On the latest episode of the Dave Dameshek Football Program, former Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew joined Dave Dameshek and Handsome Hank as a guest to discuss the NFL Draft and other league news.

Roughly 47 minutes into the show, the three elaborated on Jones-Drew’s agonizing wait to be picked in the 2006 NFL Draft, as several teams called him throughout the first round. Ultimately, all of them passed, but one of the more notable teams of the bunch was the Indianapolis Colts, better known to Jacksonville fans as longtime rivals.

Things began to get interesting, when Jones-Drew went into detail about how he and former Colts coach Tony Dungy hit it off at the combine. Long story short, he was all but told he’d be drafted by the Colts if he met a certain request.

Jones-Drew, who was upset after being passed up, had the following to say on how the process went down as he reminisced on the details:

“So as I’m silently sobbing, well, slightly tearing up, and the Colts call me and it’s not a scout or coordinator, but it’s Tony Dungy,” Jones-Drew told Hank and Dameshek.

“Need I remind you that the both of us had a talk at the combine for hours about life in general. After that he basically told me, ‘If you run a 4.3, we’ll draft you.’ That said, I ran a 4.3 and I’m thinking I have to go to Indy now, right?”

When asked about the actual conversation he and Dungy had, Jones-Drew went on to discuss his respect for the Hall-of-Famer:

“We basically talked about my grandfather and how I grew up, while he told me about his situations. It was just a all-around great conversation and the respect level was through the roof.”

As for the call on draft night, Jones-Drew says Dungy personally told him that the coaches were banging the table to draft him, while the scouts were banging the table for Joseph Addai. The situation called for a stalemate that general manager Bill Polian ultimately made the call on.

When asked by Handsome Hank what happened, Jones-Drew’s reply was simple.

“It was Bill Polian. He ultimately had the final say and that’s kind of how it goes. That one hurt me.”

Now just over 10 years later, Jones-Drew, who has always been a player with a chip on his shoulder, says he made it a priority to remind Bill Polian of the headaches he caused the Colts back in the day when the two crossed paths.

“When I saw him afterwards I asked him ‘how did that work out for you guys’, and he says, ‘we got a ring.’ I then replied, ‘yeah, but I terrorized you guys.’”



And terrorize them he did as no one could forget the clinic Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor put on them in 2006, running for a combined total of 249 yards and three touchdowns. If you forgot, NFL Network posted the historic performance on Youtube.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO21gTstuPM&w=560&h=315%5D

On top of that, Jones-Drew finished his career with a staggering 1,451 yards and ten touchdowns against the Colts.



That said, Polian wasn’t wrong, either, as the Colts would later go on to win Super Bowl XLI with Addai after their 2006 debacle with the Jaguars.



In comparing the two, however, Jones-Drew had a much more productive and longer career as he finished his NFL tenure with 1,847 caries for 8,167 yards and 68 touchdowns, while Addai, finished a solid career with 1,095 carries for 4,053 yards and 39 touchdowns.



Though passing on Jones-Drew didn’t necessarily hurt the Colts roster-wise, Jacksonville fans can make the argument they could have won another title or two with him — and we’d never hear the end of that.



Personally, I thank Mr. Polian for providing us with one of the best running backs to ever lace in black and teal.