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Colts celebrate 26th anniversary of top overall draft pick

Originally posted on Gridiron Heroics | By John Galletley | Last updated 4/18/24

The Indianapolis Colts have made a few great draft picks over the years. However, there is one draft pick that arguably changed the direction of their franchise forever. Who was this draft pick? Read below to find out.

Indianapolis Colts Selected Peyton Manning 26 Years Ago

On April 18th, 1998, the Indianapolis Colts made arguably one of the best draft choices in NFL history. They did this by selecting Peyton Manning. That ended up working out very well for the Colts and the team acknowledged this on social media.

Manning would be the team’s franchise quarterback for 14 seasons. While there were growing pains early in his career, the Colts stuck with him and knew he was destined for greatness. Manning led the Colts to a Super Bowl XLI victory as well as an appearance in Super Bowl XLIV.

Peyton Manning’s Demise with the Colts

Peyton Manning arguably could have played another four seasons for the Colts. However, there was one thing that held him back. Unfortunately, in 2011, Manning suffered a neck injury that kept him out for the entire season.

This resulted in the Colts having the top overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. At that time, there was a generational talent available at the quarterback position. Because of this, the Colts ended up drafting QB Andrew Luck from Stanford that year. As a result, Peyton Manning’s time with the Indianapolis Colts came to an end.

Peyton Manning vs. Ryan Leaf

Things could have turned out very differently for the Colts if they went in another direction. That is because there were two notable quarterbacks in the 1998 NFL Draft. One of these quarterbacks was Peyton Manning. However, the other one was Ryan Leaf.

Manning played for Tennessee while Leaf played for Washington State. The Colts ended up selecting Manning with the top overall pick. Then, the Chargers ended up selecting Leaf.

Well, things did not play out so well for Leaf and the Chargers. Leaf only spent three seasons with the Chargers. However, he ended up missing the entire 1999 season due to a shoulder injury during that stretch. His NFL career was short, as Leaf was out of the league before the start of the 2002 NFL season.

As you can see, these two quarterbacks had completely opposite fates. Thanks to the Colts’ success with Manning, they did not have to worry about the quarterback position for the next 14 seasons.

This article first appeared on Gridiron Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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