The draft mania is upon us. While fans are waiting for their favorite teams to make the perfect choice in Green Bay, Wisconsin, legends are also excited. FOX also came up with a list to spice up the draft scenarios. They included the Super Bowl era timeline in the list, ranking Peyton Manning, an ESPN analyst, as the first pick. But they had a bigger surprise as well.
And that was snubbing their own Terry Bradshaw, who has been with them for 3 decades since 1994. They ranked Bradshaw 3rd while keeping John Elway in the 2nd position. Let’s compare their careers.
In his 18-year career, Manning played 281 games (265 starts), finishing with an 186-79 win-loss record and a TD-INT ratio of 539-251. He won 2 Super Bowls with SB MVP in Super Bowl XLI. He even won 5 Super Bowl MVPs. Everyone was excited about the draft in 1998 when the Colts drafted him first overall. Sid Gillman even said, “This is a pro quarterback.”
However, Terry Bradshaw was a more decorated player. He played 14 seasons and won 4 Super Bowls, winning SB MVP in two of them. In 168 games (158 starters), he had a 107-51 win-loss record with 212 touchdowns and 210 interceptions. The Steelers drafted him first in the 1970 draft, even when the Bears were interested in the quarterback.
There is another quarterback who walked the same path that Peyton Manning followed years later. The Colts drafted John Elway as the first overall pick in the 1983 NFL Draft. But he also moved to the Broncos like Manning and finished his career there. He also won 2 Super Bowls, with an MVP in one of them. The football world also snubbed Terry Bradshaw while choosing Elway and Manning for the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019.
As it happens with every top ten list, the internet was divided about the top spot given to Manning. Some were in favor of other players ranked below him.
Fans troll FOX over Terry Bradshaw & Peyton Manning
One fan brought in the Cowboys legend Troy Aikman into the discussion. He came up with his rankings and mentioned, “I’d put Bradshaw 1, Aikman 2, Elway 3, & Manning 4 perfect.” Others also compared the number 1 and number 2 by the performance, as another fan wrote, “Elway is better and did something Peyton failed to, so I don’t want to hear it.” The interesting connection here is the Super Bowl 50 in the 2015 season. It was Manning’s 2nd Lombardi Trophy. Guess who was the GM? John Elway! So, Elway excelled as an executive as well.
Credits: USA Today network via Imagn
The history between the two dominant players is always a hot topic of discussion. It forced a fan to rank Elway above Manning as he commented, “Imagine thinking Peyton Manning is better than John Elway. The defense could do everything right, and Elway could still beat you.” But Terry Bradshaw is also a front runner for the top rank in the top 10 draft picks. His supporter replied, “Bradshaw has more SB wins than 1&2 combined.. true #1.” But some were interested in demeaning the top player.
Another fan had some harsh words for the number 1 Peyton Manning. He brought in historical stats and wrote, “I mean, technically at the time, Peyton was the worst possible pick you could’ve taken. That season (rookie year), he threw 28 ints. That’s as many TDs as Josh Allen threw for his MVP this year.” In his rookie year, Manning had 26 TDs and 28 interceptions. But he had a 26-23 TD-int ratio in 2001 as well.
Expect more such lists as we move closer to the 2025 NFL Draft. New players are beaming with energy, ready to create history.
The post FOX Snubs Terry Bradshaw for ESPN’s Peyton Manning as Calls Mount Against All-Time Draft Rankings appeared first on EssentiallySports.
