There have been a helluva a lot of other players over the decades with "maturity and basic personality" issues who did just fine in the NFL. I don't think anybody ever accused Mandarich of that kind of badness - abusing alcohol or recreational drugs.

What it comes down to is: he was so damn good because of performance enhancing drugs; Just about the time he was drafted, the shit hit the fan about PEDs, and he had to get by without them. THAT was what caused his play to turn to shit.

Should the Packers have known about that trend of PEDs being on the way out? Apparently nobody else did, because Mandarich was almost universally regarded as a great pick. If the PED thing had waited 10 or 12 years, he might have had a hall of fame career - and maybe been the next Lyle Alzado, health-wise. So bad timing and bad luck - that's my verdict.