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The 10 worst draft choices
in Eagles history, all but one taken in the 1st round:
- Kevin Allen, OT, Indiana. The Eagles' first-round selection
of 1985, Allen was taken one place higher than Randall Cunningham,
but proved a colossal bust as a pass-protector and a drive-blocker.
He was once described by coach Buddy Ryan as a good player to
have, "if you want someone to stand around and kill the grass."
Off the field, Allen served a prison sentence for sexual assault.
- Antone Davis, OT, Tennessee. A classic underachiever,
Davis came to the Eagles as their first-round choice of 1991,
and he cost them their No. 1 pick of 1992. In the compendium of
bad decisions made by Rich Kotite, Davis may have been his worst.
- Jon Harris, DE, Virginia. It still seems incredible
that Ray Rhodes made Harris the No. 1 choice, and 25th player
taken overall, of the 1997 draft. The 6-foot-7, 300-pound Harris
had neither the strength nor explosiveness required at defensive
end, and had two sacks in two Eagles seasons.
- Siran Stacy, RB, Alabama. Stacy was a second-round pick,
but the first one the Eagles had in 1992. He played badly, for
one season, and won greater headlines for allegedly beating up
his girlfriend than for anything he did on the football field.
(He was found not guilty in 1995 when the woman did not appear
in court.)
- Mike Mamula, DE, Boston College. In one of the most
regrettable moves of his career, Rhodes traded up to select Mamula
with the seventh overall choice of the 1995 draft. On countless
pass-rush occasions since, Mamula repeatedly has gotten to the
QB too late to make a sack. In 78 career games, Mamula has managed
only 311/2 sacks and has rarely played well vs. the run.
- Michael Haddix, RB, Mississippi State. Neither strong
nor particularly fast, Haddix (picked eighth overall in 1983)
nevertheless proved a 1,000-yard rusher, even though it took him
three seasons to reach that total.
- Kenny Jackson, WR, Penn State. The Eagles' No. 1 draftee
of 1984, Jackson never lived up to his collegiate reputation and
rarely caught a pass in traffic. He had 40 receptions in his second
year but averaged fewer than 14 for each of his six other seasons
in Philadelphia.
- Leonard Mitchell, DE, Houston. The Eagles' top choice
of 1981 played 77 games in six seasons, few of them marked by
any great intensity or athleticism. Mitchell was so spiritless
a defender, in fact, he was switched to the offensive line.
- Lester Holmes, OG, Jackson State, and 10. Leonard Renfro,
DT, Colorado. The Eagles drafted this non-dynamic duo with the
19th (Holmes) and 24th (Renfro) overall choices of the 1993 draft.
Holmes had an undistinguished career that covered 46 games in
Philadelphia. Renfro played half that total, rarely as a starter.
The 10 smartest
draft choices in Eagles history,
all but one taken after the fifth round:
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