Not that anyone expects you to feel sorry for them, but there’s a very distinct, invisible line at every NFL Draft separating all the players chosen, and for at least that one magical weekend, any player taken after the first round is caught on the wrong side of it.
First round draft picks get all the love, and while it’s easy to understand why that’s the case, it’s also pretty easy to understand why it shouldn’t be: once the time finally comes to actually play the game and really determine who has what it takes and who’s been nothing but an overhyped poser all along, after all, there’s no question many players taken in later rounds will outperform those selected before them, nor is there any doubt that at least some of those players will also then go on to more successful and possibly even more lucrative careers than those we’ll all very publicly anoint as the best of the best just a few short hours from now.
It’s a shame too, because for all the hysteria they generate, First Rounders often aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, and for as quietly as they enter the league, many Late Rounders soon take it by storm. Everybody knows Joe Montana came out of the third round and Tom Brady the sixth, for example, just like everyone knows about Ryan Leaf’s epic collapse and the tragic JaMarcus Russell experiment. But what is it that makes these players’ stories so well-known and memorable? Well, above all else, it’s simply the realization that in respect to predicting how well they’d all perform on Draft Day, somebody screwed up big time.
The phenomenon does not exist solely in isolated incidents, either, although there certainly are a few other notable ones worth pointing out: in 1992, for one, the Indianapolis Colts became the first team in over 30 years to hold the first two overall picks in the entire draft, a fortuitous position that awarded them Steve Emtman and Quentin Coryatt, two defensive duds that accomplished little and fizzled out of the league within seven seasons, between 1988 and 1989 the Los Angeles Rams had total four first round picks available to spend, a blessing that yielded four no-names with just one combined Pro Bowl appearance to their credit (which didn’t even occur while that player was still a Ram, by the way), and, more recently, the Detroit Lions turned first round flops into an annual tradition for most of the last decade, stockpiling an astounding 14 First Rounders between 1997 and 2009 that have yet to make a Pro Bowl either, with two top-five selections among that group.
Even more disturbing, a broader look reveals there have been total 17 overall number one picks so far that have also never made a Pro Bowl, over 40%, and that’s for a group with a higher collective expectation of success than NASA, Charlie Sheen, and the US Army combined, while at the same time the number of successful undrafted players seems to grow every year, including recent additions like Austin Miles, Joshua Cribbs, and the 2008 Defensive Player of the Year, linebacker James Harrison. And just where were all the NFL scouts in 2002, you ask, back when Harrison went undrafted after being told he was too short to play linebacker and too light for the D-line? Probably busy swooning over Napoleon Harris, or Robert Thomas, or any of the 25 other linebackers chosen that year who never lived up to the hype and who were all eventually upstaged by both Harrison and Bart Scott, another defensive standout every single team passed on that same year.
It’s high time we put these First Rounders in their place, you see, and what better way to do that than to prove a better all-star team could be built out of later round picks than from those chosen before them? Using the same ground rules laid out by fellow writer Nick Newett in his article “Decade Draft Challenge ,” we’ll pick one offensive player from each of the last 11 drafts, but we’ll only consider players originally selected between rounds two and five. Then, once our underappreciated, overachieving, underdog roster is set, we’ll compare it to Nick’s group of prima donna first round pretty boys and consider which would do better today, right now, with the advantage of hindsight and the absence of hype.
Then we’ll see who should’ve been selected when, and, more importantly, who we should have been showing love to all along but didn’t.
2000-
Notables: The first draft of the new millennium just might have produced the biggest snub in the history of the event: a quarterback named Tom Brady slipped all the way to Round Six that year, one round for every inch of hair the superstar thereafter committed to growing, apparently, and then, well, nothing’s been quite the same ever since, let’s just leave it at that. Other overlooked prospects that year include Marc Bulger (QB), Adalius Thomas (LB), and Dante Hall (WR), but obviously none have been able to exact their revenge quite to the same extent Tom Terrific has.
