Going into the 1995 NFL Draft, the Eagles had a gaping hole at defensive end thanks to the departure of Reggie White 2 years earlier. Picking at 12 that year would obviously not yield a replacement for the departed generational defender. Was there anyone in the draft who could? The Eagles sure thought so and decided to trade up to get him.
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
Mike Mamula
Few people have ever performed as well at the NFL Scouting Combine as Mike Mamula. It wasn’t by accident. Back in the 90s, players didn’t think to actually practice the combine drills ahead of time. Mamula ended up being a trend setter by practicing countless reps and getting good at exactly what he would be tested on. Despite being 6’5″ and 250 pounds, Mamula benched more than lineman, jumped higher and farther than receivers, ran faster than running backs, and had the 2nd highest score ever on the Wonderlic Test. The term “workout warrior” hadn’t been coined yet, but Mamula is the prototype. That’s not to say he didn’t have production at Boston College, he had 29 sacks over his final 2 years, but he was not seen as much of a prospect coming out of the weak Big East. That all changed at the combine.
The Eagles wanted Mamula bad but were desperately afraid that he would not be available to them at #12 overall. The first 5 picks were all offense including RB Ki-Jana Carter #1 overall and future Hall of Famer Tony Boselli at #2. Future All-Pro Kevin Carter was the first defender off the board to the Rams at #6. The Eagles were on notice that Mamula could be taken as soon as next by the Tampa Bay Bucs who were in need of defensive talent themselves. They made their move. In exchange for the #7 pick and a 3rd rounder, the Eagles gave up #12, #43, and #63. The Eagles got their man.
History has not been kind to Mamula, save for somebody always winning the Best Random Jersey Contest by wearing his #59 on Sundays. He certainly wasn’t Reggie White, but he did finish his career with 31.5 sacks in only 5 years. Only 5 years??? Injuries caused him to miss all of the 1998 season and he retired after 2000. Well, it’s not like this trade came back to bite us, right?
Tampa’s All-Time Draft
The top prospect in this draft wasn’t Carter or Boselli or even Steve McNair who was the first QB off the board at #3. Nope, none of them. The top prospect swept all the college defensive awards including the Bronko Nagurski Award for Best Defender. He even finished 6th in Heisman voting as a DT for the Miami Hurricanes. There was one problem though. The night before the draft, rumors came out that Warren Sapp had failed multiple drug tests. Though he denied this, the damage was done and the possible #1 overall pick started to fall. The Eagles could have had him at #7, obviously, but passed. Instead, it was at the Eagles’ original pick, #12, that the Tampa Bay Bucs ended his draft slide.
Tampa wasn’t done though. They took both 2nd round picks acquired from the Eagles and sent them to Dallas to get back into the end of the first round. At #28, the Bucs selected All-American linebacker Derrick Brooks out of Florida State.
Now, I’m sure the Bucs were confident in their draft day maneuvering, but even the most optimistic management in Tampa would blush at the thought of drafting 2 Hall of Famers in the same draft. That’s just what they did. Over 9 years with Tampa, Sapp was an All-Pro 6 times and the Defensive Player of the Year in 1999. As for Brooks, in 14 years he made 9 consecutive All-Pro teams and was the DPOY in 2022. So, yes Eagles, there were two replacements for Reggie White in this draft, and we could have had both of them. I can’t imagine any team has ever had a better first round and it was all thanks to the Eagles. But wait, it gets worse!
2002
Tampa gradually built out its team over the next few years adding Simeon Rice, Ronde Barber and others under head coach Tony Dungy. However, it wasn’t until the 2002 season under Jon Gruden that the team really came together, finishing the season 12-4 good for the #2 seed in the NFC.
The #1 seed that year was the Philadelphia Eagles. Despite the Mamula pick, the Eagles defense eventually came together and the offense was led by the young duo of QB Donovan McNabb and coach Andy Reid. After losing the NFC Championship on the road in St. Louis the year before, the Eagles earned the right for the NFC to come through Philly that year. Then there was the issue of Tampa never winning a game below 40 degrees. They were set for the NFC Championship Game. After returning the opening kick to the Tampa 20 and scoring 2 plays later, it was clear we were going to blow them out.
What happened next was the worst thing I have ever seen on a football field. For 59 minutes, the Eagles were beaten and ground up by Tampa’s defense. The game was close, but the offense had no life. Down 20-10 in the 4th, McNabb threw the game sealing Pick-6 to Ronde Barber in a play that gave me nightmares for years. Our great chance to finally win the Super Bowl was wasted.
The following week in San Diego, the Bucs blew out the Raiders. Sapp had a sack and Brooks returned a pick for a TD. They were the leaders of the Tampa defense that finished #1 that season. That’s #1 in scoring, yards against, and takeaways and they did it going away. The Eagles finished #2 that year by only giving up 241 points but they weren’t even close to Tampa’s 196, one of the best marks of all time.
Not only did we lose to Tampa in the playoffs, but it was because of the Eagles and Mike Mamula that they built one of the best defenses of all time. That game and that pick still haunt me.
Philly Front Office 
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