The last two times the Colts selected No. 1 overall, they had a choice between two top quarterbacks. In 1998, Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf were at the head of the class, while in 2012, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III had separated themselves from the passing pack.
The Colts, of course, chose wisely. Manning led them to 11 playoff berths and a Super Bowl, and Luck is for 3-for-3 in getting Indianapolis to the postseason.
However, some No. 1 picks don’t quite pan out as hoped.
Which brings us back to 1990.
The Colts sought a quarterback in the draft, but they had no first-round pick. So they got creative. They packaged two starters — left tackle Chris Hinton and wide receiver Andre Rison — and two draft picks, most notably a first-round selection in 1991. This enticed Atlanta, and 25 years ago Sunday, the teams struck a deal, with the Colts getting the No. 1 overall pick and a fourth-round pick. (ProSportsTransactions.com, which does such a nice job logging all of the details of old trades and signings, has the trade details and helped jog our memory.)
With the No. 1 selection, the Colts drafted Illinois quarterback Jeff George, who was far-and-away the top prospect at the position in the draft, especially with Dallas having selected Steve Walsh in the ’89 supplemental draft.
It was a bold move for the Colts.
But it didn’t land them their long-term franchise quarterback.
In four seasons with Indianapolis, George led the Colts to one winning record, throwing 46 picks and just 41 touchdowns.
But when it came time to move on from George in 1994, the Colts were able to land a bushel of draft picks from their old friends, the Falcons, who needed a quarterback themselves and took the plunge on the talented-but-inconsistent passer.
In addition to getting the Falcons’ No. 1 pick in ’94, the Colts got a conditional 1996 second-round pick that could turn into a first-rounder if the Falcons won at least nine games in 1995 and George played at least three-quarters of the snaps in those games for Atlanta.
The Colts didn’t put the Falcons’ ‘94 first-round pick to good use; they traded it to move up for Trev Alberts, per ProSportsTransactions.com.
But what about that conditional pick?
That was a different story, and a happy one for Indianapolis.
The Falcons went 9-7 in ’95, and George had one of his better seasons, throwing 24 TDs and just 11 picks and starting all 16 games. This earned the Colts the Falcons’ No. 1 pick in ’96.
And with that selection, the Colts took wide receiver Marvin Harrison, who had a banner career for Indianapolis — and whose last standout season came when the Colts captured Super Bowl XLI in 2006.
Sometimes, trades don’t work as hoped — but they work out all the same.
So it went for the Jeff George deal for the Colts.
