Gary Zimmerman – Syndication Server

Giants’ short history selecting No. 3 overall in the NFL draft

The New York Giants will select third overall in the 2025 NFL draft, a spot they’ve only been in two other times in franchise history.

The New York Giants will select third overall in the 2025 NFL draft unless they opt to trade out of the spot. If they stand pat, it will be only the third time in franchise history they’ve made a pick at No. 3 overall.

With at least one of those picks, the Giants landed an all-time great — a player who deserves to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The other was a bit more forgettable.

Here’s a quick look at the Giants’ short history of selecting No. 3 overall in the NFL draft.

1974 NFL draft: OL John Hicks, Ohio State

Looking to upgrade their line, the Giants selected offensive lineman John Hicks with their first pick in 1974. He started 14 games that season and was third in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting.

It seemed like a match made in heaven for the Giants but the union was shortlived.

In 1978, the Giants traded Hicks to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for offensive lineman Jim Clack and wide receiver Ernie Pough. However, Hicks would never take another NFL snap.

Over his four seasons with the Giants, Hicks appeared in 52 games with 50 starts.

In 2016, Hicks passed away at the age of 65 due to complications from diabetes.

1984 NFL draft: LB Carl Banks, Michigan State

10 years after selecting Hicks with the No. 3 overall pick, the Giants found themselves back in the same spot. This time, they called the name of Michigan State linebacker Carl Banks.

Banks spent nine seasons with the Giants and quickly became an all-time franchise great. He was named to the Pro Bowl and honored as a First-Team All-Pro in 1987, and won two Super Bowl titles during his time in New York.

In 2011, Banks was indicted into the Giants Ring of Honor.

Before retiring from football following the 1995 season, Banks also spent time with the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns.

In 173 career games (151 starts), Banks recorded 860 tackles, one forced fumble, six fumble recoveries, 39.5 sacks, three interceptions, and one defensive touchdown.

1984 Supplemental draft: OL Gary Zimmerman, Oregon

Although the Giants have only selected third overall in NFL draft history twice, they did also select third in the 1984 Supplemental draft of USFL and CFL players.

With that selection, the Giants took Oregon offensive lineman Gary Zimmerman. However, he never played a single snap for the team and remained in the USFL until it folded in August of 1986.

At that point, the Minnesota Vikings acquired his rights from the Giants and Zimmerman went on to have a Hall of Fame career.

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View all of the Broncos players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Randy Gradishar is the latest Broncos legend to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame. View the full list here.

Former Denver Broncos linebacker Randy Gradishar will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on Saturday evening.

So, how many players do the Broncos have in the Hall of Fame now? That depends on who you believe qualifies for the count.

There are several players — running back Floyd Little, quarterback John Elway, safety Steve Atwater, tight end Shanahan Sharpe, offensive lineman Gary Zimmerman, running back Terrell Davis and cornerback Champ Bailey — who are obvious Broncos Hall of Famers. That’s seven.

Quarterback Peyton Manning only played four years in Denver, but he won the AFC West in all four seasons and won Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos. That’s eight. Outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware spent the majority of his career with the Dallas Cowboys, but he won his ring in Denver. Nine.

John Lynch won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but he, like Manning, played the final four years of his career with the Broncos — and he’s a member of the team’s Ring of Fame. Ten.

So Gradishar is essentially the 11th Denver player to reach Canton. There are others, though. Safety Brian Dawkins played three seasons with the Broncos. Cornerback Willie Brown played four seasons in Denver before a 12-year stint with the Oakland Raiders. Running back Tony Dorsett and cornerback Ty Law also spent one season each with the Broncos.

Additionally, late team owner Pat Bowlen was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2019. So there are at least a dozen members of the Hall of Fame who Broncos fans can claim as their own. Up next should be former coach Mike Shanahan, who was snubbed again by voters in 2024.

