Great NFL Drafts (for franchises)

You can look back at every one of Matt Millen's drafts in his Lions' tenure and find nothing but...ummmm...yeah. Nothing but....nothing. Fail compounded by fail.

Nothing to see here, move along now.

 

The Bills took a gamble on Simpson, but he proved to be a great slasher. He really cut to the hole and eluded the defense.

 

This is how you build a Super Bowl winner:

In 1981 the Bears drafted Keith Van Horne, Mike Singletary, Ken Margerum and Todd Bell with their first four picks.

In 1982 they picked up Jim McMahon in round 1 and Dennis Gentry in round 3.

In 1983 seven of their first eight picks were Jimbo Covert and Willie Gault in round 1; Mike Richardson in round 2, Dave Duerson in round 3, Tom Thayer in round 4 and Richard Dent and Mark Bortz in round 8.

In 1984 their first two picks were Wilber Marshall and Ron Rivera and they added Shaun Gayle in round 10.

 

The Fridge was a rookie drafted in '85 too I believe.

 

Shit how about the Mario Williams pick. Looking better everyday.

 

Maybe you moved along too quickly.

Roy Williams, Kevin Jones. Same draft.

 

Surprised we're missing the '91 Cowboys Herschel Walker draft. Guys like Russell Maryland, Alvin Harper, Kelvin Pritchett (who moved on to have a solid few years with Detroit), Dixon Edwards, Godfrey Myles, Erik Williams, Leon Lett and Larry Brown.
No HOF's in there or anything, but you don't see depth like that very often.

 

While it wasn't overall an outstanding draft, the Buccaneers getting Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks with their first two picks in 1995 began the turnaround of that franchise.

 

Two straight season-ending knee/leg injuries for Jones. And aren't the Lions looking to trade Williams?

Solid players but they're not going to go down as franchise cornerstones.

 

Noll was a master when it came to the drafts. It was either the 1978 or 1979 team that had its entire roster made up of Steeler draft picks. He also was the first Steeler coach in a long time to value and hold on to the picks.

Pittsburgh was also smart enough to see how smart and dedicated the players they were drafting actually were. If you do not have the dedication to get decent grades in college, how can you be dedicated as a professional?

Almost to a man, the great players of the Steelers era seem to have a decent IQ. You really do not hear too many double negatives when listening to Ham, Lambert, Harris, Blount, Greene, White and the others. In fact, almost all of them are now successful businessmen. As Coach Knight said, but in another sport, smart does win.

Also, look at every Super Bowl team's draft 3-4 years prior to them winning it all, and you will find a great draft.

Conversely, if you take a 2-14 or 3-13 team and look back at their drafts from the previous 3-4 seasons, you will see a ton of failed picks.

The NFL Draft is such an important day for every franchise. I am already geeked for Pittsburgh's.

 

Yeah but can Terry Bradshaw spell cat if you spot him the c and the a?

 

Dolphins had a decent draft in '83 with Marino (obviously), Reggie Roby, Mark Clayton and Anthony Carter.