What If... the Seahawks Drafted Brett Favre in 1991?
Since the turn of the century, the Seahawks have been one of the NFL’s most consistent and stable franchises, making the postseason 13 times in 20 seasons, winning eight NFC West division titles, and capturing their first Super Bowl victory in 2013.
But before this impressive run of success began nearly 20 years ago, Seattle suffered through the toughest decade of its existence since becoming a franchise in 1976. During the dark, cold 90s, the Seahawks made the playoffs just one time and finished in the basement in the AFC West four times during that span.
Peering back at that dismal era, plenty of developments led to the Seahawks deterioration from one of the better teams in the AFC into league laughingstock.
An aging roster in the late 80s wasn’t reinforced with enough young talent for the future, especially on the offensive side of the ball. A coaching change from Chuck Knox to Tom Flores wound up becoming a total disaster. And last but not least, aside from snagging star defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy and running back Chris Warren in the 1990 NFL Draft, the team’s drafts weren’t fruitful.
This proved to be most obvious at the quarterback position, where Seattle struggled mightily to find a viable successor for Dave Krieg after the veteran departed for Kansas City in 1992. The Seahawks rolled through multiple ineffective signal callers during the frightful 90s, including first-round busts Dan McGwire and Rick Mirer.
Would history paint a different picture in Seattle if the organization would’ve picked future Hall of Famer Brett Favre instead of McGwire with the 16th selection of the 1991 NFL Draft?
Far from the perfect quarterback prospect, Favre departed Southern Miss holding numerous school records but also carried several red flags, including prior issues with alcohol abuse.
As a 17-year old freshman, Favre infamously showed up for a game against Tulane hungover and vomited on the field during warmups. Somehow, he managed to come off the bench and lead the Golden Eagles to a comeback victory, using the performance to catapult him into the starting lineup full-time.
Three years later, Favre’s drinking habits nearly ended his life. Driving near his parents’ house after spending the day with his brother Scott and two teammates fishing off the Gulf of Mexico, he lost control of his vehicle and it flipped three times before coming to a stop next to a tree.
After Scott and teammate Keith Loescher smashed a window open with a golf club and removed him from the car, Favre was rushed to Gulfport Memorial Hospital with multiple injuries and needed 30 inches of his small intestine removed. Reports later surfaced indicating he should have been arrested for a DUI, but due to his celebrity status, it never occurred.
With his maturity and ironically, his durability, questioned by scouts, Favre wasn’t viewed as a sure thing. The Seahawks weren’t the only team concerned about past behavior and injuries, as exemplified by the fact he fell into the second round before the Falcons picked him at No. 33 overall.
In contrast, McGwire didn’t have similar character concerns and wasn’t coming off of multiple surgeries. The 6-foot-8, 240-pound quarterback had thrown for nearly 4,000 yards as a senior at San Diego State and nearly engineered one of a huge upset over No. 3 ranked Miami in his final college game.
Possessing incredible size and prodigious arm talent, Seahawks owner Ken Behring grew enamored by McGwire during the pre-draft process. There’s been speculation for years that Knox, who coached only one more season in Seattle, preferred Favre, creating a draft-day rift between team brass.
Ultimately, the Seahawks went with Behring’s choice, selecting McGwire with hopes he’d develop behind Krieg for a year and take over as the new franchise quarterback. Showing how much of a crapshoot the draft really is on a year-to-year basis, analysts such as Mel Kiper of ESPN applauded the pick at the time.
But from the outset, it became clear McGwire wasn’t cut out to be an NFL quarterback. He played in one game as a rookie, completing three out of seven passes and throwing an interception. With Krieg in Kansas City, he was expected to take over as the starter in 1992, but he couldn’t beat out journeyman Kelly Stouffer for the starting job and suffered a broken hip when he finally got into the lineup that year.
After starting just five games and throwing only two touchdown passes in five seasons with the Seahawks and Dolphins, McGwire was out of football completely after the 1995 season. Only one other first-round pick since 1980, Jim Druckenmiller of the 49ers, finished with less touchdowns during his career.
Meanwhile, Favre himself didn’t necessarily light the world on fire out of the gate. He played in just two games as a rookie, throwing a pick-six on his first NFL pass attempt and failing to compete a single pass in 1991. Disgusted by his off-field antics, coach Jerry Glanville pushed for Favre to be traded and the Falcons shipped him to the Packers for a first-round pick.
Unlike McGwire, however, Favre bounced back from his dismal rookie campaign and instantly became a star for the Packers, earning Pro Bowl selections in each of his first two seasons with the team. By the time he wrapped up his Hall of Fame career for good in 2010, he’d established NFL records in touchdown passes (508) and consecutive games started (297) while also earning First-Team All-Pro and MVP honors three times.
It’s easy to look back nearly 30 years later and wonder how Favre would’ve panned out in Seattle. He would’ve had the luxury of throwing to Brian Blades, a talented receiver who still put up excellent numbers despite subpar quarterback play. He also would’ve had a workhorse back in Warren behind him to add balance to the offense as well.
If he developed with the Seahawks as he did with the Packers, the team wouldn’t have had to spend another first round selection on Mirer just two years later, allowing the team to use top picks to build a roster around their young quarterback. And blending reality and fantasy together, maybe coach Mike Holmgren still finds his way to Seattle, this time coaching Favre instead of Matt Hasselbeck.
Rather than simply chasing 7-9 or 8-8 Jeff Fisher-like mediocrity, Seattle may have been competing for AFC West division championships and beyond in the mid-to-late 90s.
As seen in Atlanta, playing in a different setting may have had dire consequences for a younger, wilder Favre. Even in Green Bay, he battled alcohol and substance abuse issues during his early years with the Packers before finally sobering up and an addiction to painkillers nearly derailed his career.
This isn’t to say Seattle couldn’t have worked out for him or his transcending talent wouldn’t have been showcased with any other team. It just was far from a guarantee.
In regard to Favre's pre-draft evaluation, those red flags coming out of college weren’t fictitious, which does put a bit of an asterisk on this “what if” scenario. It's understandable why teams were hesitant to invest a first-round pick in him - he easily could've been Johnny Manziel before Johnny Manziel.
But even if Favre didn't approach the same heights he did with the Packers, he'd still be a far superior option for the Seahawks in comparison to McGwire, who quickly cemented his legacy as one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history.
