Ray Lewis was almost drafted by Green Bay Packers in 1996

Can you imagine a roster consisting of not only Brett Favre but Ray Lewis? It seems like something out of a video game fantasy but it nearly happened back in 1996 as the Green Bay Packers were seconds away from drafting Ray Lewis out of the University of Miami.

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Seeking a defensive presence with the No. 27 pick in the 1996 NFL draft, Green Bay already had Ray Lewis on the phone and were all but congratulating him on joining the historic franchise.

But that’s when disaster struck for the Packers as a little known general manager by the name of Ozzie Newsome decided to take a risk on the high-motored linebacker according to CBS Sports.

“We had his agent on the phone as I recall it, and we had Ray Lewis on the phone,” former Green Bay Packers general manger Ron Wolf said. “I think there was less than a minute to go. We already had his name in; our guy standing there at the [draft table in New York] was on the phone with his name in.”

“And then of course we heard that Baltimore selects Ray Lewis, linebacker from the University of Miami. And that was not my finest moment.”

Obviously nobody knew just how great Ray Lewis would turn out to be though that has to be a rather painful memory for those involved.

Of course they’re not the only front office to have an eventual Hall of Fame talent taken out of their grasp though you can’t help but wonder how much more successful the Green Bay Packers would have become with Lewis leading their defense.

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