With two Super Bowl victories since 1996, the Green Bay Packers have unquestionably been one of the most successful franchises in the last three decades. However, they could have been even better if they had drafted Ray Lewis in 1996. It may seem strange to look back nearly 30 years, but a recent video has surfaced of Eliot Wolf, the Patriots’ current acting general manager, delivering an interesting anecdote about his time in the Packers’ front office.
The Baltimore Ravens selected Lewis 26th overall in the 1996 NFL Draft, making him the franchise’s second player ever drafted (Jonathan Ogden was the first). However, according to Wolf, the Packers were ready to draft Lewis in the first round one pick later. “John Michels was one. That one did not work out. That’s quite an interesting story. They were about to draft Ray Lewis, but Baltimore had already selected him, so they chose John Michels instead. There were some disappointments. They actually had Ray on the phone, and they were talking to him while Baltimore was still on the clock. They regarded Ray as one of the greatest players in the draft. Baltimore clearly got a nice one.
Once Lewis was off the board, the Packers had to make a speedy decision, so they went with offensive tackle John Michels. Michels started nine games as a rookie but only appeared in 24 games until a knee injury ended his career after two years. Meanwhile, Lewis was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018 after appearing on seven All-Pro teams and winning two Super Bowls. What if Lewis had played for the Packers instead of the Ravens during his career? Would Green Bay have more Super Bowls? Would the Ravens have some? We will never know.
