

54. Philadelphia, Jason Dunn, TE, Eastern Kentucky

55. Baltimore, DeRon Jenkins, CB, Tennessee

56. Green Bay, Derrick Mayes, WR, Notre Dame

57. Oakland, Lance Johnstone, DE, Temple

58. Kansas City , Reggie Tongue, S, Oregon State

59. St. Louis, Ernie Conwell, TE, Washington

60. Jacksonville, Michael Cheever, C, Georgia Tech

61. Philadelphia, Brian Dawkins, S, Clemson