January 16, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals fans hold a sign during the fourth quarter in a NFC Divisional round playoff game against the Green Bay Packers at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Packers 26-20 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona Cardinals’ defensive tackle Eric Swann terrorized opposing offenses despite never playing a down of college football

Back in 1991, the Arizona Cardinals, then known as the Phoenix Cardinals, were taking a huge risk. With the sixth-overall pick of the NFL Draft, the organization selected Eric Swann, a defensive tackle who had never played college football. Needless to say, the move garnered much attention, and all eyes would be on the mammoth lineman as he entered the league.

After starring at Western Harnett High School in Lillington, NC, Swann was headed for North Carolina State University. But as much as he was a star on the gridiron, his performance in the classroom was not up to par. The talented defender was ruled academically ineligible, and he would never get on the field with the Wolfpack.

In 1990, Swann accepted an invitation to play in a semi-pro football league. He would join the Bay State Titans, who resided in Lynn, Massachusetts. He was paid just $5 an hour, but thankfully his stint with the team would not last for long.

A year later, the Cardinals took a chance and drafted Swann. As the club’s first-round pick, he became a multi-millionaire, which was quite a bump in salary from the five bucks an hour the Titans were paying him!

In his nine seasons in the desert, Swann racked up 45.5 quarterback sacks. He was also a great run-defender, who would routinely toss offensive lineman to the side as if they were rag dolls.

As the Cards’ head coach during the 1994-95 campaigns, the late Buddy Ryan stated that Swann may be the “best defensive lineman I’ve ever seen”. That’s high praise from someone who had coached some of the best in the game, including Richard Dent, Dan Hampton, Reggie White, Jerome Brown and Clyde Simmons. Under Ryan’s guidance, Swann got to the Pro Bowl at the end of the ’95 season (he was also a Pro Bowler in ’96, after Ryan was gone).

Swann had the talent to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. But chronically bad knees derailed his career. There was also talk that he was among the league’s dirtiest players, and wasn’t real popular among his peers.

Swann’s story is certainly a unique one. His road to the NFL was anything but easy. But he sure was a pleasure for Cardinals’ fans to watch once he got there.