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How Bo Jackson Almost Kept the Buccaneers from Drafting John Lynch

It’s the perfect ESPN 30 for 30 script.

“What if I told you, that Bo Jackson nearly changed the entire course of John Lynch’s career?”

A case could easily be made. That’s because the Tampa Bay Buccaneers considered passing on Lynch in the 1993 NFL Draft. Why? Because seven years earlier, when the Bucs selected Jackson with the No. 1 overall pick in 1986, the former two-sport star at Auburn opted to play baseball for the Kansas City Royals.

Tampa Bay ultimately lost Jackson’s rights for nothing, and the Los Angeles Raiders drafted him with a seventh round pick the following year.