Lam Jones was a player that came to New York with high expectations. Unfortunately, those expectations were not to be realized.

For today’s edition of “Where Are They Now?”, we are reaching back into history a bit, to talk about a wide receiver that was expected to do big things. The Jets went out of their way to choose this player with the second overall pick in his NFL draft, although he wasn’t known as a football player. However, the pick is another that is on the list of New York Jets jokes. We are talking about Johnny “Lam” Jones.

THEN

For the younger fans that might not know much about Jones, he was drafted by the Jets with the second pick overall in the 1980 draft. However, he did not make his reputation as a football player! You heard me. He made his reputation as an Olympic sprinter, with a gold medal to his credit. He also ran the anchor leg for the relay team in high school, and in one race, took the final baton with between 40-60 meters to make up, passed the entire field to win the race.

However, he did break into football in college at the University of Texas. He only averaged 28 receptions per season with the Longhorns. Most teams that are “normal” would have been turned away by this, but not our Jets. He did average 18.9 yards per catch and record 14 TDs. So the Jets went and took him with the second pick overall in the 1980 draft.

For all of the expectations that come with being the second pick in the draft, he had more than a modest career with the Jets, and was out of football after 1984. Take a look:

NOW

Lam Jones has had it a bit tough since leaving the football scene. He battled drug and alcohol addiction which started in high school. As a rookie, he was taken out for a hazing incident where shots were downed, unbeknownst to Jones, of Coke and 7 Up. Obviously this didn’t help the problem.

The issue continued after his playing days, until a sexual molestation incident sent Lam to rehab. To his absolute credit, he has recovered and now lectures on the subject.

In 2005 he was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer, however today he is in remission.

#80, WR Lam Jones

Terry Bradway has had some great successes in his time with the New York Jets.

In case you have missed the recent news, the Jets have made some changes in the front office. As we posted recently, Scott Cohen and Ari Nissim are not going to have their contracts renewed, and will be leaving the Jets’ front office.  No surprise here, it was only a matter of time before John Idzik started making his mark on the front office.  The new guy is going to bring in his guys.

As this happened, many were expecting Terry Bradway to be the next guy to go. But as the day went along, it was not to be, and we learned that Terry would be staying in New York. This angered many Jets fans, as I saw on the @thejetpress Twitter feed all day long. Many were calling him “Teflon Terry”, as in the guy that can’t be touched.

So that got me thinking. How good of a talent evaluator has Terry Bradway been through the years? Is he really as bad as everyone says? So I did some research, and looked at what Bradway did through the years. He was the general manager beginning with the 2001 draft, and ending with the 2005 draft.

You might be surprised as to my findings. Let’s look back:

2001: 1st round, 16th overall, WR Santana Moss
2nd round, 49th overall, RB Lamont Jordan
3rd round, 79th overall, T Kareem McKenzie

2002: 1st round, 22nd overall, DE Bryan Thomas

Let’s see. So far, over the first two years of the Bradway era, he drafted a speedy wide receiver that still is making an impact in the league, a running back that didn’t have a long career but was quite effective in a Jets’ uniform, a starting right tackle, and a defensive end that played a significant role for the Jets through this past season.

2004: 1st round, 12th overall, LB Jonatham Vilma
3th round, 108th overall, WR Jerricho Cotchery
5th round, 143rd overall, S Erik Coleman

2005: 3rd round, 88th overall, DT Sione Po’uha
4th round, 123rd overall, S Kerry Rhodes

So there we have a many year starting linebacker in Vilma, a receiver that we all wish was never let go in Cotchery, and a safety in Coleman that was lesser-known, but did pick off 7 in 3 years with the Jets.

In 2005, we have a tackle that played until the current season, and a safety that had great seasons in the Green and White before he was sent away during the Rex era.

Yes, I skipped 2003, as that was the year that Bradway selected Dewayne Robertson. We all know that was a mistake, and a colossal one. But that is one.

My point here, is look at that list. It looks to me like Terry Bradway had a lot more success than failure as a talent evaluator. Is it really so bad that he is staying? After all, he wanted to choose the guy below:

January 26, 2013; Honolulu, HI, USA; NFC quarterback Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks (3) passes the football during the NFC practice on Ohana Day at the 2013 Pro Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Browning Nagle was supposed to be the quarterback of the future for the New York Jets in the 90s.

For today’s edition of “Where Are They Now?”, we are looking at a guy that was supposed to be beloved in Jets’ lore, but, it didn’t turn out that way. He was selected in 1991 to be the heir apparent to Ken O’Brien at quarterback, and had one good start, before it all turned sour.

So, instead of being a beloved choice in Jets’ history, he is on the list of jokes. Let’s check in with former quarterback, Browning Nagle

THEN

Browning Nagle did post an excellent college career at Louisville under Howard Schnellenberger, including being named on of the MVPs of the 1991 Fiesta Bowl.

Then comes the NFL draft. There was a great deal of talk at the time, that the Jets were going to take a guy from Southern Mississippi named Brett Favre with the 34th pick overall. However, that plan fell apart when the Falcons chose Favre immediately before the Jets with the 33rd pick.

So, the Jets were left with Browning Nagle, and coach Bruce Coslet, with his staff, spent a great deal of time grooming Nagle to become the starting quarterback of the New York Jets. After throwing 2 passes in 1991, Browning became the starter in 1992. And it was a brilliant start, week 1, Nagle went 21-37 for 366 yards and 2 TDs. Although the Jets lost 20-17 that night, a lot was expected of Browning going forward.

Those expectations were not to be, as he only had one more game that year where he threw for 200 yards, threw only 5 more TDs against 17 INTs, and then was relegated to the bench. He was in New York for one more year before moving to the Colts, starting one game, and then moving along to the Falcons as a backup. He played in the AFL for two seasons before retiring from the game in 2000. Here are his NFL stats:

Mark Sanchez doesn’t look so bad after reading this now, does he?

NOW

Today, Browning Nagle makes his money in the medical device industry, and has been doing so since he retired in the year 2000. Currently, he is the senior manager of a company known as Medtronic Spinal and Biologics.

He lives just outside Memphis, TN, with his wife, Mallie Jo, and his two children, Browning Jr, and Savannah Clair.

An experiment gone bad, but leading a successful life now, quarterback Browning Nagle.