Quick Stat: This draft nailed its running back selections but really dropped the ball when it came to wide receivers, no pun intended. Of the five selected in the first round (three of which were among the first ten players taken), two played in less than 16 games in their entire careers and none is currently on an active roster, while consistent performers like Jerry Porter and Dennis Northcutt were both passed on until Round Two. Behind even them also lied Laveranues Coles, however, a solid standout taken at number 78 overall who has since played in more games (153) and caught more passes (674) for more yards (8,609) than any other receiver selected that year.
Pick: While Brady would surely go number one overall if this entire class was redrafted today, because the man was so grossly underrated at the time he doesn’t even qualify for our little experiment here (as we’ve limited our pool to only players taken from rounds 2-5). How pathetic is that? Accordingly, without Brady and with only a limited amount of firepower to work with that still even plays today, this pick has lineman written all over it. You hear that, Chad Clifton (T)? You’ve been to two Pro Bowls already, you just won the Super Bowl, and you weigh 320 pounds, so climb aboard, big fella. This train needs a caboose.
2001-
Notables: A stacked class from top to bottom, the later rounds of the 2001 draft gave Cincinnati its dynamic duo of Chad Johnson (WR) and T.J. Houshmandzadeh(WR), it helped Carolina land its franchise star of the decade in Steve Smith (WR), and even though they’d later diss him even more than the teams that passed on him that year did, it also dealt quarterback Drew Brees to San Diego.
Deja Vu: Just in case last year’s haul might have seemed like a fluke, NFL scouts misfired on another consecutive crop of wide receivers in 2001. While the first round did hit a few home runs in Reggie Wayne and Santana Moss, it also passed on all three stars listed above as well as Chris Chambers for the likes of David Terrell, Rod Gardner, and Freddie Mitchell. No wonder Chad Johnson has been so desperate for attention all this time!
Pick: This one’s a no-brainer, and you can’t help but think it’s only out of sheer luck that the player is even eligible for this team: Drew Brees was the first pick of the second round that year, yet he was only the second quarterback selected overall. One can only wonder what could’ve happened had any other team decided to address its QB situation a little earlier than they did that year (Dallas, Oakland, Carolina, Washington, and the Giants all picked quarterbacks shortly thereafter), and, more importantly for our purposes here, one can also only wonder just how intimidating this all-snub team could be now that its ringleader is set!
2002-
Notables: There were few big misses in 2002 but several memorable miscues did indeed take place, including running backs Brian Westbrook and Clinton Portis and receivers Deion Branch and Antwaan Randel El.
Pump Fake: Chalk it up to a steep learning curve if you want, but no matter the reason behind it, the Houston Texans’ 2002 draft, the team’s first ever, went about as bad as one possibly could. How bad was it, I hear you roll your eyes and reluctantly ask just because you feel obligated to? Okay, I’ll bite, if it’s really* that* important to you, Mr. Bossy. It was so bad their number one overall selection, quarterback David Carr, today sports a career QB rating of 74.9 and has more interceptions than he does touchdowns, their second overall pick, Jabar Gaffney (WR), was released after only one disappointing season with the team, and of the total 13 picks the team made that first year, none have reached a Pro Bowl and none are still on their roster. Told you it was bad.
Pick: Cowboys center Andre Gurode has been to the last four Pro Bowls and was named to the All-Pro team in 2007 and again in 2009. Not too shabby considering five offensive linemen were selected ahead of him and only one of them has a Pro Bowl appearance of his own (Bryant McKinnie), and awful convenient for someone in my position, as only a handful of offensive stars from the later rounds of 2002 are still even relevant today. Gurode it is, then, another 300 pound behemoth to help secure the line of scrimmage, and another suitable anchor you just love to surround with hypothetical talent.
2003-
Notables: Sixth round pick David Tyree (WR) definitely made an impact on the league by later earning his namesake against the Goliaths that were the New England Patriots during Super Bowl XLII, but other than fellow receivers Anquan Boldin and Brandon Lloyd, most of the late round studs from this draft were on the defensive end, including Robert Mathis (DE), Asante Samuel (CB), Lance Briggs (LB), and Osi Umenyiora (DE). Just for good measure, however, it’s also worth mentioning that two of the best-known names in this entire class actually went undrafted, somehow, Tony Romo (QB) and Antonio Gates (TE), who’ve both obviously gone on to very memorable careers to say the least. Gates specifically has completely dominated his position for virtually his entire career, as a matter of fact, and was even named to the NFL’s official All-Decade Team just last year. Pretty sure none of the 13 other tight ends that *did *get drafted in ’03 have that title on their resume. Oops.
