In an era before the NFL draft had a six-month buildup to a three-day television mini-series, Gail Cogdill would have been considered a sleeper – with a question of why the Detroit Lions would take a wide receiver in the sixth round out of Washington State.
By the end of his rookie season, Cogdill would have been considered a draft-day steal – and questions would have been asked of the other 12 teams in what was then a 13-team league why they passed on him for five rounds.
It was a different time in pro football when Cogdill was a rookie with the Lions in 1960, with a different style of play and no chatter on anti-social media.