"Party Like its 1999"

The comparison was flung around liberally at the time, but the quarterback draft of 1983, this was not. It looked like it could be, or at least for a little while. When the first 3 players selected and five of the top 12 were QB's. But unlike the '83 first round which produced three Hall of Famers (John Elway, Jim Kelly and Dan marino) two were solid, serviceable performers (Tony Eason and Ken O'Brien) and really the only bust was the number 7 overall ( Todd Blackledge), on the other hand the 1999 draft had more whiffs than hits.

Tim Couch, Akili Smith and Cade McNown were all flat out garbage, and Daunte Culpepper didn't win much but he put up some pretty gaudy numbers until that knee injury suffered in Carolina. But only Donovan Mcnabb could legitimately be called a franchise QB.

The saints thought they had their cornerstone when they traded their six '99 draft picks and a couple of '00 selections to the skins for a chance to take the 1998 "HE-IS-MAN" award winner Ricky Williams, whom the colts had wisely passed up for Edgerrin James(hind sight is 20/20). That was alot to give up for one guys, and the return on New Orleans investment could be measured more in publicity stunts than in production.

But not every teams draft went up in flames. The ''99 draft produced one of the decades best WR ( Torry Holt) and top cornerback (Champ Bailey) along with (Donovan McNabb and Edgerrin James) oh yeah and "THE FREAK"...here is a look at some of '99 draft notables.

1.Cleveland - Tim Couch QB Kentucky
2. Philly- Donovan McNabb QB Syracuse
3. Cincinnati- Akili Smith QB Oregon
4. Indy- Edgerrin James RB Miami
5. New Orleans- Ricky Williams RB Texas
6. St. Louis- Torry Holt WR NC State
7. Washington- Champ Bailey CB Georgia
8. Arizona- David Boston WR Ohio State
10. Baltimore- Chris McAlister CB Arizona
11. Minnesota- Daunte Culpepper QB UCF
12. Chicago- Cade McNown QB UCLA
15. Tampa Bay- Anthony McFarland DT LSU
16.Tennessee- Jevon Kearse DE Florida
23. Buffalo- Antoine Winfield CB Ohio State
30. Atlanta- Patrick Kerney DE Virginia
31. Denver- Al Wilson MLB Tennessee
....................other '99 best sleepers Donald Driver 7th rd, Joey Porter 3rd rd, Desmond Clark 6th rd, Aaron Smith 4th rd