Ranking the 10 biggest NFL Draft shocks 

8. Mel Kiper Jr vs Bill Tobin

Mel Kiper has a long history of NFL Draft predictions

“Who in the hell is Mel Kiper anyway?”

These were the famous words spoken by the general manager of the Indianapolis Colts, Bill Tobin, in the immediate aftermath of the 1994 NFL Draft.

ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. made a name for himself with his draft analysis and vocal criticism of the selections teams had made, especially if they didn’t match up to what he had predicted prior to the draft.

However, this spilled over into a dramatic argument in 1994 after Kiper took aim at the Colts selecting linebacker Trev Alberts over quarterback Trent Dilfer, with the fifth overall pick.

“I think it was a typical Colts move, the Colts needed a quarterback. To pass up Trent Dilfer when all you have is Jim Harbaugh… give me a break. That’s why the Colts are picking second every year in the draft,” Kiper exclaimed.

The subsequent row between Tobin and Kiper was television gold and is one of the major contributing factors as to why the NFL Draft is such a well-watched television event in the modern era.

7, Minnesota Vikings miss their pick two years running

Minnesota Vikings made a timing error in two straight years

Missing your NFL Draft selection due to running out of time on the clock is an occurrence so rare that it barely figures into the thoughts of fans… aside from those in Minnesota.

You see, the Vikings made NFL history in a spectacularly bumbling fashion when they missed their first-round selection in two successive years.

Starting in the 2002 NFL Draft, the Vikings had a chance to move up and take advantage of the Dallas Cowboys being slow on the trigger. The Cowboys surrendered their sixth overall pick due to running out of time, and this put the Vikings on the clock.

However, confusion reigned in the Minnesota war-room, and they didn’t put in their card quickly enough, which allowed the Cowboys to control the fate of the pick, despite not technically having it.

The Dallas franchise was able to execute a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs, which the Vikings weren’t aware of, and the Chiefs moved above them to select defensive tackle Ryan Sims.

Technically, the Vikings didn’t lose out, as they retained the original seventh selection, but the chance to move up was missed due to their lack of awareness.

Fast forward to 2003, and it was, once again, the Vikings making draft headlines for all the wrong reasons.

The Vikings held the seventh overall pick for the second successive year, but they were attempting to trade down with the Baltimore Ravens.

The Ravens wanted to select quarterback Byron Leftwich, and Minnesota believed they had completed all facets of a trade with the Baltimore club and immediately put their feet up.

The problem was, an issue with Baltimore meant the trade hadn’t been officially filed, and time ran out on the pick, which still belonged to the Vikings.

Again, chaos was the overriding feeling in the Minnesota war-room, with the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars both putting their picks in quickly to move ahead of the Vikings.

Minnesota would select at ninth overall, but had missed out on receiving the two picks in the later rounds that Baltimore offered, and the franchise was, once again, the laughing stock of NFL Draft day.

6. Raiders select a punter in round 1

Al Davis was a pioneer with some of his NFL Draft moves

Al Davis’ NFL Draft legacy is one that is admired around the league. He may well have not always got things right, but the legendary Raiders owner was always willing to give players and positions a chance.

No better example of this came than in the 1973 NFL Draft, when the Raiders selected a punter in the first round.

While Ray Guy ended up being, arguably, the greatest punter of all time, using a first-round choice on a punter was shocking, and still would be to this day, but that was Al Davis.