Mike Mamula was drafted #7 overall and had a mid rounder type career when he wasn't injured. He never lived up to the hype. He was a workout warrior. I don't think watt is that. Mamula at best was good depth. Would you want to draft a mike mamula even @ 28 for the NEP?! One of his two best seasons 96' he had 8 sacks due largely because William Fuller was on the other side.
I dont think Mike mamula was the 1st. That would probably be Tony Mandarich he destroyed @ the combine by all accounts.
Not disputing that he didn't live up to the hype and was severely over-drafted as it turned out, but, as Mamula himself has asked, "What was I supposed to do? NOT try to put up the best numbers I could at the Combine?"
Mamula (6044/248) averaged 5.5 sacks, 2 FF and 48 tackles per year for the four seasons he was healthy. No idea what his pass coverage was generally like, but numbers like that might have him starting at OLB for the Pats. Agreed, that production is probably only 2nd/3rd round worthy, but it's hard for me to blame Mamula for the hype.
After a noteworthy career at BC he was rated a 2nd-3rd rounder on the rise. Mamula played rush linebacker for BC when they were running the 3-4 his junior season and had 84 tackles and 11 sacks. His senior year, BC switched to the 4-3 and Mamula switched to DE and came up with 73 tackles and 13 sacks (better Jr/Sr numbers than Houston, for example).
At the Combine (16 years ago), he put up:
4.58 40yd (good for 4th this year behind Martez Wilson, Von Miller, Dontay Moch & Brian Rolle)
38.5" vert (best this year)
10'5" broad (tied for 2nd with Houston behind Miller)
26 reps (6th)
4.03 short shuttle (3rd, but better than Miller)
He also had a Wonderlic score of 49.
I have a feeling he'd easily be included among the projected 1st rounders in 2010 and that Kiper would probably have him in his top ten. And probably someone on this board would be vigorously recommending that we trade the #17, 33, 92 and 124 to move up to #5 in order to be sure to get him, which is more or less what Philly did in 1995.