Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis told a story about his 1996 NFL Draft experience, and it won’t make Green Bay Packers fans happy.
In the Week 15 edition of Monday Night Football, the Green Bay Packers hosted the Los Angeles Rams. With a win, the Packers would keep their playoff hopes alive entering the final three weeks of the 2022 season. During the game, Packers fans probably didn’t expect to receive a gut punch during the “Manningcast.”
Former Baltimore Ravens linebacker and Pro Football Hall of Famer Ray Lewis was a guest on the “Manningcast.” Eli Manning asked Lewis about the rumor that he was almost selected by the Packers in the 1996 NFL Draft. Lewis said that he was on the phone with the Packers, who told the then-Miami linebacker that they were going to select him with the 27th pick.
As he was on the phone, the Ravens selected Lewis with the No. 26 pick!
“I was on the phone with [the Packers] with the 27th pick, and they showed the most interest before Baltimore,” said Lewis. “I spent the most time with them, but Green Bay showed the most interest. So they told me they were going to take me with the 27th pick if I was still sitting there. I was on the phone waiting for them to pick me, and then Baltimore called.”
Ray Lewis reveals he was drafted by Ravens while he was on phone with Packers
John Dorsey, former Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns general manager, was a Packers scout during that time. He told Bob McGinn of Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel in 2013 that the Packers already had Lewis’ name written out on a card, ready to hand it in at the NFL Draft in New York. Then, it was announced that the Ravens had selected Lewis.
Dorsey said that general manager Ron Wolf really wanted Lewis, and was disappointed that the Ravens took him one pick ahead of him.
“Ray Lewis was ‘Wolfie’s’ guy all the way,” said Dorsey, h/t Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “It would have been a hell of a pick.”
The Packers selected USC offensive tackle John Michels with the 27th-overall pick.
What if the Ravens never selected Lewis, and he ended up being drafted by the Packers? We’ll never know. We do know, however, how his career with the Ravens ended up.
Lewis led the league in solo tackles in three of his first six seasons in the NFL (1997, 1999, 2001). He was named to the Pro Bowl 12 times and the All-Pro First Team seven times. He won the Defensive Player of the Year twice (2000, 2003) and the Super Bowl twice (35, 47). In fact, he was named the Super Bowl 35 MVP after recording four defended passes, three solo tackles, and two assisted tackles in the 34-7 win over the New York Giants.
Overall, Lewis recorded 1,568 solo tackles, 491 assisted tackles, 41.5 sacks, 31 interceptions, 20 fumble recoveries, and 19 forced fumbles in his 17-year career.
Packers fans can only imagine what would have happened if the Ravens had never selected Lewis and he fell to them.