Photos of RB Ron Dayne's career with the Giants
As general managers and executives around the NFL prepare their crystal balls for the 2015 NFL Draft, the folks over at NFL.com are having fun with hindsight and taking a look back at what teams could have done if they had a second chance at past Draft Days.
This time, College Football 24/7 writer Bryan Fischer takes a look back at the 2000 NFL Draft, when the Giants selected running back Ron Dayne with the 11th overall pick.
Given a chance to do it all again. Fischer believes the Giants may have been better off choosing tight end Bubba Franks.
"Dayne had a solid start to his career in New York as a complement to Tiki Barber," Fischer writes, "but Franks would have given Kerry Collins another reliable target in the passing game."
Ron Dayne was a Heisman Trophy winning running back out of Wisconsin who set a NCAA Division I-A rushing record for total yards in a career.
After being drafted by the Giants, Dayne teamed with Barber to create the "Thunder and Lightning" backfield and helped the team to an NFC Championship and an appearance in Super Bowl XXXV.
Dayne's numbers diminished following his rookie season and he was not re-signed after four years with the Giants. He went on to play one season with the Denver Broncos before finishing his NFL career with two seasons in Houston.
Daniel Lamont "Bubba" Franks was selected 14th overall out of Miami by the Green Bay Packers. He set a school record for most touchdowns by a tight end and was named as an All-American in 1999.
In the NFL, Franks was named to three Pro Bowls in his first four seasons in Green Bay. He went on to play eight years with the Packers and one with the Jets, finishing with 2,347 receiving yards and 32 career touchdowns.
A few notables among other team's chances to do-over their 2000 Draft were the Cleveland Browns' first overall selection of real-life 199th pick Tom Brady, the Cincinnati Bengals taking Plaxico Burress at number four, and the Seattle Seahawks taking Shaun O'Hara at number 22.
