25 most sought after NFL quarterback draft prospects of all time
By Zach Bigalke
Fans of NFL football know him best as the face of FOX coverage of the professional game, but Terry Bradshaw was once the hottest commodity entering the 1970 NFL Draft.
The Louisiana Tech gunslinger was coveted by two teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Bears, who had both tumbled to equally abysmal 1-13 records. Both teams had a legitimate claim to the top pick in the draft and the opportunity to land a franchise quarterback in the making. In the end, the fact that Bradshaw ended up with the Pittsburgh Steelers all came down to a coin flip.
A sensation from the time he arrived in Ruston, Bradshaw nevertheless sat behind future Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson on the Bulldogs’ depth chart. When he finally got his chance to start in 1968, the passer from Shreveport made the most of his opportunity. As a junior, Bradshaw led the nation in yards produced and led the Bulldogs to a 9-2 record and a bowl victory.
Louisiana Tech went 8-2 in Bradshaw’s senior year, putting him on the radar of NFL teams and leading to a coin flip to decide whether Pittsburgh or Chicago would select first. Once they secured the top pick in the 1970 NFL Draft, the Steelers never vacillated on their decision to pick Bradshaw.
The decision proved prescient, as the Louisiana Tech star became one of the key figures in the Steelers dynasty of the 1970s. Leading Pittsburgh to four Super Bowl victories, Bradshaw won the MVP award in the big game twice and was also the league MVP in 1978.
Had the coin flip gone the other way, and Bradshaw become a Bear instead of a Steeler, it might have completely flipped the narrative of NFL football in the 1970s.