Monday, May 2, 2011
Chronicling the NFL Draft: A 10-Yr. History
The NFL draft began in 1936. Having founded the Eagles in 1933 and dealing with stark financial struggles, Bert Bell had become convinced that the health of the league depended on competition. Similar to the idea that what is good for General Motors is good for the country, Bell convinced his fellow NFL owners that what is good for each individual team is good for the NFL as a whole. With this, he set about convincing his fellow owners that the NFL should implement a draft of incoming collegiate players where the worst teams get the highest picks.
In 1940, Art Rooney sold his share of the Pittsburgh Steelers and became a co-owner of the Philadelphia Eagles with Bell. In 1941, it was announced that Bell and Rooney were moving the Eagles to Pittsburgh and renaming the franchise the Steelers while the then-Pittsburgh Steelers would move to Philadelphia and rename their franchise the Eagles.
Bell became commissioner in 1946 and oversaw the growth of the NFL into a financial monster that would one day surpass all other sports in the United States as the king of professional sports.
Most likely, Bell's greatest accomplishment was the draft. It is widely believed in NFL front offices that the best way to build a championship team is through the draft. Further, many believe that what keeps people so interested in the NFL is that almost every year a perennial cellar-dweller rises up and becomes a perennial power.
With this framework, and the draft buzz all around, I have set out to chronicle a decade of draft history. I have laid out who the first overall pick was, who after the first overall pick in the first round emerged as a successful NFL player in the order they were chosen (regardless of whether the success was with their original team, and in truth, the way I decided it was whether I believe they have done more good than harm to the teams they've been on in the NFL during their career), the draft's last good pick, the biggest steal, the worst pick, and the most interesting story coming out of the draft.
As it is commonly said that you cannot judge the draft until after three years have gone by, I begin at 2008 and work back to 1998. Enjoy.
1998
First pick — Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts
First round success (total = 11) — Charles Woodson, Grant Winstrom, Kyle Turley, Greg Ellis, Fred Taylor, Tra Thomas, Keith Brooking, Takeo Spikes, Terry Fair, Randy Moss, Alan Faneca
Last really good pick — Matt Hasselbeck, 187th overall, Green Bay Packers
Biggest steal — Hines Ward, 92nd overall, Pittsburgh Steelers
Worst pick — Ryan Leaf, 2nd overall, San Diego Chargers
Interesting story — The Arizona Cardinals drafted Pat Tillman 226th overall. In May 2002, Tillman turned down a contract offer of $3.6 million over three years from the Cardinals to enlist in the U.S. Army. He died serving his country.
1999
First pick — Tim Couch, Cleveland Browns
First round success (total 16) — Donovan McNabb, Edgerrin James, Ricky Williams, Torry Holt, Champ Bailey, David Boston, Chris Claiborne, Chris McAlister, Daunte Culpepper, John Tait, Jevon Kearse, Damien Woody, Luke Petitgout, Antoine Winfield, Patrick Kerney, Al Wilson
Last really good pick — Donald Driver, 213th overall, Green Bay Packers
Biggest steal — Donald Driver, 213th overall, Green Bay Packers
Worst pick — Tim Couch, 1st overall, Cleveland Browns
Interesting story — Leading up to the draft, the debate centered on who was the draft's best quarterback: Tim Couch or Akili Smith. The Eagles passed on Smith with the 2nd overall pick to take Donovan McNabb, they were rewarded with a throng of boos, but also four straight NFC Championship Game appearances. Couch, McNabb, and Smith were taken 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively, and only McNabb had any hint of a successful career.
2000
First pick — Courtney Brown, Cleveland Browns
First round success (total 17) — LaVar Arrington, Chris Samuels, Jamal Lewis, Corey Simon, Thomas Jones, Plaxico Burress, Brian Urlacher, Shaun Ellis, John Abraham, Bubba Franks, Deltha O'Neal, Julian Peterson, Sebastian Janikowski, Chad Pennington, Shaun Alexander, Anthony Becht, Keith Bulluck
Last really good pick — Mark Tauscher, 224th overall, Green Bay Packers
Biggest steal — Tom Brady, 199th overall, New England Patriots
Worst pick — Courtney Brown, 1st overall, Cleveland Browns
Interesting story — The Washington Redskins had the 2nd and 3rd picks in the Draft (from New Orleans and San Francisco, respectively) and drafted two future Pro Bowlers. This was the positive to Dan Snyder's takeover. The negative was that in the same year they grossly overpaid free agents Mark Carrier, Jeff George, Adrien Murrell, Deion Sanders, and Bruce Smith to start a trend which many Washington fans hope will finally end with Albert Haynesworth.