On the Flip Side: Setting aside all discrepancies over selection order for the time being, the class of ’03 just has to be recognized for the stunning array of defensive alumni it produced all across the board, from top to bottom. In addition to the four perennial Pro Bowlers listed above, three of whom have also made the All-Pro team at least once in their career, the 2003 draft also launched the careers of Troy Polamalu (S), Terence Newman (CB), Kevin Williams (DT), Terrell Suggs (LB), Nnamdi Asomugha (CB), Rashean Mathis (CB), and Ike Taylor (CB), a pool so deep even Al Davis fished a winner out of it.
Pick: With two tight end slots still to fill on our theoretical roster you pretty much have to add one here, considering how many standouts at the position this draft produced, that is, but the way all it played out leaves us no choice but to go all Goldilocks on this one: Dallas Clark was taken too early to be eligible for our team and Antonio Gates too late (or not at all, however you look at it). Jason Witten? Now he’s just right, a third-round pick worth his weight in first downs (he once had a streak of 33 consecutive games with at least one first down reception!) who also happens to be in the midst of streak of consecutive Pro Bowl appearances (currently at seven), and who was also just named to his second All-Pro team. Talk about your overachiever, geez. You had us at first down, Jason.
2004-
Notables: Matt Schaub (QB) has outplayed his status as a third-round pick, as has tight end Chris Cooley and, even if only for a few short-lived stretches, so has second-round pick Bob Sanders (SS). But the real steals of this draft came even later, with Fourth Rounder Jared Allen (DE) and Fifth Rounder Michael Turner (RB), who have both since been recognized as among the best in the game at their respective positions.
Something in the Air: There wasn’t a full moon, it wasn’t Friday the 13th, and April Fools was already a good three weeks past at the time, so why the 2004 draft unfolded so crazy we may never know. No matter the reasons behind it, however, the event really did progress about as strangely as one possibly could, including an absolutely wild first round that featured a record 28 trades and saw a record seven wide receivers snatched right off the bat. What’s really spooky? The Tennessee Titans had 13 picks that year, the most of any team, but picked just a single Pro Bowler, the Washington Redskins only had four picks that year, the fewest of any team, yet found two Pro Bowlers, and of the seven wideouts drafted in Round One, only one of them has since gone on to catch more passes than Wes Welker, the 5’9, 185 pound speedster that no team was willing to risk even one lousy pick on that year. In short, if this draft had gone any crazier it would’ve been sponsored by Four Loko and Carrot Top would’ve been the number one pick.
Pick: The squad right now is big and mean but let’s face it: this oven needs a burner. Michael “The Burner” Turner has taken a very unique journey to the top of the league, spending most of his first three seasons riding the bench, playing special teams, and learning the ropes firsthand from one of the best to ever play his position, LaDainian Tomlinson, but whether belated or not, his arrival at that pinnacle has indeed taken place: since becoming a starter just three seasons ago, Turner has already scored 45 rushing touchdowns, he’s amassed a career average of 4.7 yards per carry, and he’s already been named an All-Pro twice. Considering how rare it is to find a veteran back so experienced and so proven but with so much still left in the proverbial tank, then, Turner’s now the kind of guy you’d be a fool to pass up, as I’m sure any of the six teams who opted for other, lesser backs instead of him that year can surely attest to. Backfield officially secured.
2005-
Notables: Time will only tell whether Matt Cassel (QB) is really a franchise quarterback or not, but one thing it’s already obvious the guy never should have been is a seventh-round draft pick, which he was in 2005. Other glaring oversights from this class include Frank Gore (RB), Marion Barber (RB), Justin Tuck (DE), and Vincent Jackson (WR).
