The NFL Draft Chronicles: 1998 Manning vs Leaf

The talk of the 1998 NFL Draft was about who would go first. Ryan Leaf or Peyton Manning?

Both would go in the first round, but who would actually go first was the bigger question. But there was something special about Manning that Leaf lacked, and that was confidence.

Manning knew he was good and told the Colts as much when he said to then general manager Bill Polian, “If you take me, I promise you we will win a championship, and if you don’t, I promise I’ll come back and kick your *ss.”

That’s a bold statement coming from a rookie, but Manning knew who he was as a player, and he wasn’t wrong. He led the Indianapolis Colts to their only Super Bowl win and is also a Hall of Famer.

Ryan Leaf would be drafted by the San Diego Chargers and showed immediately that he was not the player Manning was. He was a head case, and once things went downhill for him, he never recovered.

Fights with the press, drug use, all spelled the end for Leaf.

But today, Ryan Leaf is remembered as less of a bust and more as a survivor. He is 14 years sober and started a company focusing on prison reform, sobriety, and re-entry into society.

He also has a podcast and is a motivational speaker. He is an advocate for mental health, too.

So even though the draft led them in different directions, both Manning and Leaf ended up being successful stories.

This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: The NFL Draft Chronicles: 1998 Manning vs Leaf