Everyone thinks of the frozen tundra when they hear the name Brett Favre. They see the green and gold, the iconic number 4, and those wild, gunslinger heaves into double coverage that somehow always worked out. But he didn't start there. Not even close.
If you want to know who drafted Brett Favre, the answer is the Atlanta Falcons.
It was 1991. The Falcons used the 33rd overall pick in the second round to grab the kid from Southern Miss. But honestly? It was a disaster from the jump. The head coach didn't want him. The city was too much for a country boy with a million bucks and no supervision.
He didn't throw a single completion for the team that drafted him. Zero. Zip.
The 1991 Draft: A Marriage Made in Hell
Ken Herock was the guy running the show in the Falcons' front office back then. He loved Favre. He saw that cannon for an arm and figured he’d found the future of the franchise. But there was a major problem: Jerry Glanville.
Glanville was the head coach, a guy who wore all black and left tickets for Elvis at the will-call window. He was a character, to say the least. And he absolutely, 100% hated the pick.
"I wanted a wide receiver," Glanville later admitted.
He actually wanted Mike Pritchard, a speedy wideout from Colorado. The Falcons got Pritchard in the first round, but when the second round rolled around and Favre was still on the board, Herock couldn't resist. Glanville was livid. He reportedly told anyone who would listen that it would take a "plane crash" for Favre to actually get into a game.
It wasn't just a professional disagreement. It was personal. Glanville didn't even call him by his name. He just called him "Mississippi."
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A Rookie Year in the "Big A"
Imagine being 21 years old, coming from a tiny town like Kiln, Mississippi, and suddenly being a backup quarterback in Atlanta during the early '90s. Deion Sanders was there. The team was flashy. The nightlife was legendary.
Favre leaned into it. Hard.
He spent more time at a bar called Frankie's than he did in the film room. He was late for meetings. He was out of shape. At one point, he missed the team photo because he was nursing a hangover. Jerry Glanville wasn't exactly a disciplinarian, but he had no patience for a rookie who wasn't "his guy" and was acting like a frat boy.
By the time the season ended, Favre's stat line in Atlanta was genuinely hilarious if you consider what he became later:
- Attempts: 4
- Completions: 0
- Interceptions: 2 (One was a pick-six on his very first pass)
- Sacks: 1
- Passing Yards: 0
He literally had a 0.0 passer rating. You could have walked off the street and put up the same numbers.
Why the Falcons Gave Up So Fast
You’d think a team would give a second-round pick more than one year to figure things out. But the relationship between Glanville and Favre was toxic. Glanville was convinced Favre was a bust. He famously said he sent Favre to Green Bay because it was a "dry" town where the only thing open late was a Chili Joe's.
Basically, he thought Favre would drink himself out of the league if he stayed in Atlanta.
Enter Ron Wolf.
Wolf was the new General Manager of the Green Bay Packers. He had been with the Jets when Favre was coming out of college and had a first-round grade on him. When he got the job in Green Bay, he called Herock and offered a first-round pick for the guy who couldn't even complete a pass in Atlanta.
Herock couldn't believe his luck. He got a first-rounder for a kid his coach was trying to bury.
The Falcons used that pick on a running back named Tony Smith. If you’ve never heard of Tony Smith, don't worry—most Falcons fans wish they hadn't either. He was a massive bust. Meanwhile, Favre went to Wisconsin, sobered up (mostly), and won three MVPs.
The Legacy of the Mistake
Looking back, the Falcons' decision to draft Brett Favre and then trade him is one of the greatest "what ifs" in NFL history. Could you imagine a 1990s Falcons team with Deion Sanders on defense and a prime Brett Favre on offense? They might have owned the decade.
But it wouldn't have happened.
The environment in Atlanta was wrong for him. He needed the structure—and the boredom—of Green Bay to focus. He needed Mike Holmgren to scream at him. He needed a fresh start away from the "Mississippi" nicknames and the bars in Buckhead.
What We Can Learn From the Favre Saga
The draft isn't just about talent. It's about fit.
- Drafting for the Coach: If the coach doesn't believe in the player, the player is doomed before he even puts on the helmet.
- Maturity Matters: Talent can get you drafted, but it won't keep you in the league if you can't show up for the team photo.
- One Man's Trash: Ron Wolf saw what everyone else missed because he looked at the tape, not the hangover.
If you’re a Falcons fan, this story usually ends in a sigh. If you’re a Packers fan, it’s the beginning of a dynasty.
Next Steps: If you want to see how this era changed the NFL, look up the 1991 draft class. It was loaded with talent, but the real story was the guys who got traded before they even hit their prime. You might also want to check out the career of Chris Miller, the guy who was starting ahead of Favre in Atlanta. He was actually a decent player, but injuries (and the shadow of a future Hall of Famer) eventually cut his time short.