Who’s Bad?: The Detroit Pistons were christened the “Bad Boys” of sports in the late 1980’s, but looking back after all this time and the way athletes’ behavior has evolved since those laughably innocent days, it might be time to reconsider that assessment. What made those Pistons so “bad” in the first place, anyway? Playing good, hard defense with effort, motivation, and determination? You know, just like every single professional athlete should do every single game anyway considering how much money they get paid to play their game of choice? Ooh *real *intimidating, better watch out for those hooligans! Psh, give me a break. Those guys never even killed anyone! No, it’s high time we assigned this hallowed nickname to a more fitting group, guys with a little more O.J. in them and a little less Bill Laimbeer. You know, guys like the NFL draft class of 2005, which is responsible for creating more high profile troublemakers than Enron, Wall Street, and all of Washington, D.C. Well, not quite, but it’s probably closer than you think: most of the rascals’ names from this class speak for themselves, including Shawn Merriman (LB), Maurice Clarett (RB), the late Chris Henry (WR), and even running back Brandon Jacobs, who just last season carelessly tossed his gigantic freak helmet into the stands at a game in Indianapolis and luckily didn’t hurt anyone in the process, but the real gem in this gritty gang is Adam Jones (CB), the sixth overall pick that year known first for his nickname and later for causing more chaos than Woody Woodpecker in a lumber yard. Pacman Jones has been involved in more pointless arguments than Bill Maher, he’s used excessive force with less restraint than the LAPD, and the guy has made it rain more times than a Navajo shaman. It’s time you move over, then, Dennis Rodman, because there’s a new Bad Boy in town, and this one does more than just paint his fingernails.
Pick: Given their well-documented history of mishaps, it’s probably best to play it safe with this class, and as we’ve already clearly established, there’s no safer pick than a big, will-imposing moose to lock down the offensive line. Second-round selection Michael Roos (T) fits the bill, then, yet another 300 pounder who also stands tall at 6’7 and made consecutive NFL All-Pro teams in ’08 and ’09, so as long as he’s not packing any heat, we might as well sign him up. Now let’s just move on to the next draft class already before someone starts emptying a clip on our punk asses!
2006-
Notables: No draft in recent memory saw its preliminary coverage dominated by as few players as 2006 did, back when the paparazzi were just starting to get acquainted with Reggie Bush (RB) and before Vince Young (QB) had even been fitted for his first straightjacket, but so far it seems that emphasis probably should have been focused elsewhere, because Maurice Jones-Drew (RB),Greg Jennings (WR), Brandon Marshall (WR), seventh-rounder Marques Colston (WR), and even Devin Hester (WR) have all had had more memorable careers at this point.
Moral of the Story: It’s always nice to see hard work pay off, rare as that may be in professional sports in this day and age, and this past February we all witnessed just that very phenomenon play out on the grandest of scales: a lot of hard work went into the Green Bay Packers’ Super Bowl victory, and not all of it took place on the field. Of the 19 offensive players that started for the team at least once last season, only two were not acquired through the draft, and of the six offensive picks the Packers made in the 2006 draft specifically, three are still with the team today, five seasons later. A success rate like that doesn’t just happen by accident, which means someone in Titletown must have been doing their homework these last few years, and which means whoever that person is must still be elated to find their efforts so fruitful just a few months ago. Hmm. Smart people made good decisions that ultimately helped them accomplish their goal. Maybe the world isn’t completely doomed after all?
Pick: While Jennings’s shiny, spanking new ring makes him an appealing option at this point, it’s a little tough to gauge the star’s performance quite yet, considering he’s always been surrounded by a stellar receiving core on a good team with an elite quarterback throwing balls to him. Luckily, however, another standout receiver whose talent is beyond question at this point, with or without a title, slipped all the way to Round Four in this draft, so we’ll just tie our anchor to his post instead**: Brandon Marshall,** who stands 6’4, weighs 230 pounds, and was once described by an opponent as “a defensive lineman playing wide receiver,” may have had a quiet 2010 season (on a new team behind a suspect quarterback) and may have just become the newest member of the Athletes Secretly Living Like a Jerry Springer Show Guest Club, but don’t let that fool you into thinking the dude can’t still manhandle a mismatched defender the same way he did on a regular basis in ‘08 and ’09 on the way to consecutive Pro Bowl appearances and his first selection to the All-Pro team (‘09). It’s pure power that gives Marshall his edge, that’s why they call him “The Beast,” and that’s why he ought to fit right in as the first wide receiver selected to our increasingly physical All-Snub team. Let’s just hope the guy doesn’t pull a Tiger Woods on us after this week’s unfortunate incident and suddenly forget how to do the only thing he’s ever done for a living his entire life.
