Tony Mandarich (USA Today Sports Images)
‘The Incredible Bulk’ Makes List of Most-Hyped Draft Prospects
GREEN BAY, Wis. – To say Victor Wembanyama is expected to be the No. 1 pick of the 2023 NBA Draft is like expecting the sun to rise tomorrow, winter to be cold and the Green Bay Packers to play in front of a sellout crowd at Lambeau Field.
At FanDuel Sportsbook, Wembanyama is -50000 to be the No. 1 pick. That means a $10,000 bet on Wembanyama will reward the bettor with a profit of $20.
With the hype machine having been cranked up to 10 for months, Wembanyama is one of the most-hyped prospects – regardless of sport – in years.
“He is the best (prospect) that I've seen since LeBron (James),” ESPN’s Jay Bilas said recently.
In that light, The Sporting News’ Bill Bender put together a list of the 50 most-hyped draft prospects of all-time. Some were studs. Some were duds. All seemed destined for Hall of Fame-level greatness.
One Packers draft pick made the list. If the headline didn’t give it away already, that player is …
(drum roll, please)
Tony Mandarich.
Mandarich, the No. 2 pick of the 1989 NFL Draft, checked in at No. 24 on Bender’s list.
The headline on The Sports Illustrated cover before the draft was legendary.
Tony Mandarich (USA Today Sports Images)
Talk about hype. He made the iconic All-Madden Team while at Michigan State. He consumed enough caffeine to make Starbucks blush in embarrassment. He devoured enough calories to wipe the grin off Ronald McDonald’s face. He delivered enough pancake blocks to give the line cook at the local IHOP the day off.
“As a junior he could have started on any of our Super Bowl teams,” legendary Michigan State coach George Perles, who was on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ coaching staff for their four Super Bowl championships in the 1970s, told SI’s Rick Telender.
“He may be the best offensive tackle ever. He's certainly the best since the game changed the blocking rules. Before that, you had to play without your arms, and it didn't matter how strong your bench press was. [Mandarich has pressed 545 pounds.] He's faster than any offensive lineman in pro football. There's probably nobody faster in the world at his weight. This is a different player. We'll never have another.”
The Dallas Cowboys selected quarterback Troy Aikman with the first overall pick. The Packers took Mandarich second – infamously ahead of Barry Sanders (No. 3 overall), Derrick Thomas (No. 4 overall) and Deion Sanders (No. 5 overall).
Aikman, Sanders, Thomas and Sanders wound up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as four of the greatest players in NFL history. Mandarich was one of the great busts in NFL history. He didn’t start as a rookie, then started all 31 appearances in 1990 and 1991. The Packers released him in 1992.
“I got to the point where it was a struggle to work out three or four times a week because the priority of getting high was above the priority of working out,” Mandarich, who admitted to steroid use at Michigan State, told Showtime’s Inside the NFL.
Mandarich sat out the next four seasons before resurfacing with the Indianapolis Colts, where he became a serviceable starter at right tackle and right guard in 1996 through 1998.
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