Top 10 NFL Players Who Got Booed on Draft Night
Good, bad, or otherwise, this focuses on players who got quite a response from the fanbases.
Feel free to add any more you feel deserve some historical mention.
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Donovan McNabb
Donovan McNabb was booed by Philadelphia Eagles fans when he was selected second overall in the 1999 NFL Draft. The fans had hoped the team would choose running back Ricky Williams instead. McNabb went on to play 11 seasons with the Eagles.
It's still a mystery why Donovan McNabb got booed so hard when he was picked second overall in the '99 draft. McNabb was a bonafide superstar for the Eagles in the 2000s. Is it wrong to say I even find him underrated as an Eagle, seeing he doesn't get all the love he deserves? He leads in most passing stats, and he made the Super Bowl, despite being defeated.
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Kyle Brady
Kyle Brady was selected by the New York Jets with the ninth pick in the 1995 NFL Draft. Jets fans booed the pick because they wanted the team to draft Warren Sapp. Brady spent most of his career as a tight end with the Jets and Jaguars.
Like with Ken O'Brien, Jets fans really get the spotlight. The best instance has to be from the 1995 draft. The crowd wanted Warren Sapp, but instead, they took a tight end at 9. The crowd's reaction was unreal. Someone even said, How many tight ends do you need on the field? That sums up why I hate taking TEs in the first round, and I feel your pain, Jets fans.
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Eli Manning
Eli Manning was booed when he was drafted first overall by the San Diego Chargers in 2004. He had publicly stated he would not play for the team. Manning was later traded to the New York Giants on draft day.
Eli Manning straight up said he did not want to play for the Chargers, and the rejection by San Diego fans really says a lot about that memorable draft. The trade that went down worked out, with Rivers being one of the best to never win a ring. Eli Manning went on to be one of the few to vanquish the mighty Patriots twice in the Super Bowl. Say what you want, but in the big games, Eli shows up in a big way.
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Zack Martin
Zack Martin was picked by the Dallas Cowboys with the 16th overall selection in 2014. Some fans reacted negatively because they preferred quarterback Johnny Manziel. Martin became a perennial Pro Bowl offensive lineman.
Zack Martin is a great lineman, arguably the best right now. At the time, Dallas fans were high on Johnny Manziel, and there were rumors Jerry Jones might consider taking him. Thankfully and logically, the Cowboys built their Great Wall 2.0. Meanwhile, Cleveland ended up getting baited into taking another QB bust. So why are we booing such a stellar lineman again? Unfortunately, Travis Frederick received the same treatment despite being a great pick in the previous draft.
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J.J. Watt
J.J. Watt was selected 11th overall by the Houston Texans in the 2011 NFL Draft. Some Texans fans booed the pick during the team's draft party. Watt later became a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
A forgotten story of the 2011 draft is when J.J. Watt got some stunning boos when he was picked by the Texans. Watt didn't mind the boos as he went on to prove the fans wrong by being a stud for many years in Houston. They made a better move than risking a QB pick, which two other teams ended up doing.
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Ken O'Brien
Ken O'Brien was taken by the New York Jets with the 24th overall pick in the 1983 NFL Draft. Fans were upset because future Hall of Famer Dan Marino was still available. O'Brien played ten seasons for the Jets.
The infamous 1983 draft was loaded with QBs, some great and others soon forgotten. Ken O'Brien was memorable to Jets fans because of the boos he received, even causing the commissioner to struggle reading his name. Sure, Dan Marino would have been the preferred player, but O'Brien was decent given the Jets' history with QBs. He was one of the better ones the franchise had.
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Daniel Jones
Daniel Jones was drafted sixth overall by the New York Giants in 2019. The pick was met with loud boos and criticism from fans and analysts. Jones had played college football at Duke University.
There are videos of G-Man diehards booing the life out of the Daniel Jones selection. At the time, it was, and still is, an overreach for a guy who was a late first-rounder at most. He has an identical look to Eli Manning, but he doesn't have the ability to hold onto the ball. Sadly, Dave Gettleman should consider a backup option because the Danny Dimes experiment is looking messier and messier as it goes on.
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Bruce Irvin
Bruce Irvin was selected 15th overall by the Seattle Seahawks in the 2012 NFL Draft. The choice surprised fans and analysts, resulting in audible boos. Irvin later contributed to the Seahawks' Super Bowl XLVIII win.
At the time, Bruce Irvin was a controversial figure in West Virginia. It was a surprise to see him get booed the way he did. Seattle made the right pick, seeing how that Legion of Boom defense transformed. Many of those key players, Irvin included, were big factors in their dominating victory over the Broncos in Super Bowl 48.
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T.J. Hockenson
T.J. Hockenson was taken eighth overall by the Detroit Lions in 2019. The selection was met with boos from Lions fans at the draft event. Hockenson was a tight end from the University of Iowa.
On my Twitter feed, I shared a recorded loop of a bar full of Lions fans. Everybody booed at the top of their lungs when the Hockenson pick was announced, myself included. The Lions usually don't do a good job managing their tight ends. It seemed like a panic pick, seeing as the Jags ended up taking Josh Allen (the edge rusher, not the QB from Buffalo) a pick before them. Luckily, Hockenson has improved quite a bit since 2020. Slowly, he seems to be proving the haters wrong for now.
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Mitchell Trubisky
Mitchell Trubisky was drafted second overall by the Chicago Bears in 2017. The team traded up to select him, which led to boos and criticism from fans. Trubisky had started only one season at North Carolina.
Once again, we're back to Mr. Trubisky. It was odd at the time that he was ranked above the likes of Mahomes and Watson heading into the 2017 NFL Draft. What sounded the alarm for Bears fans was the trade that left some confused and some downright infuriated when that pick was announced. He still didn't get any love during his playing time in Chicago.