Thirty years after the Cowboys ghosted him on draft day, the Hall of Famer’s message to 2025’s 17 draft prospects— Ashton Jeanty, Travis Hunter, Tetairoa McMillan — is clear: rejection ain’t the endgame. It’s the origin story. Let’s rewind to 1993. Michael Strahan, a 6’5” sack machine from Texas Southern, got the full ‘Naruto’ treatment: Jimmy Johnson flew him to Dallas, introduced him to Troy Aikman, and promised, “You’re a Cowboy.” Then? Radio silence. The Cowboys traded their pick, letting the Giants snag Strahan at No. 40. “You lied,” Strahan later told Johnson, who admitted, “I didn’t know you’d be any good.”

“Your moment is coming,” Strahan posted on Instagram, flexing a grin sharper than ‘My Hero Academia’s’ All Might mid- ‘Smash’. But like ‘Attack on Titan’s’ Eren Yeager, Strahan turned betrayal into fuel. Over 15 seasons, he racked up 141.5 sacks (NFL record 22.5 in 2001), a Super Bowl ring, and a gold jacket. His advice to this year’s draftees? “Be built for every stage—even the ones that slam the door in your face.”

“Then: hopeful. hungry. Now: seasoned. confident. built for every stage” THEN? LEGEND. NOW? LEGEND, Strahan’s warning? “Your draft slot’s just the prologue. Jimmy passed on me—then I sacked Tom Brady into retirement.” Imagine Strahan on the ’93 Cowboys, fresh off a Super Bowl win. Pairing him with Charles Haley? They’d have been ‘Fullmetal Alchemist’s’ Elric brothers—unstoppable. Instead, Dallas’ loss became New York’s gain.

Strahan anchored a Giants D that toppled the 18-0 Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, his sack on Brady sealing the upset. “That’s the power of ‘Plus Ultra,’” he’d say, channeling All Might. Jimmy Johnson still cringes: “Biggest regret of my career.” But Strahan’s Zen? “No draft card defines you. It’s what you do after.”

Strahan’s Playbook for the 17: Be a ‘Berserk’ Protagonist

This year’s invitees read like UA High’s hero roster:

• Will Campbell, Tyler Booker, and Jalen Milroe—the ‘Crimson Wall’ from Alabama
• Travis Hunter, WR/CB hybrid flexing ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ energy
• Ashton Jeanty, who forced 164 missed tackles last year—basically ‘Demon Slayer’s’ Tanjiro with a stiff arm
• Tetairoa McMillan, a route-runner so sharp it could cut through ‘One Piece’s’ Grand Line
• Shemar Stewart, with edge explosiveness straight outta ‘Chainsaw Man’
• Will Johnson and Mason Graham, the Big Ten’s version of Todoroki and Bakugo
• Mykel Williams and Malaki Starks, anime villains in cleats
• Josh Simmons, the 6’5” mountain from Ohio State, is ready to protect like ‘Attack on Titan’s’ Colossal Titan
• Matthew Golden, Texas’ field-stretching sniper with sniper-arc precision
• Jihaad Campbell, a linebacker built like ‘Bleach’s’ Kenpachi—chaotic, fearless, untamed
• Abdul Carter, the Penn State DE with a spin move straight outta ‘Naruto’s Rasengan arsenal
• Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss’ gunslinger whose name sounds like a ‘Yu Yu Hakusho’ protagonist
• Cameron Ward, Miami’s poised-in-the-pocket prodigy ready to level up like ‘Dragon Ball’s’ Gohan

To the prospects sweating draft night, Strahan drops wisdom hotter than ‘Dragon Ball Z’s Spirit Bomb:

1. “Embrace the grind”: Like ‘Berserk’s’ Guts, thrive in adversity. Jeanty farmed 2,601 rush yards at Boise—without a Power Five spotlight.
2. “Flex versatility”: Hunter’s 1,258 receiving yards + 4 INTs? That’s ‘Chainsaw Man’ levels of chaotic genius.
3. “Outlast the hype”: Johnson shut down Marvin Harrison Jr. twice. “Cornerbacks don’t retire; they evolve,” Strahan winks.

And if your name isn’t called early? “The Giants took me at 40. I took Brady down at 35. Timing’s everything.”Strahan’s final lesson? “Greatness isn’t where you’re picked—it’s how you pick yourself up.” From Cowboys reject to Giants GOAT, he’s proof that NFL careers aren’t written in green rooms. They’re forged in fourth-quarter grit.

So to Campbell, Stewart, Carter, Dart, Simmons, Golden, Ward, and the rest: lace up, lean in, and when doubt hits, remember Strahan’s mantra—“Your moment’s coming. And when it does? Sack it.”  The grind’s just beginning.