In honor of the upcoming supplemental draft, FOX Sports names the five worst supplemental draft picks in NFL history.
(1989 Supplemental Draft, 1st round)
Even though you could never accuse Walsh of coming anywhere close to throwing the ball out of the stadium a la Michael Vick in a Powerade commercial, he was a terrific college quarterback at the University of Miami. And, with newly ex-Hurricane coach Jimmy Johnson taking the reigns in Dallas, you could understand why Jimmy would want one of "his guys."
Walsh was a leader, a winner, but had questionable arm strength for the pro level. By 1989, every pro team coveted the 6-5, 220 pound, rocket-armed quarterback, but there was still this Joe Montana fella that was winning championships. In retrospect, you could see where Walsh could've fit a Montana-like mold.
What makes this a terrible selection is that Dallas had already selected Troy Aikman with the No. 1 overall selection that year in the regular draft. It's still mind-blowing that they'd use what was ultimately a first-round pick in the 1990 draft on yet another rookie quarterback. Were the Cowboys hoping Jimmy could win with Walsh and trade Aikman?
As history shows, Aikman won out. In a genius move by the Cowboys, Walsh was traded after only two seasons to New Orleans for draft picks. From there, he went on to a solid, but not spectacular, NFL career as a part-time starter and backup for various teams.
Had the Cowboys waited until 1990 to draft a quarterback: Obviously with Aikman, the Cowboys did NOT need a quarterback, and due to the flurry of picks from the Herschel Walker trade, they still wound up with Emmitt Smith in 1990.
However, finishing 1-15 in 1989, they would've had the No. 1 selection in the 1990 draft. Considering that Indianapolis traded Chris Hinton, Andre Rison and draft picks to Atlanta for that particular pick to take Jeff George, the eventual Cowboy dynasty could've made an even bigger splash in the early 1990s. Imagine Michael Irvin and Andre Rison in the same receiving corps circa 1993. It would've been sick.
On the other hand, some have argued that the Cowboys may have never drafted Emmitt Smith in 1990 had they not used a supplemental pick on Walsh. Remember, that running back Blair Thomas was selected with the second pick in '90. Fortunately, we'll never know.
Wow, that's a terrifying thought. Blair Thomas instead of Emmitt Smith! Maybe this should be called the greatest supplemental draft pick in NFL history instead.