1. Green Bay: Barry Sanders, Packers runningback carousel did not produce a single thousand yard rusher. Sanders would help alleviate that problem and would give Majowski an out option. The main weakness in the Packers team was the splitting of time between their two QBs in 88 and their rush defense. Their passing defense was top 5 all year. If Majowski repeats his 1989 miracle season with Sanders in the backfield, this would immediately improve the Packers.
2. Dallas: Deion Sanders. Dallas Cowboys defense coming off the 1988 season was in the bottom half of the league, ranked 25th of 28. Their rush defense was above average, but they gave up too many yards through the air. The O-Line for Dallas at the time was fairly effective at preventing sacks and TFLs
3. Detroit: Troy Aikman. Lions had the worst passing offense in the league in 1988, a good defense that kept games low scoring. Aikman gets either the lucky or unfortunate enough draw to go to Detroit with a defensive minded head coach (who in OTL did well with Barry).
4. Kansas City: Derrick Thomas. Well look at that, he ends up with the same team to assist with their terrible rush defense.
5. Atlanta: Tony Mandarich. Someone was going to have to take him. I think the 1988 Atlanta Falcons were the worst team in 88. Average rushing game, poor passing offense, and poor defense all around. Besides IOTL, adding Deion didn't turn the Falcons around. But hey, maybe he can make Chris Miller's life a bit easier and not get killed by that 49ers and Rams defense he had to play twice a year.
Nice try, but here is how it would have gone down in this world.
1. Green Bay: Troy Aikman, QB, UCLA. They had their sights set on him before winning that Cardinal game in OTL. They had Aikman, Mandarich, and Derrick Thomas as their top-3 players according to the second video above.
2. Dallas: Tony Mandarich, OT, Michigan St. He was the second-rated guy on their board, and some in the organization thought that they should take him over Aikman.
Now, here is where it gets fun (and this is where the first vid above comes in):
3. Phoenix (from DET): Deion Sanders, CB, Florida St. The Cardinals send the 13th and 17th picks, a 1989 second-rounder, and a 1990 third-rounder to the Lions for the right to draft Prime Time, who was, in my opinion, the best CB prospect to come into the league in two years (Rod Woodson).
4. Kansas City: Derrick Thomas, OLB, Alabama.
5. Atlanta: Tim Worley, RB, Georgia. This is a shocker, but they liked him better than Sanders (from what I hear). They wanted a big back to replace Gerald Riggs, who they would trade to the Redskins.
6. Tampa Bay: Barry Sanders, RB, Oklahoma St. Lars Tate wasn't the franchise RB, and James Wilder would be 31 that year. This has to help Vinny's chances of staying in Tampa long-term.
7. Pittsburgh: Broderick Thomas, OLB, Nebraska. I considered several players here besides Thomas, like Burt Grossman, Rison, and Donnell Woolford. Here's the deciding factor: The Steelers only had 19 sacks in 1988. Broderick should help on that end opposite Greg Lloyd (also, Bryan Hinkle is 30).
8. San Diego: Burt Grossman, DE, Pitt.
9. Miami: Sammie Smith, RB, Florida St.
10. Chicago (from Raiders): Donnell Woolford, CB, Clemson.
11. Chicago (from WAS): Trace Armstrong, DE, Florida
12. Cleveland (from DEN. The Broncos make the same trade as OTL): Eric Metcalf, RB/WR/KR, Texas
13. Detroit (from PHX): Andre Rison, WR, Michigan St. Pete Mandley led the team with only 44 catches in 1988. Also, they need more depth here with a move to the run and shoot.
14. N.Y. Jets: Jeff Lageman, LB/DE, Virginia
15. Seattle: Andy Heck, OL, Notre Dame
16. New England: Hart Lee Dykes, WR, Oklahoma St.
17. Detroit (from PHX): Joe Wolf, OG, Boston College. Lions could use O-line help.
18. N.Y. Giants: Brian Williams, OL, Minnesota
19. New Orleans, Wayne Martin, DE, Arkansas
20. Denver (from CLE): Steve Atwater, S, Arkansas
21. L.A. Rams: Bill Hawkins, DE, Miami
22. Indianapolis (from PHI): Eric Hill, ILB, LSU. 10-year vet Barry Krauss left in Plan B.
23. Houston: David Williams, OL, Florida
24. Pittsburgh (from Minn): Tom Ricketts, OL, Pitt
25. Miami (from CHI): Louis Oliver, S, Florida
26. L.A. Rams (from BUF): Cleveland Gary, RB, Miami
27. Atlanta (from CIN): Shawn Collins, WR, N. Arizona
28. San Francisco: Keith DeLong, ILB, Tennessee
In Round 2, the Lions take RB Eric Ball instead of WR John Ford of Virginia. As a result, the Bengals take DL Dennis Byrd of Tulsa.