Running back Eric Dickerson, who led the league in rushing as a rookie with 1,808 yards, is another hall of famer from the class of '83, and Curt Warner had a nice career with the Seahawks. Bruce Matthews is regarded as one of the greatest linemen of all time, and cornerback Darrell Green is another certain hall of famer to come out of this class. And there were other very good players to come out of this round as well.
But what separates this draft class from any other is the talent selected in the later rounds. In fact, there were some fantastic football players selected in rounds that no longer exist in the NFL Draft.
Craig James had a solid career running the ball for the Patriots in the mid-80s, and he wasn't selected until round seven. Richard Dent was a tremendous pickup for the Bears in the eighth round. And the Dolphins grabbed rookie QB Dan Marino a pretty good receiver in Mark Clayton, also in the eighth.
Based on the number of picks in the draft today, these three guys would have been picked up at the very end of day two. The following guys would have gone undrafted.
Tim Krumrie played 12 seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals, and was a 10th rounder. Denver Broncos linebacker Karl Mecklenburg came along in the 11th round... and the list goes on and on. In fact, the next-to-last pick in the final round (12th) was Minnesota Vikings two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Anthony Carter.
Of the 335 players selected in the 1983 NFL Draft, more than 80 of them started at least four games as rookies for the teams that selected them. The list of superstars and players that at one point during their careers were among the NFL's top players at their position is astounding.
The likelihood that another NFL Draft will ever surpass the quality of the 1983 class is not good, but then again, I don't think anyone forecasted the production that would come out of the '83 class.