2007-
Notables: Though it’s becoming tougher and tougher to accurately judge picks at this point, as many draftees from this and more recent classes have yet to even see significant playing time, a few Late Rounders from 2007 have definitely made enough of an impact to already warrant a higher selection than where they initially fell: Le’Ron McClain (FB) is a two-time All-Pro who came out of the fourth round, for example, Steve Breaston (WR) has played in all but three games since being picked up by Arizona in the fifth round, and Ahmad Bradshaw (RB) looks like yet another seventh-round steal after finishing 2010 with over 1,200 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.
I Want My Quarter Back: Everyone agrees JaMarcus Russell (QB) is among the biggest busts in the history of the draft, but what few also realize is that overall 2007 was just a terrible class of quarterbacks, any way you look at it. Second Rounder Kevin Kolb still has a shot to break through, if he can ever get away from the Eagles and on to one of the countless teams out there that actually need a quarterback, that is, but beyond him, the rest of this group has done nothing but tease. First Rounder Brady Quinn? Disappointing, underperforming, and, possibly soon, forgotten altogether. John Beck? He’s been on three teams so far and in his limited action has thrown three interceptions to only one touchdown. Trent Edwards? Troy Smith? Tyler Thigpen? Sure, there’ve been a few bright moments, but all things considered this group displays about as much pocket presence as a missing cell phone. Sad the way so many promising prospects fall so far so fast.
Pick: There has to be a diamond hidden somewhere in this massive rough, and by going number 38 overall, the shiniest one there is really can’t be considered much of a snub, either: **Zach Miller **was the second tight end drafted in 2007, after Chicago’s Greg Olsen, that is, and although he has since surpassed his Windy City counterpart in both catches and yards since that selection took place, what’s more impressive is how the big fella has done it. Fresh off his first Pro Bowl appearance, Miller has been the only constant on Oakland’s offense since joining the team, and has succeeded despite enduring one of the worst QB situations in the league over the last decade. Besides fellow draftee Russell, the poor guy has so far only been able to line up beside equally problematic stand-ins like Josh McCown (now plays for the United Football League),Bruce Gradkowski (journeyman who’s been on three different teams in his five-year career), a washed-up version of Daunte Culpepper (also now plays for the UFL), Charlie Frye (lifelong backup with a career passer rating of 69.7), and Jason Campbell (another likely first-round bust with a career record of 27-37). Is there any reason not to think this guy would completely dominate, then, with a solid offensive line to help shoulder his load and with a maestro like Drew Brees looking out for him instead? Of course not, so let’s lock down this daunting hybrid while we still can, and let’s do it quick, before Al Davis finds out we just stole one of the five intelligent draft picks the man’s made over the last 20 years.
2008-
Notables: Ah, 2008, the year of change. And hope. All that crap. A lot certainly changed in the NFL that year, at least, especially during the annual draft, as a matter of fact, which included a record 34 total trades from start to finish, but many of those changes now seem ill-advised in hindsight. For the first time in the history of the event, for example, not a single wide receiver was selected during the first round, an unwelcome change for many teams that instead wasted very valuable picks on players like Vernon Gholston, Lawrence Jackson, and Kentwan Balmer, three defensive ends all selected in the first round that year who have a combined two sacks between them and who all have since been either traded or released by the teams that drafted them. Every single one of those teams, then, passed on superior late round wideouts like Desean Jackson, Jordy Nelson, Eddie Royal, Pierre Garcon, and Steve Johnson, to name a few, plus a whole slew of fantastic running backs including Peyton Hillis, Jamaal Charles, and Ray Rice, and every single one of them is presumably still reeling today as a result, forced to only wonder what might have been.