2001
First pick — Michael Vick, Atlanta Falcons
First round success (total 18) — Leonard Davis, Justin Smith, LaDainian Tomlinson, Richard Seymour, Andre Carter, Koren Robinson, Dan Morgan, Marcus Stroud, Santana Moss, Steve Hutchinson, Casey Hampton, Adam Archuleta, Nate Clements, Will Allen, Deuce McAllister, Michael Bennett, Reggie Wayne, Todd Heap
Last really good pick — T.J. Houshmandzadeh, 204th overall, Cincinnati Bengals
Biggest steal — Drew Brees, 32nd overall, San Diego Chargers
Worst pick — Gerard Warren, 3rd overall, Cleveland Browns
Interesting story — The 2001 draft carried promise of two electric players in Mike Vick and LaDainian Tomlinson (although at the time there were many Tomlinson doubters). With a rare trade of the 1st overall pick, the Atlanta Falcons moved up to grab Vick, something that would certainly shape the next few years for their franchise (for better or worse). Meanwhile, in Tomlinson the San Diego Chargers had one of the most electrifying running backs to watch, whether he was running, catching, or even throwing the ball.
2002
First pick David Carr, Houston Texans
First round success (total 13) — Julius Peppers, Quentin Jammer, Bryant McKinnie, Roy Williams, John Henderson, Levi Jones, Dwight Freeney, Jeremy Shockey, Albert Haynesworth, Javon Walker, Ed Reed, Charles Grant, Lito Sheppard
Last really good pick — Brett Keisel, 242nd overall, Pittsburgh Steelers
Biggest steal — Brian Westbrook, 91st overall, Philadelphia Eagles
Worst pick — David Carr, Houston Texans
Interesting story — The Carolina Panthers were 1-15 the year before, but they didn't get the first pick because of the expansion Houston Texans. They wouldn't later be heard to complain when the Texans walked away with David Carr (a bust) and the Panthers nabbed Julius Peppers (a completely game-changing pass-rusher).
2003
First pick — Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals
First round success (total 13) — Andre Johnson, Terence Newman, Byron Leftwich, Jordan Gross, Kevin Williams, Terrell Suggs, Marcus Trufant, Troy Polamalu, Jeff Faine, Willis McGahee, Dallas Clark, Larry Johnson, Nnamdi Asomugha
Last really good pick — Yeremiah Bell, 213th overall, Miami Dolphins
Biggest steal — Asante Samuel, 120th overall, New England Patriots
Worst pick — Charles Rogers, 2nd overall, Detroit Lions
Interesting story — The 2003 draft kicked off the run of underachieving wide receiver Detroit Lions picks starting with Charles Rogers being picked ahead of Andre Johnson. They would go on to also make high first round choices out of the underachieving Roy Williams and Mike Williams. Finally, they would find the wide receiver to make opposing defenses cringe when they selected Calvin Johnson.
2004
First pick — Eli Manning, San Diego Chargers
First round success (total 19) — Larry Fitzgerald, Philip Rivers, Sean Taylor, Kellen Winslow, DeAngelo Hall, Ben Roethlisberger, Jonathan Vilma, Lee Evans, Tommie Harris, Shawn Andrews, Michael Clayton, DJ Williams, Will Smith, Vince Wilfork, Steven Jackson, Chris Gamble, Michael Jenkins, Ben Watson, Jason Babin
Last really good pick — Patrick Crayton, 216th overall, Dallas Cowboys
Biggest steal — Michael Turner, 154th overall, San Diego Chargers
Worst pick — Reggie Williams, 9th overall, Jacksonville Jaguars
Interesting story — Gearing up for the draft, every NFL team outside of Indianapolis saw this has their potential chance to get their own version of Peyton Manning. As a legacy, Eli Manning was a surefire 1st overall pick. The first team selecting was the San Diego Chargers, who took Eli despite Eli and Archie Manning proclaiming that Eli would never play in San Diego. The Chargers managed to work out a trade with the Giants and still got a pretty decent quarterback out of the situation: Philip Rivers. The Chargers later used the picks they got in that trade to get Shawn Merriman and Nate Keading, not a bad haul.
