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The Greatest NFL Starting Job Thefts of All Time

By Erik Lambert

GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 18: (2nd left) Offensive Coordinator Todd Haley of the Arizona Cardinals and (M) head coach Ken Whisenhunt talks with (R) quarterback Kurt Warner #13 as (L) quarterback Matt Leinart #7 stands behind and watches against the Philadelphia Eagles during the NFC championship game on January 18, 2009 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 18: (2nd left) Offensive Coordinator Todd Haley of the Arizona Cardinals and (M) head coach Ken Whisenhunt talks with (R) quarterback Kurt Warner #13 as (L) quarterback Matt Leinart #7 stands behind and watches against the Philadelphia Eagles during the NFC championship game on January 18, 2009 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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12 Nov 2000: Eric Moulds #80 of the Buffalo Bills carries the ball during the game against the Chicago Bears at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. The Bills defeated the Bears 20-3.Mandatory Credit: Rick Stewart /Allsport
12 Nov 2000: Eric Moulds #80 of the Buffalo Bills carries the ball during the game against the Chicago Bears at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. The Bills defeated the Bears 20-3.Mandatory Credit: Rick Stewart /Allsport /

Buffalo Bills: Eric Moulds takes over for Andre Reed

Andre Reed was the centerpiece of the Buffalo Bills passing game for the length of the 1980s. His quickness, route running skill, hands, and toughness were hard for anybody to match during that period. It’s why he’s in the Hall of Fame and has some of the best playoff performances by a wide receiver in history. Yet even he can succumb to the ravages of time.

By the late 1990s, he didn’t quite have the same explosiveness he used to. Buffalo needed somebody to help pick up the slack. So in 1996, they drafted Eric Moulds in the 1st round out of Mississippi State. It took him a few years to adjust but in 1998 he exploded for over 1,300 yards and made his first Pro Bowl. By that time it was apparent the torch had been passed when Reed liked it or not.

He retired after the 1999 season. Moulds went on to two more Pro Bowls and three more 1,000-yard seasons. Sadly he never got to experience the same playoff success his predecessor did.

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