The 1983 NFL draft will go down in sports lore as one of the most memorable and impressive classes ever assembled. Seven of the 30 first-rounders are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, including fantasy superstars like John Elway, Eric Dickerson, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino. The draft class also saw several other highly productive fantasy players like Roger Craig, Curt Warner, Mark Clayton and Henry Ellard.
Marino, who was picked after fellow quarterbacks Todd Blackledge, Tony Eason and Ken O’Brien, led the position in all-time passing yards, touchdown passes and fantasy points when he retired in 1999. Elway was second in those categories when he hung up his cleats in 1998. Kelly, who played part of his career in the USFL, ranked ninth in all-time points among quarterbacks when he retired in 1996.
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The biggest fantasy star in the class, besides Marino, was Dickerson. He rushed for over 1,800 yards as a rookie, followed that up with an NFL-record 2,105 rushing yards in 1984 and would rush for over 3,000 combined yards in his next two years. He scored 57 total touchdowns in his first four seasons with the L.A. Rams.
When he retired in 1993, only Walter Payton, Marcus Allen and Tony Dorsett scored more career PPR points than Dickerson. Craig, who was a second-round selection of the San Francisco 49ers, was the first runner to post 1,000 rushing and receiving yards in the same season (1985). He finished fifth in all-time PPR points among runners when he retired in 1993, but Craig was never called to Canton.
Warner rushed for 1,000-plus yards in each of his first three full seasons (he missed most of 1984) and had at least eight touchdowns in each of his first five full years. Back in his day, Warner would have been a first or second rounder.
At wide receiver, Ellard finished his career with 814 receptions, 13,777 yards and 65 touchdown catches. He also recorded 1,000-plus yards in seven of his 16 years. Like Craig, he never received a call to Canton. Clayton finished his career eighth in PPR points among wideouts when he retired in 1993, thanks in part to Marino.
As you can see, the 1983 NFL draft class not only boasted a number of future Hall of Famers, but even more players who made a huge historical fantasy impact.
