Twenty years ago today, the Colts chose Peyton Manning with the No. 1 overall pick. In hindsight, the choice of Manning over Ryan Leaf seems incredibly easy.
Manning is headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a record-setting career, and Leaf long ago entered the “biggest-busts-in-history” conversation after starting only 21 career games and going 4-17.
But the choice was harder than it now seems, said Bill Polian, the Colts General Manager in 1998.
“There are a lot of people now who have amnesia,” Polian said, via Clark Judge of the Talk of Fame Network. “It was a much tougher choice than people now believe.”
Polian said his own scouts were split, with half rating Leaf a better prospect.
“Those that liked Manning were not terribly anti-Leaf,” Polian said. “Those who liked Leaf, for some reason, were vociferously anti-Manning.”
The Colts obviously made the right choice, leaving the Chargers to select Leaf. Then-Chargers General Manager Bobby Beathard will enter the Hall of Fame in August, ahead of Manning, but behind Polian.
Selectors didn’t hold Leaf against Beathard, perhaps remembering 1.) It’s not like he chose Leaf over Manning. Manning was off the board; and 2.) Many scouts liked Leaf more than Manning, whether they admit it today or not.