Here’s a quick list of every former Bronco in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

1. RB Floyd Little (1967-1975)

2. LB Randy Gradishar (1974-1983)

3. QB John Elway (1983-1998)

4. DB Steve Atwater (1989-1998)

5. TE Shannon Sharpe (1990-1999, 2002-’03)

7. OL Gary Zimmerman (1993-1997)

(USA TODAY Sports, US Presswire Sports Archive)

8. RB Terrell Davis (1995-2001)

9. CB Champ Bailey (2004-2013)

10. DB John Lynch (2004-2007)

(Rick Scuteri-US Presswire Copyright Rick Scuteri)

11. QB Peyton Manning (2012-2015)

12. OLB DeMarcus Ware (2014-2016)

13. Owner Pat Bowlen (1984-2019)

14. DB Brian Dawkins (2009-2011)

15. CB Willie Brown (1963-1966)

16. RB Tony Dorsett (1988)

17. CB Ty Law (2009)

65 days until Vikings season opener: Every player to wear No. 65

From Austin Schlottmann to Jerry Huth and everyone in between, we take a look at everyone who has worn No. 65 for the Minnesota Vikings.

It’s the final countdown…

Well, sort of.

The Minnesota Vikings will kick off their 2023 regular season in 65 days at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 10.

From now until then, we will take a trip down memory lane and count each day by revisiting the players that have worn that specific jersey number.

Offensive lineman Austin Schlottmann is currently wearing the number for the Vikings. Before him, Pat Elflein and John Sullivan wore the number for an extended period.

With 65 days until kickoff, here’s a look at every player to wear No. 65 with the Vikings (via Pro Football Reference):

7 best trades in Denver Broncos history

John Elway’s 1983 arrival to the Denver Broncos highlights the best trades in franchise history.

As the Denver Broncos before for the possibility of trades during the NFL draft this week, here’s a look back at the seven best trades in franchise history.

Flashback Friday: Giants trade Gary Zimmerman’s rights to Vikings in 1986

The Giants obtained the rights to OL Gary Zimmerman in the 1984 Supplemental Draft but conflict led to a trade to Minnesota in 1986.

The New York Giants (8-5-1) and the Minnesota Vikings (11-3) face off in a key NFC battle this Saturday that has postseason implications.

The two sides don’t have much of a history with each other, having played just 29 times in the regular season since 1961. There have been three postseason meetings, with the Giants winning two, including the 2000 NFC Championship Game. Overall, the Vikings lead the series 17-12.

Perhaps the most common thread the teams have with one another is Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton, who was traded to the Giants from Minnesota in 1967 and then traded back in 1972.

There was another significant trade between the two teams that rarely gets much recognition. It happened in 1986 when the Giants traded the rights to offensive lineman Gary Zimmerman to the Vikings for two second-round selections in that year’s NFL draft.

The Giants took cornerback Mark Collins and safety Greg Lasker with those selections. Both players became key contributors on the Giants’ Super Bowl XXI championship team.

Zimmerman had a long career in the NFL, playing first with Minnesota and then with Denver. He was named to seven Pro Bowls and made All-Pro eight times. In addition, Zimmerman was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Teams of the 1980s and 1990s. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008.

The mystery of why Zimmerman never played for the Giants still remains. He was a perfect fit for the George Young/Bill Parcells team of the 1980s: a versatile lineman who could both pass protect and open holes for the running game.

Here’s the lowdown …

In 1984, the NFL held a supplemental draft for players who had signed with other leagues, such as the USFL and the CFL, so that there was no bidding war once these players became free agents. The NFL did not believe the USFL would last and foresaw a glut of free agents hitting the open market when the USFL folded, which it did in August 1986.

The rights to Zimmerman were selected by the Giants in the first round (third overall) of the supplemental draft. The Giants chose Zimmerman over defensive end Reggie White, whose rights were taken by the Philadelphia Eagles with the next selection.

Zimmerman, who played three seasons with the Los Angeles Express of the USFL, had told the Giants he had no intention of playing in New York.

Over time, the Giants attempted to sign Zimmerman anyway, per The New York Times, “offering him $1.4 million over four years. But he refused to play for the Giants, saying he did not like New York City, and he unsuccessfully sued to have the N.F.L.’s draft of U.S.F.L. players declared void.”

They traded him to Minnesota during the 1986 NFL draft. The Giants went on to win the Super Bowl, so few cared about Zimmerman and his career afterward. Zimmerman did not get his Super Bowl ring until his final season, 1997, with the Denver Broncos.

It’s just as well Zimmerman did not play in New York. He did not mix well with the media and snubbed them for most of his career. As we know, that doesn’t play well in the media capital of the world.

Still, we wonder: What if the Giants opted for White instead of Zimmerman? What if Zimmerman decided to play in New York?

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