OT: Talk about a killer draft - Page 7 - New England Patriots Forums

***Deus Irae*** · 01-13-2010, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by condon84

Never said that.

But some people will justify a player getting drafted by us by saying he's still in the NFL albeit as a fringe player on some other team.

As they should, particularly if that player was a lower round player. When it comes to players picked at the end of the draft, just having chosen a player who can even stay in the league means you've done a decent job with that pick.

Disparaging picks like Le Kevin Smith and Ryan O'Callaghan, for example, is just ridiculous.

condon84 · 01-13-2010, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deus Irae

As they should, particularly if that player was a lower round player. When it comes to players picked at the end of the draft, just having chosen a player who can even stay in the league means you've done a decent job with that pick.

If you're a seventh rounder, I could see the point. But if you're a 4th round pick or higher, your contributions should be a little more than being in a 'scout' team during the week.

But I digress. If your aim is to have mediocre draft classes, then I guess it's okay to have the 3rd and 4th best player from your draft class be a non-contributer on Sundays. But the point of this thread was to look at that Cowboy's killer draft class which included very good players in the later rounds.

condon84 · 01-13-2010, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deus Irae

As they should, particularly if that player was a lower round player. When it comes to players picked at the end of the draft, just having chosen a player who can even stay in the league means you've done a decent job with that pick.

Disparaging picks like Le Kevin Smith and Ryan O'Callaghan, for example, is just ridiculous.

Ryan O'Callaghan was one of the main reasons why Cassel almost got killed on a weekly basis. Just because he started, doesn't mean he's any good. It was more indicative of how awful the depth of the Chiefs OL was this season.

***Deus Irae*** · 01-13-2010, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by condon84

Ryan O'Callaghan was one of the main reasons why Cassel almost got killed on a weekly basis. Just because he started, doesn't mean he's any good. It was more indicative of how awful the depth of the Chiefs OL was this season.

Ryan O'Callaghan, the insertion of Smith into the lineup, the improvement of Albert at LT over the course of the season, and the insertion of Charles at the starting running back are the main reasons that the offensive line was much improved at the end of the year. O'Callaghan certainly isn't anything special at RT but, to call him out as a bad pick given where he was chosen is just wrong.

***Deus Irae*** · 01-13-2010, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by condon84

If you're a seventh rounder, I could see the point. But if you're a 4th round pick or higher, your contributions should be a little more than being in a 'scout' team during the week.

I don't really have a problem with expecting players taken in rounds 1-3 to develop into starters and/or players making signficant contributions as part of a rotation (although I personally don't bag on teams for drafting players who suffer major injury and never recover). The issue is the screaming of the draft banshees over misses (and non-misses, for that matter) with 5th-7th round picks.

condon84 · 01-13-2010, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deus Irae

Ryan O'Callaghan, the insertion of Smith into the lineup, the improvement of Albert at LT over the course of the season, and the insertion of Charles at the starting running back are the main reasons that the offensive line was much improved at the end of the year. O'Callaghan certainly isn't anything special at RT but, to call him out as a bad pick given where he was chosen is just wrong.

O'Callaghan is not bad, and for a late pick, he's good. But compared against all the starting RTs in the league, he's on the lower end. Obviously you need guys like him for depth and in an ideal world, he's the guy that comes in if someone gets hurt.

He's turned out to be a decent player, as well as Le Kevin, but we haven't had too many of them lately.

Again, let me stress that our drafts haven't been horrible. But we haven't had draft classes we could say, "hey that's a championship draft class" like we had with our 03 class.

***Deus Irae*** · 01-13-2010, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by condon84

Again, let me stress that our drafts haven't been horrible. But we haven't had draft classes we could say, "hey that's a championship draft class" like we had with our 03 class.

You're saying pretty much what I've been asserting in this whole thread. It's not that the draft picks have been bad, it's that they haven't been elite players.

***jmt57*** · 01-13-2010, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deus Irae

I don't really have a problem with expecting players taken in rounds 1-3 to develop into starters and/or players making signficant contributions as part of a rotation (although I personally don't bag on teams for drafting players who suffer major injury and never recover). The issue is the screaming of the draft banshees over misses (and non-misses, for that matter) with 5th-7th round picks.

Amen.

Whether Oscar Lua panned out or not should not be compared to say, the Lions' choosing Charles Rogers and then Mike Williams with top ten picks two years apart, or the Jets snagging Vernon Gholston with the #6 overall pick a couple years ago.

***KontradictioN*** · 01-15-2010, 04:01 AM

I always thought that a killer draft was what Jack Nicholson's character got as he chased the kid through the maze at the end of "The Shining".