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One player who really shined in a Washington preseason

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“I’ll take Washington NFL preseason history for 200, please.”

Being as old as I am and having seen as many Washington preseason games as I have, I’ve learned there are always a couple of guys every few years that really sparkle in a preseason.

Yet, these guys are not guaranteed to ever shine in the regular season, and most often they do not.

Mike Oliphant (5-10, 183, RB) was drafted in the third round by Bobby Beathard out of tiny Puget Sound in the 1988 draft. Washington had crushed Denver 42-10 in Super Bowl XXII. Beathard wanted to make some moves for explosive athletes, so he traded first-round choices in 1988 and 1989 to the Chicago Bears for linebacker Wilber Marshall.

Beathard traded away the 82nd, 137th, and 165th choices of that draft to Los Angeles for the 66th pick, which Beathard then used to select the athletic and dynamic Oliphant.

Oliphant had moves and could make people miss. He displayed versatility in catching the ball out of the backfield as well as returning punts and kickoffs. He was the next Kelvin Bryant with more of a burst.

In that rookie 1988 season, Oliphant only recorded eight rushing attempts for 30 yards while also catching the ball 15 times out of the backfield for 111 yards.

When the next draft came along, Beathard again shocked Washington fans, trading Oliphant to Cleveland for running back Earnest Byner. Washington had showcased Oliphant enough in that ’88 preseason that they wanted him and were willing to part with the reliable, durable veteran Byner.

Also in that draft Washington traded a 1989 and 1990 draft choice to Atlanta for bruising running back Gerald Riggs. Byner and Riggs both played major roles for Washington in the 1990-1992 seasons as Washington qualified for the playoffs all three seasons, going 14-2 in 1991, winning Super Bowl XXVI over Buffalo.

Oliphant carried the ball only 15 times for the Browns in 1989, for 97 yards, including his first and only NFL touchdown. He last played in the 1991 regular season, also with the Browns, though he is not credited with a rushing attempt, nor pass reception.

As training camp opens this week, remember that Mike Oliphant was one of many who have flashed in a Washington preseason and gotten hopes up for the Washington fan base, only to not ever make it big in the NFL.