In with the New: Through four rounds of the 2008 draft, only ten running backs had been selected, compared to 15 wide receivers, 16 offensive tackles, 15 defensive ends, and a whopping 22 cornerbacks, and yet, somehow, by the time the event concluded, it seems almost every single team had a solid backfield addition to its credit. Beyond the three breakout stars listed above, the first round alone added Chris Johnson, Darren McFadden, Jonathan Stewart, and Rashard Mendenhall, and, although not necessarily stars in some cases, just look at how many other recognizable names also came from the later rounds of that draft that have at least already become solid contributors for their teams: Matt Forte, Steve Slaton, Tashard Choice, Ryan Torain, Tim Hightower and, undrafted, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Danny Woodhead, and Mike Tolbert. Though it wasn’t exactly the change we were expecting at the time, then, it’s easy to see several rosters around the league were indeed shaken up that year, and most of those changes seem to have been for the best.
Pick: It’s almost a relief to already have our lone running back position filled at this point, because it’d be easier to decipher the US tax code than to choose among the many appealing options this class presents. So we won’t. Instead we’ll just give some overdue credit where it should have been given long ago, by turning the sixth wide receiver taken that year, DeSean Jackson, into our team’s most-feared weapon. It should be a pretty easy transition for the guy, after all, considering his first three seasons in the league have been among the most explosive we’ve ever seen (he averaged over 20 yards per catch last season and already has 20 catches for over 40 yards in his career), and with the co-stars we already have surrounding him (plus more on the way), the sky should be the limit for a human cheetah like Jackson. Sign him up.
2009-
Notables: Obviously it’s still way too early to pass judgment on any of the First Rounders from a crop this recent, but we can certainly go ahead and point out a few Late Rounders who’ve already outplayed their draft status: Mike Wallace (WR) has had an outstanding start to his career, for example (as our rival Nick went out of his way to mention during his own make-believe pretend draft), Austin Collie (WR) has already proven his value coming out of Round Four, and, more so than other player from this entire class, the undrafted Arian Foster (RB) has really made an impact, after a monster 2010 season in which he led the entire league in rushing.
Steal or No Steal?: The Jay Cutler (QB) trade happened so fast in early 2009 it was probably tough for even those involved to really know if the deal was fair or not at the time. On the one hand, Cutler was then coming off the best year of his young career, one that seemed to solidify his status as a legitimate franchise quarterback, yet, on the other, the offer to obtain him included not only another starting quarterback but also two first-round picks and a third-round. Seems like a good deal if Cutler’s development continues at the same pace it has, then, but, if not, could also wind up one epic management debacle for old Chi-town. So how does the deal look so far? Well, two seasons in and Chicago is the clear winner at this point, going 18-14 since the trade and even making an NFC Championship appearance this past January after winning a division that included the eventual World Champion Packers, while the team that let go of Cutler, the Denver Broncos, have gone a miserable 12-20 since the move and just had their worst season in franchise history in 2010. Many of the long-term effects are still unknown, however, and will likely be determined by the draft picks exchanged, most of which were cashed in during the ’09 draft. In addition to Cutler, the Bears were also given a Fifth Rounder in ‘09, which they wisely used on receiver Johnny Knox, a dual threat who made the 2010 Pro Bowl as a return man and was Cutler’s top target all last year, while the Broncos turned their two ’09 picks into three with an additional trade and ended up with Richard Quinn (TE), Seth Olsen (G), and Robert Ayers (LB). Olsen was cut before his rookie season even began, Quinn has only one catch to his credit so far, and Ayers, although still with the team, has been relatively quiet so far, coming off a 32-tackle season in which he recorded just a single sack. The following year was much more encouraging, however, where after some more nifty maneuvering, the final pick involved in the trade eventually turned into another three, resulting in Denver’s selection of Tim Tebow (QB), Demaryius Thomas (WR), and Eric Decker (WR), who’ve all seen only limited action so far but do still have plenty of time and potential on their side. Considering the circumstances then, we’ll obviously still need to wait to see what happens (don’t forget Denver will be adding another young star to surround these guys with after landing the number two overall pick in this year’s draft too), but one aspect of the trade is definitely clear: Denver has at least been given all the opportunities necessary to make this trade seem fair or possibly even in their favor.
