The legendary Bears of the 1980s bottomed out in 1989 and went 6-10. That gave the Bears the No. 6 overall selection. They used it to take USC safety Mark Carrier.
Carrier had an instant impact on the team. He was named NFL Rookie of the Year in 1990 and earned Pro Bowl honors. He went on to be named to two more Pro Bowls and was even a First-Team All-Pro in 1991.
In Carrier’s rookie year he also tallied 122 tackles, had 10 interceptions, as well as two fumble recoveries. Carrier was a hard hitter in his day, but suffered at least three concussions.
You have to wonder if his reduced quality of play after his first few seasons may have been a result from some of those hard hits over the middle of the field.