Some draft prognosticators thought Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett could go as high as the 15th overall pick to the Dolphins. Instead, he fell all the way to the 74th pick, with the Patriots. And now Mallett wants to make the Dolphins pay for passing on him.
Mallett’s father, Jim Mallett, told the Boston Herald his son was angry because the Dolphins told him they were interested in trading for him, but the Dolphins instead used the 62nd pick on running back Daniel Thomas.
“They took another guy,” Jim Mallett said. “Ryan said, ‘Payback.’ He remembers it all.”
Jim Mallett also says his son has never failed a drug test, contrary to rumors that circulated before the draft.
As for Ryan, his vow of payback is reminiscent of the way his new teammate, Tom Brady, responded to being passed over until the sixth round of the 2000 draft, by using it as motivation to prove all the teams that didn’t pick him wrong. The bad news for Mallett is that with Brady planning to play another decade, Mallett won’t get his chance at payback against the Dolphins any time soon.