Pick: Despite posting the second fastest 40-yard dash at the Combine that year, Mike Wallace was the eleventh wide-receiver taken in 2009 and, wouldn’t you know it, as an indirect result of the very trade outlined above, he somehow wound up going to a team that didn’t even really need him, the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers, who were only a few months removed from their record sixth Super Bowl title at the time. Well that’s just perfect. Ever since, Wallace has been on an absolute terror, already racking up over 2,000 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns in just two seasons and giving every reason to believe the youngster already belongs among the game’s most elite pass catchers. Even more promising, for our purposes, at least: the only receiver to average more yards per catch last season than Wallace? That would be DeSean Jackson, of course, one of the two other wideouts we’re imaging Wallace would be lining up next to in our fun little experiment here. Add to that the fact that our quarterback, Drew Brees, averaged more yards per *game *than any QB in the NFC last season, and you don’t have to be a math wizard to see this squad of ours will be dropping bombs more often than Adam Sandler. Just the way we like it.
2010-
Notables: While we won’t bother dwelling too long on last year’s freshmen, we do need to recognize a few Late Rounders, including running backs Dexter McCluster and James Starks, tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Tony Moeaki, and wide receiver Mike Williams, who all had solid first-year campaigns.
What’s the Point?: Quick turnarounds are usually hard to come by in a veteran’s league like the NFL, but they do indeed happen: the New Orleans Saints recently went from the second-worst record in the league to Super Bowl Champions in only four seasons, for example, while the Atlanta Falcons went from third-worst to the NFC’s top seed in only three. More often than not, however, the rebuilding process can be quite lengthy and, at times, can even seem pointless. Of the ten teams who picked first in the 2005 draft, for example, four were still among those ranks when the 2010 draft commenced, and even after those five years of “rebuilding,” the group was still drafting on average only 5.7 slots higher than they were half a decade prior. How depressing is that? And what about the toughest rebuilding project in the league? Well that’s obviously been the Lions, who in the eleven drafts between ’00 and ’10 held on average the eighth overall pick, and although it goes without saying, keep in mind that’s out of 32 teams. Could this be the year Detroit finally starts to buck that trend? Possibly, but even though they have improved, this year they’ll draft at number 13. Great. Just the number you want to be associated with when you happen to be the unluckiest franchise in the NFL, 13. Oh well. I guess there’s always next decade.
Pick: If there’s one lesson this thought experiment ought to teach us it’s that, generally speaking, the NFL draft is really just one big crapshoot. Sure, players taken earlier have a greater chance of succeeding than those taken later, that’s indisputable, and wherever a prospect happens to land once the big day finally comes, there’s probably a reason he fell there. Nevertheless, what’s also indisputable is that the talent set necessary to excel at this level is incredibly tough to identify, and that’s precisely the reason players who seem like they’ll do well often don’t and why players who’ll eventually shine often slip through the cracks unnoticed, unwanted, and unsung. Accordingly, the final slot on our roster goes to another big, tough guy who should be able to clog opposing defenders no matter how his skills eventually develop, on account of his sheer size alone, that is, and that big tough guy is Rodger Saffold, a 323 pound tackle for the St. Louis Rams who was the first second-round pick taken in last year’s draft, who started every single game as a rookie last season, protecting fellow rookie QB Sam Bradford well enough that even veterans Phillip Rivers, Jay Cutler, and Donovan McNabb were all sacked more often last year despite the fact Bradford averaged more pass attempts per game than any of them, and who was recently named to Sporting News’s elite All-Rookie Team. Will the guy still be a stud ten years down the road? Nobody knows, but with a first-year resume as impressive as that, you’d be silly not to give him a chance. Mark it down.
And there you have it, the 2000’s All-Decade All-Snub team:
QB: Drew Brees
RB: Michael Turner
TE: Jason Witten
TE: Zach Miller
WR: Brandon Marshall
WR: DeSean Jackson
WR: Mike Wallace
OL: Chad Clifton
OL: Andre Gurode
OL: Michael Roos
OL: Rodger Saffold
Are they better than Nick’s team? Probably not. But with a chip on their shoulder and a fire in their belly, hopefully we can all agree these guys would at least give “The Chosen Ones” an enthusiastic run for their money.
And for a group most thought little of to begin with anyway, after all, what more could you ask for?