2005
First pick — Alex Smith, San Francisco 49ers
First round success (total 17) — Ronnie Brown, Braylon Edwards, Cedric Benson, Cadillac Williams, Antrel Rolle, Carlos Rogers, Mike Williams, DeMarcus Ware, Shawne Merriman, Jammal Brown, Derrick Johnson, Alex Barron, Mark Clayton, Aaron Rodgers, Roddy White, Heath Miller, Logan Mankins
Last really good pick — Matt Cassel, 230th overall, New England Patriots
Biggest steal — Aaron Rodgers, 24th overall, Green Bay Packers (I hate to pick a first-rounder, but he did just win Super Bowl MVP)
Worst pick — Alex Smith, 1st overall, San Francisco 49ers
Interesting story — The 2005 draft was supposed to be one for the history books regarding running backs. It included elite prospects Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams from Auburn, and Cedric Benson from Texas. Out of those, Brown and Williams have been plagued with injuries and Benson has been a recurring underachiever. The following were the good choices at running back from the 2005 draft: Frank Gore, Marion Barber, Brandon Jacobs, Darren Sproles.
2006
First pick — Mario Williams, Houston Texans
First round success (total 20) — Reggie Bush, Vince Young, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, A.J. Hawk, Vernon Davis, Ernie Sims, Jay Cutler, Haloti Ngata, Tye Hill, Jason Allen, Chad Greenway, Antonio Cromartie, Tamba Hali, Davin Joseph, Santonio Holmes, DeAngelo Williams, Marcedes Lewis, Nick Mangold, Joseph Addai, Mathias Kiwanuka
Last really good pick — Marques Colston, 252nd overall, New Orleans Saints
Biggest steal — Marques Colston, 252nd overall, New Orleans Saints
Worst pick — Matt Leinart, 10th overall, Arizona Cardinals
Interesting story — The foregone conclusion heading into the 2006 NFL draft was that Reggie Bush would be the first overall pick. But during that time and doing their due diligence, the Houston Texans fell in love with pass rusher Mario Williams. Deciding that Williams was a once-in-a-lifetime pass rusher they couldn't pass up (badoom ching), they shocked the world and made Super Mario number one. During the first year, this looked like an awful decision, but slowly Super Mario's star has been rising as Bush's has dimmed.
2007
First pick — JaMarcus Russell, Oakland Raiders
First round success (total 20) — Calvin Johnson, Joe Thomas, Gaines Adams, Levi Brown, LaRon Landry, Adrian Peterson, Amobi Okoye, Patrick Willis, Marshawn Lynch, Darrelle Revis, Lawrence Timmons, Jarvis Moss, Michael Griffin, Aaron Ross, Dwayne Bowe, Brandon Meriweather, Jon Beason, Robert Meachem, Greg Olson, Anthony Gonzalez
Last really good pick — Ahmad Bradshaw 250th overall, New York Giants
Biggest steal — Ahmad Bradshaw, 250th overall, New York Giants
Worst pick — JaMarcus Russell, 1st overall, Oakland Raiders
Interesting story — Doing his best Aaron Rodgers impression, Brady Quinn fell from first overall in early mock drafts to being chosen 22nd overall at the real thing. The world watched as he sat anxiously hoping to finally be selected. Having already used the third overall pick on stud left tackle Joe Thomas, the Browns traded with the Cowboys to get back into the first round, selecting Quinn. This was supposed to be the start of a golden age for the Browns. Thomas worked out, Quinn not so much.
2008
First pick — Jake Long, 1st overall, Miami Dolphins
First round success (total 16) — Chris Long, Matt Ryan, Darren McFadden, Glenn Dorsey, Jerod Mayo, Leodis McKelvin, Ryan Clady, Jonathan Stewart, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Joe Flacco, Aqib Talib, Felix Jones, Rashard Mendenhall, Chris Johnson, Mike Jenkins, Dustin Keller
Last really good pick — Peyton Hillis, 227th overall, Denver Broncos
Biggest steal — Steve Johnson, 224th overall, Buffalo Bills (I chose him over Hillis because I think that a nimble receiver like Johnson is going to last longer in the NFL than Hillis will, therefore providing a much bigger impact over the course of his career)
Worst pick — Vernon Gholston, 6th overall, New York Jets
Interesting story — I don't think it's a coincidence that the Oakland Raiders took Darren McFadden one year after Calvin Johnson and Adrian Peterson were drafted. Both players were revered as physical freaks of nature at offensive skill positions. Both players were enormously successful during their rookie campaigns.
With McFadden coming out and all the draft experts proclaiming him the next physical freak at an offensive skill position, the Raiders almost had no choice but to jump on him. Especially since they had just drafted the quarterback physical freak the year before, JaMarcus Russell. In 2009, they would make it three years in a row by drafting Maryland's Darius Heyward-Bey 7th overall over Michael Crabtree based mostly on Heyward-Bey's 4.3 40 time (he ran a 4.23 40 time in 2006, setting a Maryland school record).