Referred to as "the best offensive line prospect ever" during his college football career with the Michigan State Spartans,[1] he was selected second overall by the Green Bay Packers in the 1989 NFL draft.
Upon his entry into the 1989 NFL draft, both scouts and media (most notably Sports Illustrated, which did a cover story on him, nicknaming him "the Incredible Bulk")[5] began trumpeting Mandarich as the best offensive line prospect ever, touting his "measurables".
"He weighed 330, ran the 40 [yard dash] in 4.65 seconds, did a standing long jump of 10'3", leaped vertically 30" and bench-pressed 225 pounds an unheard-of 39 times".
He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated twice and was also a colorful character, illustrated by such instances as challenging then–Heavyweight Boxing Champion Mike Tyson to a fight, missing scheduled public appearances due to being drunk or hungover, his well-documented love of the band Guns N' Roses (he had a dog named Axl and also a tattoo of the cross-design from the cover of Appetite for Destruction on his arm), and referring to Green Bay as "a village".
His play slightly improved in 1991, but many scouts of the time considered him an average tackle at best, far below expectations for the second overall pick.
Despite his underwhelming play, head coach Mike Holmgren and general manager Ron Wolf were still willing to support him.
However, when he left Green Bay after the season and skipped several workouts, Wolf lost patience and cut him.
[6] Mandarich is often referred to as one of the top five NFL draft busts of all time, having been drafted ahead of future NFL stars such as Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas, Deion Sanders, Steve Atwater, Eric Metcalf, and Andre Rison.
Until then, he publicly blamed his work ethic in a 2003 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel article: "I wanted to create as much hype as I could for many different reasons—exposure, negotiation leverage, you name it.
The first Sports Illustrated cover story included allegations of steroid abuse in college, however, mentioning acne of his arms and premature balding.
[5] In September 2008, Mandarich admitted to using anabolic steroids during his college career at Michigan State, and that he faked a drug test before the 1988 Rose Bowl.
In the March 2009 issue of Sports Illustrated, Mandarich spoke about his use and addiction and about his book called My Dirty Little Secrets — Steroids, Alcohol & God.
[5] In that book, Mandarich ascribed his underwhelming performance with the Green Bay Packers to his painkiller addiction, which sapped his drive and work ethic.