One can look back on the Denver Broncos' 2011 draft class
and know that John Elway did a very good job of drafting. Then along came this
year's free agency frenzy and most of the Broncos' draft picks departed.
Before Broncos fans get tuned up about how ridiculous it is
to let all these valuable players depart, the fact is, a team that drafts well
doesn't always keep every pick for the long term. These teams prioritize which
picks to retain, and understand that certain draft picks will not stay past
their rookie deals.
Every team takes a chance when a draft pick plays well, then
departs for another team. The question is whether or not those teams got the
most out of those players they drafted, and when it came time for a new
contract, when they make the correct decision to extend the player or let him
depart.
The Baltimore Ravens are frequently cited as a team that
drafts well, makes good use of compensatory picks, and knows which free agents
to prioritize retaining. The New England Patriots are another team that gets
such a nod, and more recently, the Green Bay Packers are getting recognized as
such. Let's examine each of these teams to see what they have done.
The purpose of this exercise is to consider the following:
* Which draft picks stayed with the franchise for at least
six years, keeping in mind that contracts for first-round picks went as long as
six years before the rookie pay scale came along.
* Which draft picks stayed with the team three to five
years, and finished their career with at least eight seasons in the NFL.
* Among more recent draft years (2010 and 2011), which draft
picks are still with the team.
* Any more recent draft picks (2008 to 2010) who were with
the team at least three years, and are still playing in the NFL.
* Any unusual examples of draft picks who never took a snap
for the team that drafted them, but went on to play for other teams and are
still in the NFL.
Our focus in this part will remain on draft years up to 2010. In the
first part, we'll take a look at the Baltimore Ravens.
What's fascinating about the Ravens is the franchise has had
a pretty long history of retaining its first-round picks and getting a lot of
years out of them. It starts in 1996, when the Ravens had two first-round picks
-- they used the first on Jonathan Ogden, who has been inducted into the Hall
of Fame, and the second on Ray Lewis, who will be a Hall of Famer. Ogden played
13 years and Lewis 16, so the Ravens certainly made excellent use of those
picks.
It continues in 1997, when the Ravens got eight years out of
first-round pick Peter Boulware, and again in 1999, as they got 11 years out of
first-round pick Chris McAllister. They also got a lot out of Todd Heap (2001,
10 years)and Ed Reed (2002, 11 years).
And when you get to 2003, you find several first-rounders
who are still with the team: Terrell Suggs (2003, 12 years), Marshal Yanda
(2007, eight years), and Joe Flacco (2008, seven years). They also kept 2006
first-rounder Haloti Ngata for nine years, before trading him to the Detroit
Lions this offseason. Throw in Jamal Lewis, a 2000 first-round pick, who played
six years for the Ravens before departing, and there's plenty to like about
their early picks.
So what about players taken in the second round and later
who stayed with the team for many years. That list includes Cornell Brown
(1997, 6th round, seven years), Edwin Mulitalo (1999, 4th, eight years), Adalius
Thomas (2000, 6th, seven years), Jarret Johnson (2003,4th, nine years), Sam
Koch (2006, 6th, nine years), Ray Rice (2008, 2nd, six years), and Lardarius
Webb (2009, 3rd, six years).
Add in a pair of 2010 draft picks who were re-signed (second
rounder Terrence Cody and fourth rounder Dennis Pitta) and that's 21 players
the Ravens have drafted who were either past long-time contributors to the
team, or are still contributing. Now, when I tell you that the Ravens have had
118 total draft selections from 1996 to 2011, you probably think that if the
Ravens are so good at drafting, that they let a lot of talent get away. After all,
just 18% of those selections contributed to the team for a long time, or are
still contributing.
Except when you look at the picks they did not retain for at
least six years, and went on to lengthy careers or are still active, the list
isn't at long as you might think. Those players, listed in order of their total
years in the NFL, are: Dave Zastudil (2001, 4th round, four years with the
Ravens, 12 total NFL seasons), Brandon Stokley (1999, 4th, four, 11), Aubrayo
Franklin (2003, 5th, four, 11), Dwan Edwards (2004, 1st, five, 10, still
active), Chester Taylor (2002, 6th, four, 10), Chris Chester (2006, 2nd, five,
nine, still active), Dawan Landry (2006, 5th, five, nine), Ovie Mughelli (2003,
4th, four, nine), Casey Rabach (2001, 3rd, three, nine), Tony Pashos (2003,
5th, three, nine), Travis Taylor (2000, 1st, five, eight), Kyle Boller (2003,
1st, five, eight), Ben Grubbs (2007, 1st, five, eight), Antwan Barnes (2007,
4th, three, eight), Jamie Sharper (1997, 2nd, four, eight), Duane Starks (1998,
1st, four, eight), Chris Redman (2000, 3rd, four, eight), and Jeff Mitchell
(1997, 5th, three, eight).
Those players account for 18 of the Ravens' draft picks. Now
throw in other players who were with the Ravens for at least three years and
are still active: Oneil Cousins (2008, 3rd, three, eight), Michael Oher (2009,
1st, five, six), Paul Kruger (2009, 3rd, four, six), Ed Dickson (2010, 4th,
four, five), and Arthur Jones (2010, 5th, four five) and you have 23. You can
also add one player who never took a snap for Baltimore, but has played nine
seasons and is still active: Derek Anderson (2005 sixth rounder). That makes
24, which represents 20 percent of the Ravens' picks.
But then ask yourself: Of the draft picks the Ravens did not
keep for an extended period, how many of them should have been? You could
probably make arguments for Stokley, Edwards, and Franklin, and I imagine some
people will argue for Grubbs, but there's nobody else who was imperative to
retain. Zastudil has had a long NFL career, but he was easily replaced at
punter when Koch came along. Is anyone seriously going to argue that the Ravens
would have been better off with Boller, Redman, or Anderson at quarterback? Do
you really think the Ravens couldn't afford to lose either Taylor?
In other words, Ozzie Newsome and company go into their
drafts hoping that the bulk of the picks will contribute to the team in the
short term, but expect that only a few will contribute for the long term, and
they especially want the higher picks to do so. At certain points, they have to
make decisions about who is really worth retaining. And ever since 1996, it has
mostly worked for them. They have their misses (most notably Boller, Travis
Taylor, and 2005 first-round pick Mark Clayton), but it's hard to argue they
haven't been successful overall.
In part two, we'll look at the Patriots and Packers.
No comments:
Post a Comment