Today marks the 40th anniversary of the 1983 NFL Draft, which produced eight Hall of Famers at six different positions. These players ended up winning a combined seven Super Bowls and shit ton of awards.
Let’s take a stroll down memory lane, shall we?
John Elway was the consensus No. 1 overall pick coming out of Stanford. He was an All-American and two-time Pac 10 Player of the Year award winner. He was even drafted by the New York Yankees in the second round of the 1981 MLB Draft, six spots ahead of Tony Gwynn. He spent his lone minor league season with the Bronx Bombers’ low-A team in Oneonta in 1982 batting .318 with four homers, and 25 RBI in 42 games.
Elway used baseball as leverage to secure a trade from the Colts — coming off an 0-8-1 season and selected him after not securing a trade partner before the draft — to the Denver Broncos, spending his entire 16-year career in orange and blue.
Elway appeared in five Super Bowls, winning two in his final two seasons. A nine-time Pro Bowler, he was MVP in 1987, Super Bowl XXXIII MVP, and threw for 51,475 yards and an even 300 TDs.
He’d later have his No. 7 retired by both the Denver Broncos and his alma mater, and was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Dickerson was an All-American and two-time SWC Offensive Player of the Year at SMU, where he tied Doak Walker’s career scoring record (38 TDs) despite splitting carries with other backs. This pick immediately paid dividends as Dickerson ended up taking home Rookie of the Year honors en route to enshrinement in Canton.
Dickerson was a six-time Pro Bowler, and five-time All-Pro who rushed for 13,259 career yards and 90 TDs. He holds the NFL’s single season rushing record — 2,105 yards — which he set in 1984, a year after breaking the single season rookie rushing record.
He was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Covert was drafted 21 spots ahead of the QB he blocked for at Pitt — Dan Marino. The 6-foot-4, 277-pound tackle was an All-American as a senior, and didn’t allow a single sack that season.
Covert spent his entire eight-year career with Da Bears. He, alongside fellow Class of 83 draftee Richard Dent, won a ring two seasons later. A two-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro, Covert prevented Lawrence Taylor from recording a sack during the three meetings between Chicago and the New York Giants.
He was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and Pitt retired his No. 75 jersey.
Matthews was an All-American and was voted All-Pac 10 twice while USC. The 6-foot-5, 305 pounder played every position along the offensive line at some point during his college career, also displaying that versatility during his 19-year pro tenure.
Matthews was a 14-time Pro Bowler and seven-time All-Pro with the Oilers, who later became the Titans upon moving to Tennessee. He started 293 games, made the franchise’s Ring of Honor, and had his No. 74 retired by the team. His nephew is former Green Bay Packers LB Clay Matthews.
Despite being drafted by the Buffalo Bills, Kelly — who played collegiately at The U, winning the Peach Bowl in 1980 — ended up playing for the burgeoning USFL’s Houston Gamblers. He was the league’s Rookie of the Year and MVP in 1984. The Bills retained his rights and Kelly joined Buffalo after the USFL folded.
During Kelly’s 11-year NFL career, he appeared in four straight Super Bowls, was a five-time Pro Bowler, and threw for 35,467 yards and 237 TDs. Buffalo retired his No. 12.
Marino’s draft stock plummeted due to poor stats and rumored drug use. He was selected after such luminaries as Todd Blackledge, Tony Eason, and Ken O’Brien, and outshined all three during his 17-year career with the Dolphins. (Marino was also the No. 1 pick in the 1983 USFL Draft.)
The 1984 NFL MVP, Marino threw for 61,361 yards and 420 TDs, and appeared as himself in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Little Nicky, and the music video for Hootie and the Blowfish’s “Only Wanna Be With You” before embarking on a broadcast career.
The Dolphins and Pitt retired Marino’s No. 13. He was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and is considered one of the best — if not the best — quarterbacks to never win a Super Bowl.
Green starred in football and track at Texas A&I University, a Division II school. On the gridiron as a senior, the 5-foot-9, 184-pound DB recorded 56 tackles, four picks, and even returned two punts for scores.
As a pro, Green won two Super Bowls, was a seven-time Pro Bowler, while notching 1,159 career tackles, 54 INTs, and six TDs. He had at least one pick in 19 of his 20 seasons. Green is a member of the NFL’s 100th Anniversary All-Time Team and the College Football Hall of Fame. Green and fellow Washington standout and HOFer Art Monk were both in favor of the franchise changing its name.
Dent played collegiately at Tennessee State University. The 6-foot-5, 265-pound DE was a two-time All-American. He recorded 158 tackles, 39.5 sacks, and six fumble recoveries at TSU.
Like Covert, Dent was a member of the famed 1985 Bears team that won Super Bowl XX. He took game MVP honors, and also earn another ring with the 49ers a decade later. During his 15-year career, Dent forced 37 fumbles, recovered 13, notched 677 tackles, 137.5 sacks, eight INTs, and scored two TDs.