The One That Got Away

The passing of former Tennessee Titans quarterback and NFL co-MVP Steve McNair has caused an enormous wave of support from the NFL as the entire country mourns his death, and as LP Field is open for a McNair tribute today, we’re considering the path the Carolina Panthers took in the 1995 draft, when the Panthers almost hooked Air McNair as their first draft pick.

A starting franchise, the Panthers had the No. 1 pick in the ‘95 draft, and the team was seriously considering three prospects to draft first: Penn State running back Ki-Jana Carter, Penn State quarterback Kerry Collins and Alcorn State QB Steve McNair. Carolina had mock jerseys printed for each player, but in a trade with Cincinnati, the Panthers swapped their first-round pick to the Bengals for a No. 5 pick. Steve McNair ended up being drafted third overall by the Houston Oilers (later becoming the Tennessee Titans), and the Panthers selected the other quarterback, Kerry Carter, as the team’s first-ever pick.

The Panthers, a franchise expansion in 1995, had perhaps the most significant draft in ‘95, as the team was just starting up. McNair was questioned by reporters in the weeks leading up  to the draft what he thought about potentially being Carolina’s first-ever draft pick, to which he responded, “Don’t look at the school I go to. Don’t consider me just a black quarterback. Consider me as a person first and consider me in what I do on the field. That’s going out there doing my best, giving 100 percent every play and doing what it takes to win. I don’t ever have in my mind that I’m going to fail. I won’t let you down.” Indeed, although he was never a Panther, McNair did not let anyone down, and in the days following his death, it’s still his life that the country honors.

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