What successful team in the NFL built it's success thru the draft?

[imbondz]

even tho the Patriots make my skin crawl, shouldn't our front office be learning from them how to build a team? Even Randy Moss said recently, New England is a team, he emphasized what a team the entire organization is.

I hate the idea of putting all our stock in the draft. We should be concentrating on FA and trades, and use the draft to compliment who we pick up thru trades. Not the other way around. No?

[Buffalo Thriller]

Re: What successful team in the NFL built it's success thru the draft?

Few, Patriots have and will continue with that stockpile of draft picks.

[Typ0]

Re: What successful team in the NFL built it's success thru the draft?

it's a cliche that isn't really true. When you draft well you have a competitive advantage is all. Then if you can fit in the other pieces you have a winner. You also need a grooming environment that does the right thing with the draft picks. Our organization is such a joke right from the top I don't doubt we could have had some good players that were ruined.

[X-Era]

Re: What successful team in the NFL built it's success thru the draft?

Few, Patriots have and will continue with that stockpile of draft picks.

Look at their past 5 drafts and you may not be saying that.

They made maybe the leagues best pick ever with Brady and drafted Wilfork and Seymour... outside of that, all those picks didnt really improve their success. In fact if you look at the number of busts for that team in the past 5 or more years, its probably worse than a lot of the league.

If you look at the Pats, just having more picks doesn't mean you will end up with more great players apparently.

[Buffalo Thriller]

Re: What successful team in the NFL built it's success thru the draft?

Who knows with Brady. It was a get lucky thing when Bledsoe was injured.

[X-Era]

Re: What successful team in the NFL built it's success thru the draft?

Pats 2004 Draft:

1	21(21)	Vince Wilfork*	DT	Miami (FL)
1	32(32)	Benjamin Watson	TE	Georgia
2	31(63)	Marquise Hill*	DE	LSU
3	32(95)	Guss Scott	S	Florida
4	17(113)	Dexter Reid	S	North Carolina
4	32(128)	Cedric Cobbs	RB	Arkansas
5	32(164)	P.K. Sam*	WR	Florida St.
7	32(233)	Christian Morton	CB	Illinois

1 very good player- Wilfork, 1 decent player- Watson.

2005:

1	32(32)	Logan Mankins	OG	Fresno St.
3	20(84)	Ellis Hobbs	CB	Iowa St.
3	37(100)	Nick Kaczur	OT	Toledo
4	32(133)	James Sanders	S	Fresno St.
5	34(170)	Ryan Claridge	OLB	UNLV
7	16(230)	Matt Cassel	QB	Southern Cal
7	41(255)	Andy Stokes	TE	William Penn

1 very good player- Mankins,1 decent player- Cassel

2006:

1	21(21)	Laurence Maroney	RB	Minnesota
2	4(36)	Chad Jackson	WR	Florida
3	22(86)	David Thomas	TE	Texas
4	9(106)	Garret Mills	TE	Tulsa
4	21(118)	Stephen Gostkowski	K	Memphis
5	3(136)	Ryan O'Callaghan	T	California
6	22(191)	Jeremy Mincey	DE	Florida
6	36(205)	Dan Stevenson	OG	Notre Dame
6	37(206)	Le Kevin Smith	DT	Nebraska
7	21(229)	Willie Andrews	S	Baylor

Really nothing out of this draft, maybe you could call Maroney a decent player

2007:

1	24 (24)	Brandon Meriweather	S	Miami (FL)
4	28 (127)	Kareem Brown	DT	Miami (FL)
5*	34 (171)	Clint Oldenburg	OL	Colorado State University
6	6 (180)	Justin Rogers	DE	Southern Methodist University
6	28 (202)	Mike Richardson	CB	Notre Dame
6*	34 (208)	Justise Hairston	RB	Central Connecticut State
6*	35 (209)	Corey Hilliard	T	Oklahoma State
7	1 (211)	Oscar Lua	ILB	USC
7*	37 (247)	Mike Elgin	OL	University of Iowa

1 decent player- Merriweather (he was benched he's so good).

2008:

1 10 (10) Jerod Mayo ILB Tennessee
2 31 (62) Terrence Wheatley CB Colorado
3 15 (78) Shawn Crable OLB Michigan
3 31 (94) Kevin O'Connell QB San Diego State
4 30 (129) Jonathan Wilhite CB Auburn
5 18 (153) Matthew Slater S UCLA
6 31 (197) Bo Ruud OLB Nebraska

1 very good player- Jerod Mayo

2009:

2[65] 34 Pat Chung Safety Oregon
2[66] 40 Ron Brace Defensive tackle Boston College
2[67] 41 Darius Butler Cornerback Connecticut
2 58 Sebastian Vollmer Offensive tackle Houston
3[67] 83 Brandon Tate Wide receiver North Carolina
3 97 Tyrone McKenzie Linebacker South Florida
4[68] 123 Rich Ohrnberger Offensive guard Penn State
5 170 George Bussey Offensive guard Louisville
6[68] 198 Jake Ingram Long snapper Hawaii
6 207 Myron Pryor Defensive tackle Kentucky
7[69] 232 Julian Edelman Wide receiver Kent State
7 234 Darryl Richard Defensive tackle Georgia Tech

Can we call any of them decent? Maybe Chung and Tate

So out of 53 picks between the 2004 and 2009 drafts, they got 3 very good players, and a questionable 6 decent players?

Thats good drafting????

3 for 53 is 5.6% very good players

6 for 50 (I took the very good players out) is 12% decent players

I havent done the work, but Id imagine were about on par with that.

[YardRat]

Re: What successful team in the NFL built it's success thru the draft?

There isn't a team in the league, successful or not, that has been built through the draft.

[Joe Fo Sho]

Re: What successful team in the NFL built it's success thru the draft?

There isn't a team in the league, successful or not, that has been built through the draft.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

[X-Era]

Re: What successful team in the NFL built it's success thru the draft?

There isn't a team in the league, successful or not, that has been built through the draft.

I'm trying to figure out whether you should have said "built solely through the draft".

I guess it works either way.

[X-Era]

Re: What successful team in the NFL built it's success thru the draft?

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

If anything that team shows what a HOF franchise QB can do for you.

[YardRat]

Re: What successful team in the NFL built it's success thru the draft?

I'm trying to figure out whether you should have said "built solely through the draft".

I guess it works either way.

I considered 'exclusively', but that would've been too obvious.

[DesertFox24]

Re: What successful team in the NFL built it's success thru the draft?

Buddy never said he was only going to use the draft, what he said is he wants to draft his stars, pay people the bills drafted, and sign value FA.

In other words we will never sign the Karlos Dansby's of the world.

[BillsWin]

Re: What successful team in the NFL built it's success thru the draft?

We still need Luck.

[Ed]

Re: What successful team in the NFL built it's success thru the draft?

I think the Chargers, Packers, Colts and Steelers have done a good job of building through the draft.

Free agency seems to be getting thinner and thinner each year. The combination of a lack of available talent and competing with so many teams makes it impossible to build through free agency. How often do franchise type players hit free agency? Plus, the Bills are at a huge disadvantage right now by being one of the least attractive franchises to any potential free agent.

You build the foundation of your team through the draft and fill in key pieces with free agency. And it's hard to significantly improve your team with trades because that requires you giving up something of equal value.

[Commissioner]

Re: What successful team in the NFL built it's success thru the draft?

The draft is all Bill Polian really does..... He's so good that when one of his players doesn't make it... it's big news... like that Tony Ugo guy.